[CULTURE]: Meet the tribe where women are brutally flogged for marriage (Scars of Love) | READ STORY

 

A group of people called the Hamar live in southwest Ethiopia. They are located in the Southern Nations' Debub Omo Zone's Hamer woreda, a fertile area of the Omo River valley. Since they are mostly pastoralists, cattle are highly valued in their culture. 

In the Ukuli Bula tradition, ladies who publicly profess their love for the young man at the center of the celebration—a Rite of Passage ritual for boys—are subjected to whipping. 

The boy is then permitted to get married because the ritual turns him into a man.

The beating of young women who are cousins or family members of the boy undergoing the Rite-of-Passage is a crucial part of the rite. 

The women trumpet and chant about the Jumper's merits, professing their love for him and their desire to be whip-marked. 

At the ceremony done in the Omo River Valley, the ladies don't run away; instead, they beg the men to lash them once more. 

The girls proudly display their wounds as evidence of their bravery and integrity after being whipped. 

Some flogging seems gentle, while others seem more ferocious.

To soften the impact of the whipping, which is only administered by Maza — those who have already completed this Rite of Passage — they cover their bodies with butter.