The Africa Insight with DAVID

Karo, Ethiopia
Population ~2,000

Karo men with weapons
Karo men sitting with weapons.

Living on the banks of the Omo River in Southern Ethiopia, seemingly untouched by the outside world, is the small Karo (or Kara) tribe. For sustenance, they practice flood retreat cultivation, growing beans and maize, breeding cattle and goats, and fishing.

They are highly regarded for their practice of intricate face and body painting, using a combination of white chalk, charcoal, yellow rock, and iron ore to create some truly dramatic body artworks.

The tribe also practice ritual scarification, cutting themselves with a knife or razor, then rubbing ash into the cut to produce a raised effect over time. Women create intricate scarring patterns on their chests, stomachs, or backs to be considered mature and attractive, whilst men scarify their chests to reflect the killing of enemies or deadly animals.

Like their tribal neighbours the Hamar, the Karo also practice a ‘bull jumping’ ceremony to signify the coming of age of young men.