THE HAMAR TRIBE: The Tribe Where Women are Brutally Beaten Before Marriage

Have you heard? That a tribe in Africa flogs female members before marriage?
For marriage, the Hamar tribe physically whipped women.

Southwest Ethiopia is home to a tribe known as THE Hamars. Living in the Hamer woreda, a fertile region in the Debub Omo Zone of the Southern Nations, which is part of the Omo River valley. Their culture places a high priority on raising cattle because they are predominantly pastoralists and herders.

As part of a Rite of Passage rite for males, there is a custom known as “Ukuli Bula” in which women are whipped after they profess their love for the young man at the center of the celebration. As a result of the ceremony, the boy is now eligible to marry.

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 praise the Jumper in Rite of Passage, professing their love for him and their desire to be marked with the whip.

At the ceremony done in the Omo River Valley, the women do not run away but instead request the men to lash them once again.

The girls proudly display their wounds as evidence of their bravery and integrity after being whipped. Some smacking seems gentle, while others seem more ferocious.

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

Although culture is important and tells us about where we as Africans come from and our origins, it should not and never determine where we are going to because this to me is

absolute nonsense.