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• The Rift Vally and Nature
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PEOPLE OF MAGO AND OMO VALLIES.

The Mago valley lies in one of the most culturally diverse areas in the whole of Africa where many elements of ancient nomadic life styles are still practiced just as they were centuries ago. Seeing these colorful people is a rare experience for people from urban cultures.

To the south east is a large ethnic group, the Hamer, who speak a south east Omotic language. They cultivate sorghum and millet in the hills east of the Mago valley and also keep large herds of cattle and goats. On the north east edge of the Mago valley are the Benna, closely related to the Hamer with many cultural similarities. The Hamer wears a variety of colorful ornaments and decorates their hair with colored mud.

At he south end of the Mago valley are small offshoot of the Hamer- the Karo. They cultivate the Omo riverbanks and keep flocks of goats and some cattle. The Karo are noted for their colorful body painting. Adjacent to the Karo, where the Mago joins the Omo, are an even smaller group, the Mugujil These people also cultivate sorghum along the river, and keep goats and hunt and fish.

In the Jinka highlands north of the Mago National park are the Ari, group of sedentary agriculturalists speaking a similar Omotic language (Araf) to the Benna. Numbering about 100,000 they are the largest group neighboring the Mago National Park .The high rainfall of the highlands allows the Ari to grow a wide range of crops- wheat, barley, sorghum, maize, Teff and millet as well as beans, peas and root crops. They also grow coffee, chat, fruits and vegetables. They also keep livestock and are active honey collectors in the Mago National park.

The Omo valley lies in one of the most culturally diverse areas in the whole of Africa where many elements of nomadic lifestyles are still practiced. To see these colorful people is a rare experience for people from urban cultures.

To the west is a large ethnic group, the Surma or Suri, who speak a Nilo-Saharan language reflecting their origins from the Nile basin. They cultivate Sorghum and millet in the Maji highlands west of the Omo valley and also keep large herds of cattle and goats. Their most remarkable characteristic is the Lip disk for which they and their relatives the Mursi are famous over the world.

A young woman’s lower- lip and ears are pierced and enlarged by inserting ever-bigger clay disks that eventually may be more than 12 cm in diameter. The bigger the disk the better a woman’s chances of securing a wealthy husband.

To the east of the Omo National park are the Mursi, a small tribe of some 5,000 people. The Mursi cultivate maize and sorghum on the river levees when the water level is low, and also in fields away from the river. They supplement their livelihood with large herds of cattle from which they get blood and milk. Their livestock are their main preoccupation and in area where the rain is both scant and erratic the Mursi frequently move in search of pasture and water. Like most nomadic people the Mursi are very colorful, with a lot of body decoration and ornaments. Along the Omo lives a small, some what mysterious group of less than a thousand people – the Kwegu.The Kwegu subsists in the river environs where they assist the Mursi to cultivate the river levees each year when the flood recedes .In addition to growing sorghum and millet the Kwegu fish and hunt.

In the Maji highlands north –west of the park are the Ment, a group of largely sedentary agriculturalists speaking a similar Nilo-Saharan language to the Surma. The high rainfall of the highlands allows them to grow a wide rage of crops, wheat, barley, sorghum, maize, Teff and millet as well as beans, peas and root crops. They also grow coffee and chat and fruit and vegetables. They also keep livestock.

South of the Omo National park, on the west side of the Omo are the Bume, a primarily nomadic people who rely more on their livestock than the other peoples of the Omo area as the rainfall in their land is generally too low for cultivation. The Bume use the southern part of the park extensively for grazing and are often in conflict with the Surma.