The Hammer

The Hammers' are living within the lower Omo valley bordered by Er-bore and Tsemay tribes in the north, Dassanch in Southeast, Karo in the south and Bena-as-wel as Ari tribes in the east. They are agro-pastoralists using seasonal rainfall agriculture, which comes from the most part of March-July. They are grouped under the Omotic language family with a total population of not exceeding 30 thousand people. Cattles are the core economy of the society. In addition, they produce cereals like, Maize, Sorghum Millet and on as their steeple food.

The Hammer societies are known by a ritual practice called the Bull Jumping or the Leaping the bull ceremony, which is the most spectacular rite of passage in southern Ethiopia. This ritual makes the young men to pass in to the adult men or a rite of passage form a boyhood to manhood. Before they are ready for marriage, the initiate boys are under coerced to jump over four or more times without falling on the backs of 15 to 30 lines of Bulls stand side by side.

During the ceremony, if a boy successfully finishes the jumping the Bulls, he walks proudly out through a special gate in which he receives a judge to have passed form a childhood to manhood. In this case, young girls, who are close relatives of him, are asking or begging for the Mazes to be whipped with a special wooden stick as to reveal their affection towards him and show the ability to endure pain on behalf of the boy they love. Finally, after the ceremony ends, young girls are gathered together in their village, adored with beads, skin clothes, Jewelries, clarified their hair with mud and butter then evening court ship dance known as Evangadi is continuing for the following days and nights.

Note: Mazes are those boys who already have under gone this rite and successfully jumped the bulls.