“Is what I’m seeing real?” wondered Ignasi Rovira when you first stepped on this remote southwestern region of Ethiopia.
The image was almost unreal, two children drinking blood directly from a cow that had been shot by a small dart; a ancient rite with extraordinary purity Though difficult to understand for the western eye.
Reaching places barely touched by modern civilisation is not easy. This is not a comfortable trip: the paved road ends shortly after leaving the capital, giving way to a dirt track crossing the country’s southeast which disappears on the final section, where we continue cross-country.
Getting to know them is not easy. They are a tribe that They don't like meeting strangers. and even less being photographed, reflecting the identity of a proud people, sometimes a little haughty and above all warlike. The The Surma are tall and slender, with athletic bodies and with an appearance that leaves no one indifferent.
They are true masters of body art: bodies are painted two or three times a day, like changing clothes, in a distinctive form of seduction expressing mood or pride. The scarifications and mutilations they inflict are also signs of elegance, strength and courage.
The Surma women wear lip plates so large they seem to threaten their parted lips. The dowry depends on the plate’s size: the larger the disc, the greater the marriage dowry that will have to pay the family of the groom at the time of marriage.
Children embody tradition. Since childhood, the Surma paint the body imitating birds, leopards, crocodiles or cows.
After the harvest, the “ritual of the donga”, a stick fight in which two naked opponents face a fierce duel ending when one kneels on the ground. It is used to affirm masculinity, determine the bravest warrior or compete for the same woman.
Upcoming trips to Ethiopia: