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GULLIVER'S TRAVELS  01/28/2019

1/28/2019

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GULLIVERS TRAVELS

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Ethiopia
The Omo Valley of Ethiopia Travelogue


 In the southern part of Ethiopia, near the border with Keyna, the Omo River flows toward far-distant Lake Victoria to the south.  In several hundred square miles of the region live 16 tribal groups who essentially live as their ancestor did for thousands of years.  The entire area is in a time warp.  I spent five days in the area with guides who could speak the various tongues of several of these tribes.  This area and its peoples looked, lived, and acted far different than those in the rest of Ethiopia.  And for the most part, they seemed to have little desire to become "modern" (read: civilized).   Some tribes are semi-nomadic herders, others farmers, but all essentially are self-sufficient, producing virtually all of their needs themselves.  The tribes often practice polygamy with four wives being the maximum. Individuals do not keep track of their ages. Electricity, plumbing, and motor-powered transport are non-existent.  The Omo Valley tour was along the solid line in the south of the country.
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​The dotted lines on the map show where I flew in the country, and the solid lines show where I either hired a car and driver or took a guided tour.
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The Hamer Tribe

   This tribe numbers about 45,000.  They are pastoralists, who highly value their cattle and goats.  They are semi-nomadic, moving their animals with the seasons.  They raise some crops, tended by women, including sorghum, cotton, beans, and pumpkins.  Though 95 percent are Sunni Muslims, very many also believe objects such as trees and rocks have spirits. 
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PictureThe Omo River

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In the dry season, water is found by digging into river bottoms.
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Typical hut for a Hamer family
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Once a month Hamer women apply a paste of red ochre (powdered rock) to their hair.
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Dale is always on a quest for a (mature) female companion
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A farmers' market, where one can buy the ubiquitous tiny squatting seats that every Hamer man carries
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The Bull-Jumping Ceremony of the Hamer Tribe

   Before Hamer men are allowed to marry, they must jump (climb, actually) over a series of bulls (from four to eight) lined up.  If they fall off, they cannot marry and are ridiculed.  Oh, they also must do so buck-naked. 

   Several young men did this at the ceremony I attended.  For hours before the men arrived, dozens of female relatives of the men chanted, sang, danced, and rang noisemakers in anticipation of their coming.  In a bizarre prelude to the jumping, these relatives begged the men to whip their bare backs with switches.  Their intent was to wear the resulting scars as a badge of solidarity with their brothers (and cousins), as well as to prove to their actual or future husbands how loyal they are as wives.  I saw lots of welts from past whippings--and lots of fresh blood.  I wonder if my wife, Dorothy, would have been willing to endure that (well, of course, why would I ever THINK of wondering?).
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The waiting relatives
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The bloodied back of a whipped woman
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Getting ready to run up on top the bulls
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A serious discussion among some men while waiting for the bull jumping
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On top the bulls
The Dassenach Tribe

   Most of the Daasanach people, officially tallied at 48,000, live near the border with Keyna, while others actually live in Kenya.  They were traditionally pastoralists, living primarily off their cattle.  But in recent times, drought and forced migration (by the governments of Ethiopia and Kenya) have led many of them to becoming agro-pastoralists, growing some sorghum, beans, pumpkins, and corn.

   They live in dome-shaped huts, and the village I visited had lots of corrugated steel as part of their coverings.

   I found their countenance to be more dour than the other tribes I visited, many seeming to be in a deep funk.  My guide said that is how he perceives them, as well.  They reminded me of the descendants of the Incas that I visited in the altiplano of Peru, a people I perceived as the saddest I ever met, seldom smiling.  But I cannot trust my judgement, as perception of the psyche of others is incredibly difficult.  One cannot accurately judge the behavior of others by using one's own "behavior map" as a guide.
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I had to cross the river in such a dugout watercraft, hoping the (suspected) crocodiles would think a 165-pound man approaching old age wouldn't be worth the effort to eat.
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Huts of the Dassenach people are dome-shaped.
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This young mother had two children, indicated by the two spikes of hair on top her head. This cheerful lady told me she wants to have 8-10 children.
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A granary
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These women are grinding sorghum, which is made into a gruel.
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These boys were having lunch at their school
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A termite mound nearby the village
The Konso Tribe

   One of the largest tribes of the Omo Valley, about 250,000 Konso live in southeast Ethiopia, to the east of the rest of the tribes of the area.  Most live in larger towns, but I visited a moderate-sized village of three concentric stone-walled circles, built larger as the population grew.  I found the architecture of this tribe to be far more interesting, mainly because of their use of hewn stone for their houses and community buildings.  Most have attractive double roofs, often with ceramic pots on the rooftops to prevent rain from entering the houses.
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Typical houses
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Cotton is commonly spun on such hand-held spinning devices.
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Three of the ubiquitous children having fun
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The lady is carrying sorghum.

The Mursi

This small tribe, numbering about 8000, live near the border with South Sudan.  They are agro-pastoralists, and they are vegetarians.  They are noteworthy for their wearing of decorative lip plates and elaborate head decorations.  Traditionally, only women wore lip plates for ceremonies, beginning at age 15 or so.  Because lately they earn income from tourists taking their photos, they now wear them most of the time.  Also, some men are now wearing them.  They also earn income by selling the plates to tourists.
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The plates held in their hands are being offered for sale to tourists.
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These two women are standing by a typical hut.
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The woman lying on the ground is having her eyelashes removed by her daughter, a common practice.
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This woman is grinding sorghum, which is used to make gruel and other vegetative dishes.
Epilogue

   Masochism and mutilation of one's flesh.  How can one accept that in another?  Surely such people who engage in such behavior must be flat-out wrong.  But, hey, who am I to criticize Westerners who get tattoos or pierce their lips or skin with metal pieces?  I can't bring myself to even look at the "metal folks," as it creeps me out.  But if they wish to engage in such behavior--and I suffer no other loss--then I'll allow them to follow their wishes.  Even more extreme, I'll even let people wear ragged jeans.  Just don't expect me to do any of these "bizarre" things.

   I never saw one Ethiopian tribal member with a tattoo or a nose ring.  I wonder what they think of Westerners who have them?  Disgust, shock, or pity?  It wouldn't surprise me, as they are probably just as likely to be critical of other cultures as Westerners. 
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   As for me, I just say, "Viva la differance!"
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GULLIVERS TRAVELS  01/14/2019

1/14/2019

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​GULLIVERS TRAVELS
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Ethiopia Travelogue



   For much of its history, Ethiopia was known as Abyssinia.  To my pleasant surprise, it turned out to be perhaps the most interesting country I ever visited, just one surprise after another.  I left home on December 7th and returned on the 21st.  Given that it is 62 percent larger than Texas, I'd need a couple more weeks to see it thoroughly.  Ethiopia has 110 million people, with a 2.5% growth rate in population, so one sees kids everywhere.  At that rate, it will double in population in 28 years, a frightening prospect.  Most people I talked to have families with 6-9 kids.  Consequently, all large wild game have disappeared in recent years, replaced by cattle to feed the masses.  Sad--if one likes wildlife.

The dotted lines on the map show where I flew in the country, and the solid lines show where I either hired a car and driver or took a guided tour.

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Gonder

   Gonder was made the capital of Abyssinia in 1636 by Emperor Fasiladas.  The city remained the capital until the mid-1800s.  Numerous buildings, including an impressive castle, remain from the period.
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Fasilades Palace, 73 feet high, is a synthesis of Indian, Portuguese, Moorish, and Aksumite influences.
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The ceiling of Dawit's Hall
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Yohannes's Castle, 1667-1682
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Young ladies love to dress up when going out.
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Some repairs required some masonry work. So workers haul sand and other supplies hundreds of yards with these hand-held platforms--rather than using wheelbarrows.


The Rock Churches of Lalibela and Tigray

   Ethiopia is primarily Christian, the faithful calling themselves Ethiopian Orthodox Christian.  Their earliest churches were built in remote mountains and canyons where they were relatively safe from marauding pagans.  In the Tigray region north of the large city of Mekele, some 120 of these 4th Century churches are intact--though often extremely difficult to reach.  I had to climb over a thousand feet high to reach one--though I failed to muster the courage to manage the final extremely steep 20-foot climb and a harrowing walk along a narrow ledge on a cliff face.
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   Lalibela, a small city, is home to eleven of the most unusual churches in the world.  The first, and most famous, was built by Emperor Lalibela in the 12th Century.  It, and the other ten, were not built, as such.  Rather, they are monolithic, that is, they are carved out of solid rock.  His church, called The Church of St. George, was carved downward 65 below the surface.  Then an interior was carved out once the building was evacuated.  To see that church was the most important reason I wanted to visit Ethiopia.  It was worth it!

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The top of The Church of St. George
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The Church of St. George
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A "chicken" beginning the failed attempt to climb to the church
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Door leading to another of the rock-hewn churches
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A remote church of Tigray is near the top of this mountain.
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A 11th Century church built in a large cave, with alternating slabs of limestone rock and olive wood
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View of the farmland below the mountain, with lots of acacia trees
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Mummies of pilgrims who traveled from Jerusalem in the 17th Century
The Danakil Depression

   The Danakil Depression, a bit west of the Red Sea, is a large barren area of salt flats and bubbling sulfur-rich formations as deep as 190 feet below sea level.  Three tectonic plates grind into each other deep below the surface, providing the energy for this active area.  I was pleasantly amazed when I saw it, as I had no idea of the incredible colors and formations I was in for.  One can constantly hear boiling concoctions just under the fragile surface, so I wondered if I was going to visit Hell.  If Yellowstone could visit Danakil, it would be put to shame.  I have a list of my favorite 50 natural places in the world--and Danakil cracked the list.
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    And I was so lucky to be at the salt flats when there were two camel caravans.  Salt is harvested there, and the caravans carry the salt on the backs of camels on a seven-day trek to a processing plant.  As one caravan was leaving, another group was actively harvesting the salt with nothing but picks and other hand tools.  I would have never expected that such an ancient production process still existed anywhere in the world.  After watching such toil in 90-degree heat under bright sun, it makes me laugh when I hear of Americans talking about how hard they work.  They ain't seen nothin'!
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Camel caravan on a seven-day trek
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Prying out salt
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Shaving the salt into square blocks
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Sulfur-rich formations in a several-acre area
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In this and many other areas I had to breathe through my handkerchief because of the caustic fumes.
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In WWII the Italians mined this area for sulfur compounds to formulate munitions.
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The green area is a liquid composed of sulfur and potassium salts.
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This was my favorite formation.
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This area reminded me of Mammoth Springs Terrace in Yellowstone National Park.

An Agricultural Time Warp

   As a Newton farm kid, I was absolutely amazed to see the agricultural practices as I drove through hundreds of miles of farming country.  I probably saw over a thousand small farms, and I never saw a single piece of mechanized equipment.  No tractors, no grain drills, no combines, no electric saws, pumps, etc.  Nothing but home-made had tools, most made out of tree limbs.  Seventy five percent of Ethiopians live on farms, and 80 percent of their output is consumed, leaving little for sale to buy goods and services.  That'll leave one poor.
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   "Houses" were almost all made of sticks, and none had electricity or plumbing.  Most people have to walk up to five miles to collect water and firewood. 

   Much of the farmland was in the mountains, so the residents get lots of exercise.  I estimated only about a tenth of one percent of the people were fat.  In cities I estimated the rate at 15 percent.  I'm thinking maybe we should eliminate all school buses.

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Plowing with a home-made plow
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Threshing wheat (later the entire pile is thrown into the air on a windy day to separate the grain from the straw)
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Harvesting tef, the national staple source of starch
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Carrying wheat to a threshing site
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Hauling hay as Americans did a century ago
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Something to make a fire with for cooking, a daily chore
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Hauling water, often done several times a day from miles away
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A typical house (no wires, no dish, no vehicles--no nothing)
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Wheat harvesting on numerous farms
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Harvesting trees for sale along the road

Epilogue

   Whatever maladies, stress, difficulties, etc. we have--it could always be worse.  And I certainly saw lots worse than most everyone I ever knew experienced while in Ethiopia.  I certainly hope they figure out ways to get out of their grinding poverty.  Just working hard does not get one well-off, as an adequate amount of capital equipment is equally necessary.

   At the end of my visit there, I spent five days touring some very primitive tribes, where the poverty levels were truly close to subsistence levels.  So even in this poor country, it can get worse.  Pictures from there will be in my next post.
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   We all are so blessed to live in a country that has found its way to economic wealth.  We have so little to complain about.  Yet my dear wife, Dorothy, so often complained that she had to wait 20-30 seconds before the kitchen sink provided her hot water.  Perspective, something to think about.

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