The continent of Africa comprises a total of 54 countries and more than 1.3 billion people. Also, there are more than 3,000 African tribes. One thing you will discover during your visit is that tribal influences are a dominant force in some regions across the continent.
In the past, entries in this category were dominated by three traditional cultural groups: the Himba from Namibia, the Maasai from Kenya and northern Tanzania, and the small Karo tribe from the Omo Valley in Ethiopia.
Individuals who identify as Yoruba make up approximately 15% of Nigeria’s population, making them the country’s second-largest ethnic group. With a deep, longstanding cultural heritage, the rich history of the Yoruba tribe traces back to the old Oyo Empire.
The Hausa are Nigeria’s most populous ethnic group and one of the largest African tribes. This ethnic group accounts for approximately 30% of the population in the country. The Hausa tribe is well-known for its agricultural practices, trade, and centuries-old city-states.
The Karo, also known as Kara are a small tribe with an estimated population between 1,000 and 3,000. They are closely related to the Kwegu tribe. They are surrounded by relatively wealthy and strong groups, in terms of cattle and population size.
Read also: Karo Artistic Expressions
The Karo live south of the Mursi on the left bank of the Omo River. 'Little Karo Bandit' The Karo tribe lives at the lower Omo River, at Oromia South Ethiopia. This boy came from out of the bushes. You can see the brown river in the background. Portrait of a Karo boy. Omo Valley, Ethiopia. Portrait of a Karo child with the Omo River in the background. Sefi belongs to the Karo tribe in southern Ethiopia.
The Karo are undeniably artistic by nature. Like many of the other tribes in the Omo, the Karo paint their bodies and faces with white chalk. The chalk is mixed with yellow rock, red iron ore and charcoal to create the colour. They are masters of body and face painting. They use white chalk, charcoal, yellow, ocher and red earth.
The Karo tribe is known for their expertise in body paint, facemasks, hair, etc. Tribe members are known to paint their bodies with a combination of white chalk, yellow, mineral rock, iron ore, and charcoal. This is an elaborate process, which ranges from fine and elaborate details to rough, but striking paintings traced with the palms or fingers. The most beautiful expression is in the facial and chest paintings that combine white (chalk), black (charcoal), yellow, ochre, and red earth.
Their language, which is Karo, is related with the Hamer-Banna and has 81% lexical similarity.
Lifestyle and Subsistence
They subsist through farming. The main subsistence crops of the Karo are sorghum ,maize and beans .They are also supplemented by bee-keeping and more recently fishing. They use the hoe to cultivate the land and rely on the Omo River for water.
Read also: "Sabi" Meaning Explained
They have a ceremony of jumping over lined cattle, similar to that of the Hamer.
Africa’s Bull Jumping Ritual of the Hamar Tribe in Ethiopia.
At the end of the harvest and at times of initiation and marriage, the Karo come together to enjoy dances. These dances often lead to marriage after the initiate has successfully accomplished. They gather on the flat land outside Duss Village and dance with the men on one side and the women on the other at the beginning of a ceremony that will go on for many months.
The Karo have Muldas- kind of gate having "Y" shaped wooden posts up on which are placed horizontal wooden pars.
The most identifiable feature of the Himba tribe is the bright red coloring of their skin. Himba people rub their skin with red ochre to achieve this look. The population of the Himba tribe is estimated between 20,000 and 50,000 people. Women tend to perform more labor-intensive work than men do such as carrying water to the village, building homes, and milking cows.
The Maasai are a Nilotic ethnic group inhabiting northern, central, and southern Kenya and northern Tanzania. It is estimated that 1 million Maasai people live in Kenya and Tanzania. The tribe is nomadic in nature, choosing to stay in smaller homesteads. They build their way of life around their cattle which they insist are a gift from their god Ngai.
Read also: Understanding Nigerian Slang: Idan
The Samburu tribe is another ethnic group that resides in northern Kenya and is closely related to the Maasai people. This tribe is known for its expertise in animal husbandry and its ability to adapt to the semi-arid environment of the region. They also have strong communal and kinship ties, a patriarchal social structure, and distinctive clothing and adornments.
Beliefs and Traditions
They are followers of ethnic religion but there are also a large number of Christians among them.
But what all Karo women (and men) share in common are scars. Dozens of scars line their stomach and chest - for men, it’s the chest only. When Karo daughters are young, their grandmothers and mothers cut their stomachs with a knife. Then, ash is rubbed into the wound in order to irritate it. Why do they do it?
Karo woman scarify their chests to beautify themselves .For the women of the Karo tribe in southern Ethiopia, beauty is literally skin deep. During childhood, girls allow their elders to cut scars onto their stomach. Men cut their chests and leave scars in order to represent a slain enemy from a rival tribe or a dangerous animal that was killed. The complete scarification of a man's chest indicates that he has killed an enemy or a dangerous animal.
The wearing of a grey and ochre clay hair bun also indicates the killing of an enemy or a dangerous animal.
Karos practice ritualized infanticide or Mingi (killing by putting dirt in their newborn children's mouths and leaving them to die). Infants conceived out of wedlock are abandoned in an isolated places.
Outa Vri is a warrior of high status, having assisted in a raid upon the Daasanach for killing a friend's family member. He shows his status with a clay headpiece with ostrich feather, and will eventually obtain scarification across his chest. The number of earrings worn in one ear indicate his number of wives.
The Oromo people are the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia, with a population of 35-40 million people. They speak the Oromo language, which is one of the most widely spoken indigenous languages in Africa. With a diverse and multifaceted culture, Oromo people have a strong oral tradition and the Gadaa system as a social, political, and economic system.
There are an estimated 100,000 members of the PSan people, who are also known as the oldest hunter-gatherer population in southern Africa. The San are the oldest inhabitants of Southern Africa, where they have lived for at least 20,000 years.
The Karo Community in South Sudan
Karo is a group of Nilotic tribes that straddles the Nile in the Republic of South Sudan and is predominantly found in Central Equatoria State, and as far South as Uganda and South-West as Democratic Republic of the Congo. Karo comprises Yangwara, Bari, Pojulu, Kuku (or BaKuku in Uganda), Mundari and Kakwa.
C. G. Seligman, a British ethnologist, whose first contact with Karo was likely with the Bari during British colonial rule in Sudan, has erroneously called them Bari-speakers. Seligman categorised the six ethnic groups as “Bari Speakers” for research purposes as he did so for “Dinka Speakers, Nuer Speakers, Lou Speakers, Moru Speakers and the Azande Speakers. These other groups however, have not adopted the categorization coined by G. Seligman for ethnic identification.
The term “Bari-speakers” is not considered representative of the six ethic groups that occupy the present Central Equatoria Region of Sudan. “Bari Speakers” linguistically connotes speaking of the Bari dialect without being part of the Bari ethnic group. This categorization has tended to alienate people in the Yangwara, Pojulu, Kuku, Kakwa and Mundari communities.
It was not until July 1986 that a young junior officer of the rank of lieutenant in the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army, by name of Lemi Logwonga Lomuro, discovered for himself that the categorization of people as speakers of a language was not only limited to the “Bari Speakers” in the Central Equatoria Region of Sudan.
Lt Logwonga realised that his comrades in the SPLM/SPLA from other groups, including the Moru, Nuer, Dinka and the Lou speak different dialects, yet they are not described as “Speakers” of one of those dialects. The Dinka for example, speak more than seven dialects and are only known as “Dinka or Jieng”, not Dinka speakers.
This discovery triggered Lt Logwonga to consult with some of his fellow members of various communities from Central Equatoria in the SPLM/SPLA to promote a common identity for the six groups comprising the Bari, Pojulu, Kuku, Yangwara, Kakwa and Mundari.
Initial consultations took place in Bongo SPLA Military Training Centre where pioneers endorsed the concept of ‘KARO COMMUNITY’ to unite the people of Central Equatoria, and encouraged Lt Logwonga to continue to pursue such a noble idea. Among those who took interest in the endeavour were 1st Lt. Martin Kenyi Ladu Bara, 1st Lt. Gwido Mori, Lt. Moses Lubari, Lt. Michael Yokwe Soro, Lt. Moses Arapa Lo-Gune, and Lt. Augustino Luwate.
The pioneers advocated for an all-inclusive “Karo Community” of people. This idea was to gain ground when in December 2000, General Logwonga introduced the Karo project to Dr. Luka Monoja Tombekana, to solicit for his support in London. Dr Monoja wholeheartedly blessed the initiative and pledged to contribute to its advancement.
“Karo” means “relative” and it appeals to the relatedness of the Karo people. Indeed, there is a broad base movement within Karo to redefine the whole tribal affiliation and groups as Woti Karo or Karo people.
Needs of the Karo People
The Karo people need clean water.
Scripture Prayers for the Karo in Ethiopia.
Popular articles:
tags: #Nigeria
