Hamar people
 |
| Total population |
|---|
| 42,838 |
| Regions with significant populations |
| southwestern Ethiopia |
| Languages |
The Hamar (also spelled Hamer) are an Omotic community inhabiting southwestern Ethiopia. They live in Hamer woreda (or district), a fertile part of the Omo River valley, in the Debub Omo Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region (SNNPR). They are largely pastoralists, so their culture places a high value on cattle.
The Assistant Administrator of Hamer Bena, Ato Imnet Gashab, has commented that only six tribal members have ever completed secondary education.
Contents |
[edit] Demographics
The 2007 national census reported 46,532 people in this ethnic group, of whom 957 were urban inhabitants. The vast majority (99.13%) live in the SNNPR.[1]
According to the Ethiopian national census of 1994, there were 42,838 Hamer language speakers, and 42,448 self-identified Hamer people, representing approximately 0.1% of the total Ethiopian population.[2]
[edit] Mingi
Another pre-Islamic concept is mingi, a term meaning the state of being impure or "ritually polluted"[3] A person, often a child, who was considered mingi was killed by forced permanent separation from the tribe by being left alone in the jungle or by drowning in the river.[4]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ 2007 Ethiopian census, first draft, Ethiopian Central Statistical Agency (accessed 6 May 2009)
- ^ Hudson, Grover. 75 Ethiopian Languages: 19 Cushitic, 20 Nilosaharan, 23 Omotic, 12 Semitic, and 1 Unclassified, 2005.
- ^ Do the Hamar have a Concept of Honor?, Ivo Strecker, University of Mainz, http://www.uni-mainz.de/Organisationen/SORC/fileadmin/texts/Do%20the%20Hamar%20have%20a%20Concept%20of%20Honor.pdf
- ^ The Hamar and Karo Tribes: The Search for Mingi http://ffh.films.com/id/1572/The_Hamar_and_Karo_Tribes_The_Search_for_Mingi.htm
[edit] Further reading
- Lydall, Jean, and Ivo Strecker (1979). The Hamar of Southern Ethiopia. In three volumes: v. 1.: Work journal; v. 2: Baldambe explains; v. 3: Conversations in Dambaiti. Arbeiten aus dem Institut fur Volkerkunde der Universitat zu Göttingen, Bd. 12-14. Hohenschaftlarn: Klaus Renner Verlag. ISBN 3-87673-063-5 (v. 1); ISBN 3-87673-064-3 (v. 2); ISBN 3-87673-065-1 (v. 3).
- Giansanti, Gianni (2004). Vanishing Africa. Text and photographs by Gianni Giansanti; ethnographic introductions by Paolo Novaresio. Translated from Italian. With audio CD. Vercelli, Italy: White Star. ISBN 88-544-0006-8.
- Strecker, Ivo A. (1988). The Social Practice of Symbolization: An Anthropological Analysis. Monographs on Social Anthropology, no. 60. London; Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey: Athlone Press. ISBN 0-485-19557-7.
[edit] Films
- 1973 - Rivers of Sand by Robert Gardner color, 83 min
- 1994 - Sweet Sorghum: An Ethnographer's Daughter Remembers Life in Hamar, Southern Ethiopia: a film by Ivo Strecker and Jean Lydall and their daughter Kaira Strecker. A production of IWF. Watertown, Massachusetts: Documentary Educational Resources, [released c. 1997]. VHS. Presenter/narrator, Kaira Strecker; producer, Rolf Husmann.
- 1996 release - "The Hamar Trilogy." A series of three films by Joanna Head and Jean Lydell; distributed by Filmakers Library, NYC. Titles in the series are: The Women Who Smile, Two Girls Go Hunting and Our Way of Loving.
- 2001 - Duka's Dilemma: A Visit to Hamar, Southern Ethiopia. A film by Jean Lydall and Kaira Strecker. Watertown, Massachusetts: Documentary Educational Resources, released in 2004. DVD. Camera, sound, and editing, Kaira Strecker; anthropology and production, Jean Lydall.
- 2001 - The Last Warriors: The Hamar and Karo Tribes: Searching for Mingi. A Trans Media production; Southern Star. Princeton, New Jersey: Films for the Humanities & Sciences. VHS. From The Last Warriors: Seven Tribes on the Verge of Extinction. Series producer/executive producer, Michael Willesee, Jr.; writer/director, Ben Ulm. ISBN 0-7365-3606-X.
[edit] Discography
- 2003 - Nyabole: Hamar – Southern Ethiopia. CD. Museum collection Berlin series. Recorded between 1970 and 1976 and originally published on LP 1978. Mainz, Germany: Wergo.
