BULL JUMPING CEREMONY

HAMAR TRIBE - ETHIOPIA

- Ilia Chakiashvili

He is a travel photographer from Washington DC. “I love traveling off-beaten path, meeting people, sharing meals with them, and snapping a few photos to capture a glimpse of their culture and everyday life. That’s my passion.”, he emphasized gracefully.

In Tumri, a village in southwestern Ethiopia famous for its open-air market, Ilia Chakiashvili was roaming around to witness a weekly goods exchange market between the Hamar and other neighboring tribes. The vendors began to set up their booths, so he sat in a small coffee shop nearby to enjoy a strong local Ethiopian coffee. After some time, a young man of the Hamar Tribe (Solomon) approached his table with a cup of coffee in hand and asked if he could join him. Solomon told Ilia about a local ceremony called bull-jumping, which would be taking place that evening. He explained that this was a unique rite-of-passage tradition practiced only by the Hamar people. It was the initiation ritual for a boy making the transition to manhood, and it would grant the young man the right to choose a wife and start his own family.