I arrived in a village of the Arbore tribe on the last day of a big wedding celebration.
The Arbore, which translates as land of the bull,
is said to have some of the most beautiful girls in all of Omo V alley.
The Arbore are also known for their unique homes which are made out of papyrus,
which is a strong reed grown in nearby lakes.
It's the same plant used by the Egyptians for paper during ancient times.
I'm going to take you inside and show you around the home of a woman named, Hagaya.
I'm inside one of the huts of the Arbore.
I'm inside the "bara" now, which is the area that people can get shade and relief from
the hot sun outside.
And behind me is the "min", which is the home area
where they sleep and...
The main area. The kitchen? The kitchen's in there?
Yeah.
The main kitchen is in there, and then another kitchen is back here.
So i'll show you guys around.
"karmo"
This is really nice... and this is made out of wood and...?
"Kumgratee"
Kumgratee
You don't have husband?
No
(Laughing)
Noo
Why?
I swear I get asked the same question in every village I go to!
Oh my gosh!
oh then the sorghum, that's right! yeahh.
They store the sorghum and maize in their homes
to dry, and will eventually cook it
and turn it into a porridge, or make it into beer.
Children sleep here, in the kitchen -
like in this area? Okay.
okay
For the owners of the house.
Only for the owners, nobody else.
This is so nice.
"Forenji" is a word commonly used throughout Ethiopia,
and it basically means "foreigner".
mama
Come?
It's finally time for the celebration
The most important part of an Arbore wedding is the dancing party.
This is the first out of three dances that will be taking place .
This one is right next to the family of the bride and involves many of her relatives.
and then suddenly I get pulled in to dance.
After I was finished with one man, another one jumped in.
Everyone thought it was funny and said I was very strong for dancing for so long.
I really don't think I had much of a choice.
I'm at the wedding ceremony.
They're dancing behind me...
and, uh, I just got done dancing,
I'm completely out of breath,
but uh this dancing group is
for the people who are married and the elders.
And then there's another one back here, somewhere,
that I'll be going to that um
It's for the young people.
So we're going back to them; going over there.
The ceremony will last--
the dancing will last a couple of hours,
So I feel very very lucky to be here, and be experiencing it.
There are some distinctions between married and unmarried girls.
Single, young, unmarried girls wear metal anklets,
beaded armbands, and have shaved heads.
Once a girl becomes a married woman, the jewelry and hairstyles change.
Once married, the armband switches to metal,
the anklets are removed,
and her hair is grown out into a short braided style.
This is the main dancing ceremony where the bride and groom are joined
by their friends, and they all dance together.
It's basically like a party!
In general, Arbore men and women are attracted to the way each other dance,
and oftentimes find their future companions at a wedding
or other dancing celebration.
Nowadays an Arbore man gets to choose his own wife...
a little different from the other Ethiopian tribes,
where marriages are usually arranged by the families.
Once a wife is picked and both families have agreed,
a payment--otherwise known as a dowry--
is paid to the girl's family by the future husband's family,
in the form of cows and goats.
After a couple hours of dancing, the elders end up breaking up the wedding party so that
everyone can get back to the daily duties
of fetching water and wood, and tending to the cattle.
Now they are preparing a fire for the final tradition of the wedding ceremony:
the slaughtering of some of the family's prized cows and goats
for a feast for all of the guests.
Meanwhile, the older relatives are having their own dancing fun.
We all have so much in common, no matter where in the world we are from.
We all laugh; we all love; and we all celebrate.
One world, one human race.
Discover, Love, Embrace