(birds chirping) (tranquil music)
- [Mike] Welcome to the Omo Valley in Ethiopia.
Home to some of the most unique tribes in Africa,
some of which, we've met already.
In this video, we visit the Karo Tribe.
There are only 1000 left.
They're famous for the elaborate paints
they use on their skin.
Something, they continue to do today.
But, before we arrive, we find something, we didn't expect.
Kids on stilts.
They're from a neighboring tribe called the Banna.
(children speaking in native language)
They use these stilts,
to get a better view of their cattle, when they're grazing.
How cool is that?
Right?
(car engine revving) Continuing the journey,
we arrive at the Karo village,
and go say hi. (door closes)
(all speaking in native language)
I'm here again with Ben.
- You're already making me look pretty, Mike.
(Mike laughs)
- [Mike] Gumbo. This is the most beautiful,
I've ever seen you right now.
- We're currently in lower Omo Valley.
- [Mike] Nice to meet you, (speaks native language).
This is nice. We meet our guide, Lakoya,
who will be showing us around today.
He's a fearsome man.
I've got some questions about the incredible paint
they use on their skin.
I'm told he can show us how it works.
So we follow.
I don't wanna stand in front of that rifle.
It's like a World War Two rifle.
(Lakoya speaks in native language)
- [Mike] Where are we going?
(Lakoya speaks in native language)
- [Mike] Oh with the piercings,
or there used to be piercings.
Lakoya shows me his ears,
which get cut into designs at marriage.
They scar that way.
These, uh...
(Lakoya speaks native language)
it's always kind of funny.
These cultural exchanges because,
(Man from Karo Tribe speaking in native language)
- [Mike ] These things they're carrying,
are wooden pillows.
Yeah, you heard me right.
They also use them as chairs.
Everyone carries them, but more on those in a second.
(all chuckling)
We don't speak the same language.
- So here in this...
- Oh, you speak English?
- Yeah! Small...
- Small English. I'll take it.
- He is married, but I'm not married.
You see the ear of the Karo.
- [Mike] Ooh. - The married do...
the married do the healed cuts.
- [Mike] So the ears is when married?
- So yes he is married.
- [Mike] And this is for football, right?
- [Koronfo] Yeah.
- [Mike] Like this.
(makes whooshing noise) (wind blowing)
What is your name?
- Koronfo.
- [Mike] Koronfo? - Yes.
- [Mike] Mike. Nice to meet you Koronfo.
- Nice to meet you. (Mike chuckles)
- [Mike] Koronfo.
(Agumo speaking native language)
- [Mike ] This is Agumo with the spirals and the smile.
(Agumo exclaims)
And I guess we go inside, Ben.
- Let's go, baby.
- [Mike] (chuckles) Let's do it, man.
(people in the background chattering)
And here we go.
Hello.
- [In Unison] Hello.
- How are you?
- I'm good, man.
(Mike groans)
Look, we got cow skin on the floor.
We got some Calabash gourds up here,
used as pots and storage.
Lakoya, can we see the clay this?
Is it here?
(speaking in native language)
- [Mike] Oh, it's here. It's in
one of the Calabash gourds.
A Calabash is like a pumpkin shell.
They make great bowls, don't they?
It's like sand.
Oh, it's strange.
It feels like cream.
Like...
- [Lakoya] Soil.
- [Mike ] Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I guess I thought of, like clay is much harder,
this is like very soft almost like face cream,
like you'd buy, like in a pharmacy.
Koronfo begins to apply the paint
and I'm not quite sure what it is.
It feels a bit like clay, but not quite.
I ask about the designs.
They're inspired by nature.
The plumage of a bird, the stripes on an animal.
Basically the whole body is covered.
(upbeat music)
Scars.
Ink.
Paint.
Cloth.
We all cover our bodies in something.
To express ourselves, to look good, to find a partner,
to show status, show our worth.
We may be far away from home,
but don't act like we don't do the same.
Then the guys offer some to me.
Sure.
Let's get fancy.
(upbeat music continues)
The Karo used to be pastoralists,
meaning they made their livelihood from grazing cattle,
like the Mursi or the Maasai.
But, due to disease and an ever worsening drought,
they had to abandon their livestock and turn to farming.
But while life has changed,
they still maintain their most iconic practice,
of painting their bodies and faces.
It is hot in this hut and I have not yet seen myself.
The grand reveal...
(calm music) (background chatter)
I'm covered in dots, man.
I love it.
It's beautiful.
- [Koronfo] Yeah (chuckles)
Do you remember what thank you is?
- [Koronfo] Bario ko'ome.
- [Mike ] Bario ko'ome?
- Yeah, Bario ko'ome.
- [Mike ] Bario ko'ome, my friend, Koronfo.
Bario ko'ome Muni.
- Bario ko'ome. - Bario ko'ome.
- Bario ko'ome. - [Koronfo] Thank you.
- Bario ko'ome. Bario ko'ome. There we go.
Now I think it's time for some lunch.
(chuckles)
Looks like I have chickenpox, a little bit.
But, it's for beauty, right?
How do I look, good?
- Yeah. - Yeah?
He says good, kinda (chuckles).
We're off to see some of the cooking.
So we saw the actual Sorgum being ground by the women
and someone actually is cooking it right now
that we can go apparently try, it's about lunchtime.
I think we're all a little bit hungry.
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Look at this.
Oh, shoes, shoes outside, yeah?
Shoes outside.
(both chuckle)
Amazing.
This is Lugo, or...
- Beautiful Lugo.
- [Mike] Beautiful Lugo lives here with her husband.
And that piercing is a nail.
It was her daughter Muni who helped me paint my face.
(Mike chuckles)
Home sweet home.
She's making a Sorgum porridge,
which was ground by hand using stones.
Corn porridge is common across Africa.
And we've seen it many times, with the Himba.
Okay much better, much better.
(Mike chuckles)
And the Hadza.
(Hadza people speaking native language)
- [Mike] Sorgum is used here instead of corn
because it needs less water to grow.
(Calabash pot knocking)
We change some camera settings around as it cooks,
and then we relax.
But to relax in the Omo Valley,
you need a special tool.
Since, I gotta be all modern and shit,
let me show you the TikTok I made.
Yeah, I'm on TikTok. I know.
This is a Karo pillow.
Let me show you how it works.
It's a wooden pillow.
Yeah, that's right.
So firstly, it's got a portable handle.
Secondly, you can use it as a stool.
Check it out.
But also, like I said, it's a pillow
and you can have a nice restful night just like this.
How does it look? Comfortable? Yeah?
The most important thing?
You can hear the lions or hyenas eating your cattle.
Second thing, no bugs get in your ears.
Also very important.
So I'm gonna take a little nap.
What do you think? Looks comfy?
Let me know in the comments. (Mike chuckles)
Gotta say, not super comfortable,
(chuckles) honestly.
Lunch was taking a little longer than expected.
So I asked if we could go down to the riverbank,
to show you something important.
This is what I wanted to show you.
The Omo River, the star of the Omo Valley.
And as you can tell, it's a little low.
There's a reason why it's low
and we're gonna go on a little boat ride
and talk about it.
All right, Gumbo, see you in a bit?
- Yeah, see you in a bit, man.
Have fun.
- [Mike] (chuckles) I always do.
Okay.
(upbeat instrumental African music)
(Men speaking in native language)
- [Mike] Agumo pushes us along
and Lakoya tries on Ben's sunglasses.
Looking good, man.
Super cool (chuckles).
- Okay. - [Mike ] Okay.
(speaks in native language).
- [Mike] (chuckles) Ka-Karo.
- Okay. (Mike Chuckles)
(Lakoya speaking in native language)
Lamb. - [Mike ] These are,
- Yeah, lamb. - [Mike] Cow.
- Cow. - [Mike ] Cow. Yeah, cow.
Lamb was the other ones.
- Karo Waki. - [Mike] Waki.
- Karo.
Ka-karo Waki. - [Mike] Karo waki.
- Waki.
- [Mike] Like Karo cows, maybe?
- Ah, Karo Waki.
Okay.
- All right, here's the deal.
(Mike sighs)
The Omo is obviously very important and
the water that goes through it,
supports many of the tribes that live in the valley.
There has been three dams built on the Gibe River
that flows into the Omo, and these are the effects.
The water levels drop, maybe, what is that?
8 or 10 meters.
And that causes a lot of problems here for the tribes.
As you can tell the land erodes into the river,
as well as to get water,
it's much, much much more difficult to do that.
(fast paced music) While hydroelectric power
is a solution for some problems in Ethiopia,
it's causing many as well, especially for the people
that call this valley home.
Some fear that these tribes won't be around for much longer.
It's sad to think,
that soon,
this could all be gone.
Lakoya runs up the riverbank.
He wants to show me something.
I got it.
So look at this.
This is what the Karo use to paint themselves.
Lakoya, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Look at this.
It's chalk.
(Lakoya speaking native language)
- And it breaks.
Let's get in the sun, man.
It breaks, look at that.
Just like powder.
It looks like it'd be a rock
but it's brittle like the sidewalk chalk.
(Mike chuckles) - Okay.
- And they take it from the river up to the village
and use it for paint.
Just like that (chuckles).
- Okay, yeah. - Awesome, man.
We head back to the village.
Lunch is ready.
Sorgum porridge is finished.
Look at that.
I don't think I've had Sorgum before, honestly.
Let's give it a shot.
This here?
(men agree)
It's almost like, the consistency of, uh...
you took like whole wheat bread
and you balled it up with your hands
and made kind of like little, balls like this.
Kinda tastes like that.
Oh, there you go.
You make a little "wee wee."
(all laugh)
Like this right?
(Man agrees) Uh huh.
(all laugh)
You make a little "wee wee". - Yeah.
- And then what?
We eat? - Yeah.
- 3, 2, 1.
Mm. (Men chuckle)
That's it.
This plant is the one that we saw with the Mursi.
- Come on.
- [Mike] Where are we going?
- Let's go.
- But in the Omo Valley
Sorgum is one of the most important foods,
full of nutrients and especially now
since a lot of these tribes can't carry cattle,
can't care for cattle because it's harder,
this shit saves lives.
And it's not bad either.
Hello, what is your name?
(child coughs)
Mike. - Mike.
- You? - Zeri.
- [Mike] Zeri.
Your name? - Muni.
- [Mike] Mora?
- Muni. - Muni.
- [Mike] Muni!
Muni, Zeri...
- Zobo. - Zobo.
- [Mike] Muni, Zeri
- Zobo. - Zobo.
- [Mike] Zobo.
(chuckles) Look at your smile, Zobo.
And me?
- Mike.
- Mike, there we go, you got it (mimics explosive)
(all laugh)
Hey (chuckles).
Wow.
You know it's hot when,
even the goats are using your Jeep as sun protection.
Hey, buddy.
Sorry (chuckles).
Sorry for the disruption.
(young girl speaking native language)
- Hello.
- Koronfo was really interested in how the camera worked.
So, I gave him and his friend the Go Pros, to go make
a vlog of their own. Go have some fun,
make a movie.
- Okay. (Mike chuckles)
(wind blowing) (people chattering)
See this storage.
Sorgum inside.
You know.
Sometime the women, they take this.
- [Mike] Then it seems like one of my cameramen,
catches the giggles. (Koronfo's friend giggles)
- [Koronfo] This is the Karo village.
The village name Skotcho.
(Koronfo's friend giggles)
You see?
This is very far.
This is from Turkish cotton farming.
- [Mike] Cotton requires a lot of water to grow
and is one of the foreign developments
contributing to the lack of water in the area.
- [Koronfo] This is a normal me house.
Sometime the people, they...
- [Karo Woman] (mocking tone) yeah, yeah, yeah.
(Koronfo and his friend giggle)
- [Karo Woman] (mocking tone) yeah, yeah, yeah.
(people speaking native language)
- [Koronfo] This is the kitchen.
The design shares sometimes the woman cook inside.
(Koronfo's friend giggles)
Okay, you see?
This is the Calabash.
Normally it's the
Bull jumping try we do painting.
- [Mike] The bull jumping rite of passage he's talking about
is common for boys in the Omo Valley.
Where they run across the backs of live bulls
to prove they're a man.
- [Koronfo] This is the boss for this village.
The Elder is 50 years old.
For this village, this guy is the chief.
This is normally the coffee from Ethiopia drinking ceremony.
The sugar is put inside and then you drink.
(all laughing)
(speaks native language)
- Yeah.
- Bye bye.
(people speaking native language)
- Hey, amazing, thank you so much man, thank you.
Hey (laughs)
All right (chuckles).
(wind blowing)
And that is the Karo tribe in Ethiopia.
Up front, we got my man Gumbo.
- Yeah.
- Sexy face paint.
- I know, right?
(both laugh)
- In the back we got Ben.
- Hello, hello.
(both chuckle)
- Gumbo makes these trips happen.
Contact him if you want to come to Africa.
Ben, did you see the shit that Ben shot today?
It was delicious.
- Yeah, baby. (Mike chuckles)
- We had a great time.
Thank you guys for watching.
Like, subscribe, hit that little bell.
Ding (bell ding)
and I'll see you in the next video here in Ethiopia
on Fearless and Far.
(upbeat outro music)