Ethiopia: Southern Nations – Bulljumping Ceremony of the Hamar People
The Bulljumping ceremony (Ukuli Bula) is a ritualistic tradition of Hamar people when young men come into manhood. Several big bulls are held together and the man jumps up on their backs and runs on them across and then back several times. If he manages to stay on top without falling, he is considered a man and can get married (potentially to multiple 14-15 year old Hamar women). If he fails, he may get cast out from the tribe’s village. The ceremony begins with a lot of drinking of local maze brew and then dancing by women in circles, before the bulls are brought together and the actual jumping (a rather short event in itself) happens at the end of the day.
