Ethiopia: Southern Nations – Konso People
Konso villages occupy mountain and hill tops and are traditionally heavily fortified. Mountains present plenty of building materials so the villages have several concentric stone walls, often 3m/10ft high. On top of this, each house is fenced off with wooden fences. Inside, stand one or several comical houses with an upside down pot on top. Konso people have developed deep agricultural skills in cultivating the inhospitable land Around then – corn and sorghum are main crops, while coffee is a cash crop. There is no abusive pay-per-picture here – people are happy and friendly and excited to meet you and very glad if they or their daily life is captured on camera. Konso are somewhat Christian but the society has many intricate rules and traditions – like embalming their dead, and erecting wooden totem-like monuments called “waga”. Multiple wifes are allowed as long as you have enough cows. Newlyweds get sequestered for a month in a house and stay there on milk and honey and sex for the whole time after wedding. When they come out, the wife is expected to gain a lot of weight, which would indicate the husband is a good man.
