This is Olagidain a man from the mursi tribe. Just like any other ethnic tribe in the lower valley, the men must pass a test before they can get married. A Mursi man is given a stick called a Donga and must face one opponent. The men then battle it out, beating each other with the sticks. During the fight they protect their most vulnerable parts with coarse cotton cloths. The ceremony takes place every year after the harvests (November- January). All the Surmic groups participate in this ritual as another step up the social ladder for their young men. The fight is symbolic; the adversary has to be defeated without being killed. The victorious young man wins special prestige and, above all, attention from the young, single women. If an adversary is killed, there are serious reprisals for the young man and his family. Omo Valley, Southern Ethiopia, 2013.

Two young Suri boys. Southern Ethiopia, 2017.