Basket weavers inside Addis Ababa’s Addis Mercato, the largest open-air market in all of Africa.
Market day in the town of Konso, named for the Konso ethnic-group who live there. The Konso people are known for their expansive stone terraces used to create terraced agricultural fields, walled towns and settlements, and well established cultural traditions that have lasted over 400 years. Today many villages are recognized as UNESCO World Heritage sites for these reasons.
Members of the Hamar tribe gather on market day in Dimeka.
The local fish market in Hassawa. Fisherman fish right off the shore daily and auction live fish to the highest bidders, who can have their fish filleted on the spot.
Inside the Addis Mercato in Addis Ababa, the largest open-air market in all of Africa.
Inside the Addis Mercato in Addis Ababa, the largest open-air market in all of Africa.
Weighing goats at the livestock market in Dimeka. Goats are priced according to their weight.
Shops on the streets of Addis Ababa.
One the MANY streets selling nothing but plastic recyclables inside the Addis Mercato in Addis Ababa, the largest open-air market in all of Africa.
Shops on the streets of Lalibela.
A member of the Bena (Benna/Bana) tribe on market day in Key Afer.
A convergence of tribes – though primarily Bena (Benna/Bana) – on market day in Key Afer.
A Hamar woman shops for the grains that compromise the Hammer diet (most tribes diets – Sorghum, Millet and Maize) on market day in Dimeka.
A Hamar woman buying beads on market day in Turmi. Her back is covered with scars from being beaten by Maza (initiated Hamar men) during their brothers’ coming of age ceremonies, but also as a way of life. Hamar women bear their scars with pride.
Selling sorghum on market day in Key Afer.
Selling cheese inside Addis Mercato in Addis Ababa, the largest open-air market in all of Africa.
A member of the Hamar tribe at the Dimeka market in Dimeka.
Bena (Benna/Bana) men buy and sell their cattle at the livestock market in Key Afer.
Bena (Benna/Bana) bull jumpers on market day in Key Afer. When it’s time for a boy in the Bena and Hamar tribe to become a man, he must jump over a number of bulls (smeared with dung to make them slippery) without falling. If he is able to do so, he becomes a man and may marry. Recently successful bull jumpers dress up in their best clothes and attend the market where, through an elder, the select the women they want to marry.
Hammer women buying and selling on market day in Dimeka. The woman standing on the right in red had a tiny kitten in her hand. When I went over to say hello and ask if could pet the kitten, the woman told the translator only if I paid her. It was crazy.
