The Bodi Tribe
Ethiopia’s population is highly diverse, embracing more than 104 ethnic groups and sub-groups, with a total of over 107 million people, according to the 2017 census.
While there are ethnicities with millions of individuals (i. e. the Oromo group is the most populous with more than 35 million people), there are ethnic minorities with members oscillating within the tens of thousands or less. The Bodi Tribe with 11.000 members belongs to one of those ethnic minorities.
The Bodi, along with the Daasanach (73.000), Kara (2.200), Kwegu (3.000), Mursi (11.000) and Nyangaton (39.000) dwell along the Omo River. One of the most interesting rituals of the Bodi tribe is the Ka’el ceremony, the Holiday of the Fat Man. For Bodi men, being fat is the ulterior sign of beauty and a reason to be considered a hero by the rest of the tribe. Needless to point out that the “fattest man” will also have far better opportunities of prouring a bride.
In the traditional Bodi calendar, the year starts in June*, and during the new year’s celebrations the Ka’el tradition is observed. The ceremony measures the body fat of the competing male participants.
The contest begins six months before the ceremony. Every family is allowed to
present an unmarried man for the challenge, who, after being chosen, retires to his hut and must not move or have sex during that entire time. For achieving rapid fattening the men drink daily various liters of a mixture of fresh cow blood and milk, served to them by the women of the village.The mixture has to be guzzled up quickly before it coagulates. After six months, the contestants emerge to compete in the Ka’el ceremony, for a winner to be chosen
On the day of the celebration, the contenders cover their bodies in a mixture of white clay and ash and wear beautifully worked headdresses, made from cowrie shells, beads and feathers. Once the men are ready to go, they walk to the sacred tree where the ceremony takes place – a challenge for them because of their weight.
The ceremony itself involves spending hours walking in a circle around a sacred tree, watched by the other men and helped by the women who provide the fat men with drinks of water and fortifying alcohol.
After the ceremony, the men’s lives return to normal and most loose their enormous bellies after a few weeks of eating sparingly. But a few weeks later, the next generation of competitive fat Bodi men will be chosen and the cycle will begin again.
* Please check the exact date with me before arranging for your trip.
Information taken from sarosuri.com, 2019, https://www.dailymail.co.uk, 2013, photos by Eric Lafforgue