The Arbore, also known as Erbore or Ulde, is an ethnic group living in southern Ethiopia, near Lake Chew Bahir. They are from the Omotic language family and have ancestral links to the Konso People. With a total population of 6850, the Abore population is divided into just four villages. They live in hot and flat areas and are mainly cattlemen. Like for the majority of other tribes of the Omo Valley, cows, goats and sheep are the main source of existence and value for Arbore. Woyto River, which is a natural border of the tribal areas, helps in agriculture and is the main source of water. Their name literally means: land of the bulls (Ar means bull and bore means land).
The Arbore women are absolutely stunning, with extremely dark skin and strong features. Arbore women wear very colorful accessories, beaded earrings, necklaces and bracelets are a characteristic of this population who believes that ornaments are fundamental to be more attractive, even leather skirts are adorned with bead and metal ornaments. They also wear beaded leather skirts. Unique beads are one of the main distinguishing features of Arbore and it is easy to distinguish them from other tribes.
Unmarried girls completely shave their hair, this is a symbol of virginity, and they cover their heads with a piece of black cloth to protect themselves from the sun, while married women braid their hair in short braids; finally, the men of the tribe wrap their heads with a piece of white cloth. The children are also shaved. On special occasions the Arbore practice body painting that is performed using natural colors made with earth and ground stones, while scarification is not practiced by all members of the tribe, only some people have scarifications on their chest and abdomen.
The rituals associated with marriage are extremely important for the Arbore. As soon as the boy reaches marriage age, his father chooses a bride for him and four village elders are sent by the parents of the chosen one, bringing the fat of a specially slaughtered sheep. If the gift is accepted, the bride’s parents rub the fat on their shoulders and the family fixes the wedding date. On the wedding day both families prepare four sheep’s to be sacrificed for a rich meal and the next morning the bride is circumcised and taken to her husband’s house where a special dish is prepared for the bride and groom: the lamb’s tail, that they eat together, then their wrists are tied together with a piece of skin as a sign of strong union.
Unlike the neighboring ethnic groups, who build round huts, the Arbore build their huts with a slightly oval shape and are characterized by a very low and small entrance and are very dark inside. The Arbore tribe has practically no conflict with neighbors, largely due to their spiritual power that means that no other tribe in the Omo Valley is brave enough to attack them or their livestock, partly because of sharing of natural resources, intertribal marriages and the knowledge of multiple languages that allows them to dialogue and deal with other tribes.
