Wedding Necklace and Collars – Hamar Tribe – Omo Valley, Southern Ethiopia

Leather, aluminium, cowry shells, glass beads, engraved iron. The leather necklace is cm. 26 high. The diameter of the two iron necklaces is approx. cm. 15,5. The Hamar, principally pastoralists, are the most readily identifiable of all the peoples of the South Omo. Women wear an elaborately decorated goatskin, often colored with beads and cowries. Beaded necklaces, bracelets and waistbands adorn their bodies, which, for the Hamar, tend to be made with black, yellow and red beads (the Banna, their close neighbors, mostly use blue and black beads). Women wear thick necklace announcing their marital status. They wear a leather long tipped necklace and two iron necklaces if they are the first wife and only two iron necklaces if they are second, third or fourth wife to one man. Piece directly collected in Omo Valley. Sold