The Hamer of Ethiopia are known for three reasons. They make beautiful pottery, high quality honey and they flog their women. The women submit to the ritual floggings proudly and love to show the deep scars that are regarded as a proof of devotion to their husbands.

The young girls wear heavy necklaces and metal bracelets, their prized possessions. Pastoral nomads, the Hamer move with their cattle herds as the season change. The forests have long disappeared and the desert is expanding with every passing year. Automatic weapons are now replacing traditional spears. One kalashnikov is worth four cows. More than one million such weapons circulate around Ethiopia. Most of the wild game has already been wiped out. For the Hamer, it looks bleak...