The Afar
‘The Danakil invariably castrated any man or boy whom they killed or wounded, removing both the penis and the scrotum. An obvious trophy, it afforded irrefutable proof that the victim was male…’

Sir Wilfred Thesiger, The Life of My Choice

Fuelled by early accounts from European travellers and explorers, the Afar have gained an almost legendary reputation for ferocity. And, as they are one of the few tribes capable of surviving the harsh conditions of northeastern Ethiopia, perhaps that aura of myth is deserved.

On your journey north, look out for Afar men striding along in simple cotton shirits (sarongs), with their famous jile (curved knives), water-filled gourds hanging at their side and a rifle slung casually across a shoulder. Even today many Afars still lead a nomadic existence and when the herds are moved in search of new pasture, the huts in which the Afars live are simply packed onto the backs of camels and carted away. In the relatively fertile plains around the Awash River, some Afars have turned to cultivation, growing cotton and maize. Inter-clan rivalry is still alive and conflicts occasionally break out.