[The Guardian] ‘The Robert de Niros of Metehara’: Joey L’s best photographs

‘The Robert de Niros of Metehara’: Joey L’s best photographs

‘These Ethiopian camel-traders are wearing their hair in a way that shows they are traditional “deep countryside” men. It’s a beautiful style, hand-groomed with clarified butter, but it’s disappearing’

Everyone in Ethiopia knows this hairstyle because it’s very specific to the Karrayyu people. They style their hair to invoke the shape of the sycamore tree, which is a sacred meeting place for the community. On market day, when they’re trading camels and get the opportunity to interact with women, all the guys pay very special attention to the hairstyle, spending a lot of time styling it.

The Karrayyu are a clan within the Oromo tribe, which is the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia. They live in the Awash Valley area of central Ethiopia. Almost every single person in Ethiopia recognises the Karrayyu. But the reality is that this hairstyle is disappearing in the countryside. It’s something the older generations do; it’s especially hard to find younger men with it.

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Source: ‘The Robert de Niros of Metehara’: Joey L’s best photographs

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