Hamar people (also spelled Hamer) are a community inhabiting southwestern Ethiopia. They live in Hamer woreda (or district), a fertile part of the Omo River valley, in the Debub Omo Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region (SNNPR). They are largely pastoralists, so their culture places a high value on cattle.
Ukuli Bula- the bull jumping ceremony in which a Hamar boy becomes a man.
The Hamar are known for their unique custom of "bull jumping," which initiates a boy into manhood. First, female relatives dance and invite whipping from men who have recently been initiated; this shows their support of the initiate, and their scars give them a say on who they marry.
The boy must run back and forth twice across the backs of a row of bulls or castrated steers, and is ridiculed if he fails.
Ukuli Bula is a centuries-old tradition that must be completed before a Hamar man can marry and begin his own herd. Fathers decide when their sons are ready and though children as young as five years old can participate, typically a boy is in their mid-teens Hamar boy hops atop the dung-smeared bulls and begins running. If he can make it back and forth four to six times, he will be considered a man in his community and will be permitted to marry and begin his own family.