The Surmas live in the Kibish River Valley, in southern Ethiopia, where modern man was born 195,000 years ago. They hold up the mirror to us of a past in which we can recognize ourselves, despite the geographical and cultural distance. This semi-nomadic people who depend on livestock is not well known. Traditional donga fighting, a duel with sticks, earned them a reputation for brutality which keeps outsiders at a distance. In fact, the donga is a martial art that celebrates values necessary for survival in a region torn by tribal warfare. This nation of 28,000 souls possesses nothing other than its livestock. Its impoverished condition is an art of extreme living that commands respect.
The Surmas live in the Kibish River Valley, in southern Ethiopia, where modern man was born 195,000 years ago. They hold up the mirror to us of a past in which we can recognize ourselves, despite the geographical and cultural distance. This semi-nomadic people who depend on livestock is not well known. Traditional donga fighting, a duel with sticks, earned them a reputation for brutality which keeps outsiders at a distance. In fact, the donga is a martial art that celebrates values necessary for survival in a region torn by tribal warfare. This nation of 28,000 souls possesses nothing other than its livestock. Its impoverished condition is an art of extreme living that commands respect.
DirectorJean Queyrat
