My Scar Tattoo
Ethiopia
It was September last year when we spent time filming with the Suri Tribe in Southern Ethiopia. Half a year on, and I still have one memory from my time there permanently imprinted in my mind. Well, on my body actually… and semi-permanently I think . Whilst we were there I had my shoulder scarred with a toxic plant to form a tattoo. Don’t ask me what the name of the plant was. All I remember is that it was a grass, which a local lady had stripped of its cuticle to reveal a white sap within. The strips of grass were then laid on my skin and left for 20 minutes while the poison scarred my arm. It didn’t hurt much. I will liken it to the aching feeling you get after you’ve had a series of injections in your upper arm. Sleeping on it at night was uncomfortable for a couple of nights too.
The scar immediately after the grass was removed from my arm
After 2 weeks the scabs had fallen off revealing a white imprint of the pattern the grass had made on my skin. The Suri told me that the scar would last a year. I think it probably will. Anyway, 6 months later this is what it looks like…
The scar 6 months later
. . .
Interested in more stories from Ethiopia? Try HERE
TASEARCHETHIOPIA
Phantom Fighters
Ethiopia
Stick fighting in the evening sun
In Southern Ethiopia, witnessing a Suri stick fight or ‘Donga’ was one of the most awe inspiring public displays of aggression I think I’ve ever seen. Stick fighting is a brutal sport there is no doubt, but when you see it in the flesh, you realize that it is a very fair and honest way of testing the physical and mental ability of a man. On surface inspection you might think that this is a simple sport… and to a certain degree it does do ‘exactly what it says on the tin’, so to speak. However, the fighters are extremely skilled, and there are strict codes of fighting conduct and ritual. Saying that, adrenaline is a powerful drug that can empower men with superhuman strength. People get hurt, and during the stick fighting season each year men die. You’re not safe in the crowd either. Twice we witnessed bystanders get badly hurt by wayward sticks. One such incident involved one of our Suri security guards who we knew affectionately as ‘Bob’ due our limited grasp of Surinese. Assigned to protect our camera man amidst the 1000 strong crowd, Bob, who carried a loaded Kalashnikov at all times, was sent to his knees by a wayward stick at one point much to the horror of onlookers. What ensued reminded me of a scene from ‘The Fist of Fury’ as Bob, obviously quite embarassed at his loss of face in front of us, grabbed a stick from a bystander and randomly set apon anyone within a 3 metre radius, arms flailing like a windmill in a hurricane. Nevertheless, as I had witnessed on many occasions before at a stick fight, a few minutes later, aggression released, Bob returned to his duties and the crowd to the main attraction, and the incident was all but forgotten. Such is the way at a Donga.
Bob takes a blow
On a techy note, for me, one of the unexpected highlights of filming in Ethiopia was seeing the amazing footage captured by American Cameraman Steve Romano. Steve shoots high speed film using a Phantom HD camera which can capture moving images at fantastically high frame rates. No doubt you are familiar with footage showing water-filled balloons exploding in studios, but just wait until you see the effects of a 3 metre long Suri stick as it makes high speed contact with a mans torso. Truly astonishing.
. . .
Interested in more stories from Ethiopia? Try HERE
