SUMMARY

Hamar is a small ethnic minority group residing in and around the Omo River valley, which is located in the southwestern parts of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region (SNNPR), one of Ethiopia’s nine ethnically based regional states (kililoch). Numbering just over 46 000 people, the Hamar constitute a negligible share of Ethiopia’s total population of over 100 000 000. The group speaks a language called Hamerigna, which belonged to the Omotic language group found in southwestern Ethiopia. Culturally and linguistically, the Hamar is closely related to the neighboring Bena people. A large majority of the Hamar are pastoralists that live in rural areas; within the group, owning cattle is seen as an important status symbol.

As with many other groups living in the region, the Hamar people has suffered from economic and environmental stress; droughts have taken a particularly heavy toll on the group’s livelihoods. As a result, the Hamar has on occasion been involved in conflict and clashes with neighboring groups – such as the Borana and Nyangatom – over grazing and access to water. Furthermore, the Hamar has been both the target and perpetrator of cattle rustling.