44—SATURDAY Vanguard, OCTOBER 19, 2013
08 116759 759 081 6759759 ETHIOPIA’S HAMAR TRIBE FEMALES
Are these the world’s toughest women?
ncredible photos shed light on Ethiopia’s Hamar tribe females who are beaten with canes and scarred with thorns to prove I their strength. Ceremonial beatings take place during the male
initiation rites, but also in the home when the husband chooses. Ritual beatings are carried out by a group of men called ‘Maza’, continue until the women’s backs are left with thick bloody scars. The scars coloured dull red and black on the backs of women belonging to Ethiopia’s Hamar tribe,is the legacy of an initiation rite. No screaming is permitted by the men wielding the canes but the women don’t care,and would even beg for more until blood flows, dripping into the gritty red dust of the Omo River Valley. The Hamar and their unique culture that merges the beautiful and the brutal in equal measure are the subject of a series of incredible photographs created by French lensman, Eric Lafforgue. Lafforgue travelled to Ethiopia after spotting pictures of the Hamar in a vintage book and hopes his photos will provide a record of a culture under threat from encroaching modernity. His striking images reveal the beauty of Hamar women in their orange ochre make-up and bright beads, their skin scarred into intricate patterns depicting resilience as they live a life that’s precarious at best and brutal at worst.
‘When I see a cute little cupcake, perverse things come to mind’
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he 28-stone mother sexually obsessed by cakes and pastry. Sammee Matthews, 42, from Las Vegas has sitophilia. Gets turned on by cakes: a bakery sends her ‘ weak at the knees’. Erotic obsession with food contributes to her morbid obesity. Weighs 28 stone, but was 32 stone at heaviest. Runs Thick Sundaes, a strip club for overweight women.
‘I’ll breastfeed my daughter until she’s ten’
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other, 51, defends right to nurse her five-year-old in public. Maha Al Musa, from New South Wales, Australia breastfeeds her 5-year-old. The belly dancer, 51, stopped breastfeeding her two elder children at two. Decided to opt for extended feeding with third after she felt ‘blessed’ Motherof-three says she will allow daughter to suckle till 10—if she wants. She has said she will allow her daughter to breastfeed until the age of 10, if that’s what she wants. ‘I believe it helps boost her immune system. To this day, she is very rarely ill and her temperament is calmer and more relaxed than the other children,’ she says.
The ultimate escape from city life 'T
ree in a house’ that’s made almost entirely of GLASS is built in heart of a forest.
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‘Tree in a House’ is nestled in the mountain forests of Almaty, Kazakhstan. It has glass
walls, a spiral staircase and a giant fir tree up the middle. Architect Aibek Almasov wants
Mexican man makes girlfriend wear a padlock on her jeans M
exican man, 40, made his girlfriend, 25, wear a padlock on her jeans so she would be faithful to him. The 25-year-old woman, who has not been identified, went to authorities in Veracruz and said that she was in pain after being unable to go to the bathroom for hours. She told them that, for years, her 40-year-old boyfriend had padlocked her into her jeans but that she was too afraid of him to cut herself out. Authorities arrested her boyfriend, who admitted to locking up the woman and gave the key to police, CNN reported. Police were surprised that the woman did not wish to press charges and the man was taken into custody on a misdemeanour charge but released after a few hours. But the following day, he signed a statement promising not to use the padlock again. Araceli Gonzalez, a women’s rights activist in the state of Veracruz, said that the authorities had failed the women.
to offer alternative to ‘stifling urban’ builds. It was built for a 38-yearold businessman last year at a cost of £240,000. Aibek, 22, works for
A.Masow Design Studio with four other designers, and they have since received several other requests from buyers who want a similar home.
And considering the average property price in the area costs more than £620,000, these idyllic retreats are a bargain not to be sniffed at.