Travel Guide Omoraté

Situated close to Lake Turkana, which marks the border with Kenya, Omoraté is at the center of the Dassanetch territory, spread over both banks of the Omo. For just under 100 birr, you can cross the river in search of a more typical village. In a few years' time, the construction of a dam and plans to create huge sugarcane fields are likely to disrupt the life of the entire Omo valley.The Dassanetch territory. Although their culture is obviously Nilotic, comparable to that of the Nyangatom, the Dassanetch, or Gueleb, speak a very ancient Cushitic language close to that of the Arboré, of Lake Stéphanie, and of Elmono, an idiom now extinct. With some 30,000 members, this ethnic group occupies the southernmost part of the Omo delta, on both banks of the river and on Kenyan territory. A warlike ethnic group, the Dassanetch do not hesitate to raid cattle.