THE DASSANETCH (GELEB) PEOPLE

The Dassenetch or Geleb occupy land on both sides of the Omo River. The Dassanetch are known all concern the same people. The most important ritual of Dassanetch is the So-called dime. The daughter is most important in the dimi ceremony. The whole population of a tribal section attends this ceremony where, for six weeks. The dime ritual is directly connected to the upcoming marriage of the daughters and consists for the larger part of slaughtering large quantities of cattle. By the end of the ceremony the participants are well dressed, with ostrich feathers in their clay hair, oxtails around their arms, leopard skins over their shoulder.