The Mekan or Me'en are a
Surmic
The Surmic languages are a branch of the Eastern Sudanic language family.
Today, the various peoples who speak Surmic languages make their living in a variety of ways, including nomadic herders, settled farmers, and slash and burn farmers. Th ...
ethnic minority group inhabiting southwestern
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
. The 1998 census lists them as consisting of 56,585 individuals. In Ethiopia, ethnic communities speaking Nilo-Saharan languages are referred to as "Nilotic", but this is not exactly the same meaning as the
Nilotic language family. The Mekan traditionally participate in a unique festival known as Ka'el, during which the Mekan women sexualize the process of Mekan men gaining weight, and assist and encourage them in becoming as fat as possible. Mekan women will often select partners during this festival, typically from among the men they assisted in becoming larger.
The Mekan or Me'en speak the
Me'en language, which is a member of the
Surmic language family. The population is subdivided into two groups: the highland Tishena, who are agriculturalists, and the lowland Bodi, who are pastoralists.
Ka'el Festival
In 2020, photographer
Joey Lawrence (photographer) traveled to a village in Southern Ethiopia's Omo Valley to photograph the Kael competitors and make a behind the scenes documentary.
• 2021 winners: Oypocha and Gontidi
See also
*
Surma people
Suri is a collective name for three ethnic groups (Suri Chai, Timaga, and Suri Baale) mainly living in Suri woreda, in southwestern Ethiopia. Suri is the collective name for all three subgroups. They share many similarities politically, territor ...
References
Bibliography
*Abbink, Jon G. 1990. "Tribal Formation on the Ethiopian Fringe: Toward a History of the 'Tishana'." ''Northeast African Studies''. Volume 12.1: pp. 21–42.
*Abbink, Jon G. 1991. "The Deconstructions of Tribe: Ethnicity and Politics in Southwestern Ethiopia." ''Journal of Ethiopian Studies''. Volume 24: pp. 1–21.
*Abbink, Jon G. 1992. "An Ethno-Historical Perspective on Me'en Territorial Organization (Southwest Ethiopia)." ''Anthropos''. Volume 87.4/6: pp. 351–364.
External links
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Ethnic groups in Ethiopia
{{Ethiopia-ethno-group-stub