In the Omo Valley of Ethiopia, a Hamar boy does not become a man by turning a certain age. He becomes a man by running across the backs of bulls — and not falling. This is the bull-jumping ceremony, called Ukuli Bula, and I was there to witness it. It is one of the most powerful things I have ever filmed.
What the ceremony is
Ukuli Bula is the Hamar rite of passage from boyhood to manhood. Until a young man completes it, he cannot marry, cannot own cattle in his own right, and is not treated as a full adult in the tribe. Everything in his future — his marriage, his family, his standing — waits on this one test.
The ceremony is also a celebration. Families gather, there is dancing, singing, and drinking of the local brew. It can go on for a full day, with the whole village taking part. But at its centre is a single moment of truth for one young man.
Why bulls — and why it matters
To understand the ceremony, you have to understand what cattle mean to the Hamar. Cattle are not just animals here. They are wealth, they are food, they are dowry, they are status. A man's whole life revolves around his herd. So the test of manhood is a test on cattle — the most important thing in Hamar life.
The boy must run across the backs of a line of bulls, from one end to the other, without falling. The bulls are held in place, but they move and shift. One slip and he fails. The whole village watches. There is no second chance that day — the shame of falling stays with him.
The whipping ritual
Before the jump, there is a part of the ceremony that is hardest for outsiders to understand. Female relatives of the jumper — his sisters, his cousins — ask to be whipped. Men strike their backs with thin branches, raising bloody lines.
Why would anyone ask for this? For the Hamar women, the scars are a public declaration of loyalty. They are saying: this boy is ours, we stand with him, we share his pain on the most important day of his life. The scars remain visible for years — a permanent record of family devotion. It is not punishment. It is pride, expressed in a language that shocks us but makes complete sense to them.
I will not pretend it was easy to watch. But I have learned on my travels that the moment you call something barbaric, you stop understanding it. My camera stayed respectful, and I stayed quiet. What helped me was remembering that these women were not victims in this moment — they were participants, choosing this, in front of their whole community, for reasons their culture has honored for centuries.
What success changes
When the jumper crosses the bulls without falling, everything changes at once. He is now a maza — a man. He can marry. He can own cattle. He takes his place among the adults of the tribe, with all the rights and all the responsibilities that come with it. From this day on, his word carries weight.
The celebration that follows is pure joy — the tension of the whole day breaks, and the village celebrates its new man. Watching that moment, surrounded by hundreds of Hamar people in a clearing in the jungle, I understood something: every culture on earth has a moment when a child becomes an adult. We have graduations and driving licences. The Hamar have bulls. The test is different, but the meaning is the same.
If you want to witness it
How it compares to other rites of passage
The Hamar are not the only African people with a dramatic coming-of-age ritual. The Maasai of Kenya and Tanzania have their own tests of courage, and many societies across the continent mark the passage to adulthood with pain, endurance, or danger. What makes Ukuli Bula stand out is how public and how final it is — the entire community watches, the test happens once, and the result is immediately visible to everyone.
In our world, adulthood arrives quietly: a birthday, a graduation certificate, a driving licence. Nobody watches. Nobody tests you. The Hamar way is the opposite — your courage is proven in front of everyone you will ever live with. There is something brutally honest about that, and I think that is why the ceremony moves even visitors who have never heard of the Hamar before.
Bull-jumping ceremonies happen in Hamar country around Turmi and Dimeka, most often in the dry season. You cannot just show up — you need a local guide who knows the families and can arrange permission. Go with respect: ask before filming, dress modestly, and remember this is someone's life milestone, not entertainment.
Watch the full vlog here: YouTube
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