Marginalised hunters?

Political and cultural challenges among the Haro of Lake Abaya (southern Ethiopia)

Abstract

Having previously lived as hippopotamus hunters on Lake Abaya, the Haro diversified their subsistence strategies through the twentieth century. Their specific geographical situation played a key role regarding their invisibility to urban populations and the nation state. Their integration into Ethiopian society was hardly made possible, which explains how the Haro maintain their strong identity as hippopotamus hunters till this day. The fact that they choose to be located on the periphery of the Ethiopian state demands a differentiated understanding of their marginalised status from a two-fold perspective.