Guche

This head bandage I purchased from a performer of traditional dances of the Dorze people, who lives in southern Ethiopia. It was late at night, after a riotous evening of dances around the bonfire (photo), and the owner the headwear didn't know English, so I could not figure out the symbolism and purpose of the bandage. I can only say that it is made of half horse and half human hair, fixed by a cotton rim. The Dorze are a small ethnic group inhabiting the Ethiopian highlands. Their huts resembling beehives are built from the plant Ensete, also referred to as "false banana” because of the close resemblance to the latter. The Dorze are known for their colorful woolen fabrics in red and yellow colors, dances and polyphonic singing technique of hocket.