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 The Italian historian Conti Rossini Described Ethiopia as a museum of people. The country has diverse people, more than 80 languages and more than 200 dialects spoken in Ethiopia. Some of these people include The Oromo: is believed to have migrated from the south and from present day Kenya. They are Cushitic and were once nomadic pastoralists and skilled warrior horsemen. Today most are leading agrarian life and most of them are Muslims, Christians and animists in religion. They are also known for their egalitarian society which is based on the famous Gada system (age group system) they are estimated to form the largest group in Ethiopia.
 Amhara and Tigraian peoples: These are Semitic people living mainly in the north and center of the country are sedentary agriculturalists. Their staple cereal is the famous Teff, indigenous type of millet from which injera is prepared. In the past they proved to be as great warriors, administrators and governors. The Amhara alone make up the second largest national group followed by the Tigreans in the country. The Gurage, Semitic-Cushitic in origin are believed to the descendants of the military colonists to the north. Most make their living by herding or farming. The enset is their staple food. They are known in the country as the great workers. Most of them are Christian, Muslim and animist in religion.
    Harari people: are Semitic in origin and also known as Adare mainly living in Harar town in the eastern part of the country. They are specifically known for their two storey houses called gegar and for their very colorful traditional customs still worn by many Harari women to this day. In the past the Harari were known as great craft people, weavers, basket makers, and book binders. Somali people: live mainly in the arid lowlands in the east and south eastern parts of the country and hence lead nomadic and semi nomadic existence. They are Muslims and strongly hierarchical and based on the clan system which requires intense loyalty from their members. In their harsh environment mainly due to fierce competition for resource lead to frequent clashes over grazing lands or water. Afar people: the Cushitic Afar mainly in habit in the (Danakil Region Rift Valley) sharing a stretch of land from Ethiopia and Eritrea. This is one of the most inhospitable environments in the world. They proved themselves as warriors and proud.
Sidama people: are Cushitic people originating from the south west and can be divided in to five different groups: the Sidama proper, the Derasa, Hadya, Kembata and Alaba. Most of them are agriculturalist growing cereals, tobacco, enset and coffee. Many of them are animists and some are Christians. Like the Oromo they have egalitarian social organization based on age group system. Chench and Dorze people An interesting detour from Nechisar, well worth the effort, is the old Dorze village of chencha. Glimpses of ancient Ethiopia are seen in the picturesque houses of the village, accompanied by the magnificent backdrop of the lakes in the Rift far below. Dorze huts are beehive-shaped, made from bamboo, but they are usually much taller than others of this style. When their houses begin to rot, or are attacked by termites, the Dorze simply dig them up and, after sewing bamboo struts around the base to preserve the shape, mobilize all the neighbors – men, women and children –to carry the structures to their sites. Each house is said to last of about forty years, after which it is abandoned or burned, and a new one built.
Another distinctive feature of the Dorze who stretch from the Omo River banks to the highlands over Lake Abaya, are their unique weaving. Once much feared warriors, Dorze men folk have settled down to farming or weaving. Many of the rugs and wall hangings made by Dorze weavers are stacked up at the Mercato or Dorze market at the north end of Addis, and many are also exported  South Omo is unique and fantastic. Descending from the green urban highland into the low-lying plains of south Omo feels like a journey not merely through space but also through time. South Omo is as close as one can come to an Africa untouched by outside influences. The culturally diverse, immaculately colorful and defiantly traditionalist agro pastoralists who inhabit there region seem to occupy a physical and psychic landscape little different to that of their nomadic ancestors. This is Africa as it once was. Historians believe that the south served for millennia as a kind of cultural crossroads, where quite different ethnic peoples- Cushitic, Nilotic, Omotic and Semitic met as they migrated from the north, west, south and east. The peoples of the lower Omo valley are considered among the most fascinating on the African continent. All in all depending on where one draws the line as many as two –Dozen different tribes occupy south Omo, some numbering tens of thousands, others no more than 500, each one of them culturally unique.  The Mursi The most renowned of the Omotic speakers are the Mursi famed for their practice of inserting large clay plates behind the lower lips of their women. They are subject of a number of recent TV documentaries. The Mursi, thought to number around 5000, are mainly pastoralists who move according to the seasons between the lower tama steppe and the Mursi hills in Mago National Park. Some Mursi practice flood retreat cultivation, particularly in the areas where the tsetse fly prohibits cattle rearing. Honey is collected form beehives made with bark and dung. The Mursi language is Nilo-Saharan in origin. The most famous Mursi traditions include the lip plate worn by the women, and the fierce stick fighting between the men.  The Hammer who number around 30000 are subsistence agro-pastoralists, they cultivate Sorghum, vegetables, millet, tobacco and cotton, as well as rearing cattle and goats, wild honey is a important part of their diet. The people are known both for their fine pottery and their remarkable hairstyling, the women mix animal fat with ochre and rub the mixture into their hair to create coppery –colored strands. If they have recently killed an enemy or a dangerous animal, the man are permitted to don clay hair buns that often support magnificent ostrich feathers. The buns-with the help of a special head rest for sleeping- last from three to six months, and can be redone for up to one year. The Hammer is also considered the masters of body decoration. Every adornment has an important symbolic significance, e.g. Earrings denote the number of wives a man possesses. The women wear bead necklaces, iron coils around their arms and skins decorated with cowry shells. The iron torqueses around their necks are known as essente and are worn by married or engaged women only. They indicate the wealth and prestige of woman’s husband. Young, unmarried girls wear a metal plate in their hair that looks a bit like a platypus’s bill. The Hammer territory stretches across the plains of the lower Omo to chew Bahir in the east, almost to the Kenya border in the south, and to the territory of the Bana in the north.  The karo people are thought to be one of the most endangered groups of the Omo, with a population of about 1000 people. They inhabit the eastern bank of the Omo. They were formerly pastoralists, but many of their cattle have been wiped out by disease, and many have turned to agriculture.In appearance, language and tradition, they slightly resemble the Hammer, to whom they are related, the karo are considered the masters of body painting, in which they engage when preparing for a dance, feast or celebration. Most famously, chalk is used to imitate the spotted plumage of the guinea fowl. The karo are also great improvisers: bic biros, nails, sweets wrappers and cartridges are all incorporated into jewelry and decoration. Yellow mineral rock, black charcoal and pulverized red iron ore are traditionally used.  The Surma and Kibish Kibish is situated in the semi arid southwestern lowlands about 180kms south of Mizan Tafari. The village of Kibish is a convenient place for excursions into the western half of south Omo separated from its eastern counter parts by Omo River. Omo runs south ward from Sodo Jimma road to Lake Turkana. Southwest Omo is home to the Surma people a group of some 25000 Nilotic-speakers divided in to three main sub groups: the Mursi, Chai and Tirma all of which still adhere to a traditional pastoralist lifestyle. It is believed that the Surma once dominated the area, but their territory has been reduced to an area stretching along the western edges of the Omo national park, in the hills around Maji and along the kibish River. Like the Mursi, the surma men are famous for their stick fighting, the Surma women for their lip plates. The various surma subgroups all participate in a rigid but egalitarian political system based around age-sets similar to those of the related Masai of the Kenyan- Tanzanian border area. Formerly nomadic pastoralists, the Surma now largely depend upon the subsistence cultivation of sorghum and maize. The Surma have a fearsome reputation as warriors, in part inspired by their continual search for grazing lands. Fights against the Bumi, their sworn enemies, still occur. The Surma are known for their white, almost ghostlike body painting, white chalk is mixed with water to create a kind of wash. The painting is much less ornamental than that found in other tribes and is intended in intimidating enemies in battle. Sometimes snake and wavelike patterns are painted across the torso and thighs.
The Dizi inhabiting the North West edge of Omo national park the Dizi are sedentary agriculturists, ultivating sorghum, root crops and coffee. They also practice terracing on the mountain slops. The Ari inhabits the northern border of Mago national park and has a population of around 100,000 people. They keep large numbers of livestock and produce large amounts of honey, often used for trade. The women wear skirts made from the inset tree. The Banna is believed to number around 35000; they inhabit the higher ground to the east of Mago national park. Most practice agriculture, though their diet is supplemented by hunting, if they mange to kill a buffalo, they decorate themselves with clay and put on a special celebration and feast for the whole village.
The Bodi numbering around 2500 is agro-pastoralists and their language is Nilo-Saharan in origin. They inhabit the north-east edge of Omo national park the Bumi numbering around 6000 inhabits the land south of the Omo national park, but some times invade the southern plains when grazing or water is Scarce. Like the Bodi, the Bumi are agro-pastoralists, growing sorghum by the Omo and kibish rivers as well as fishing and rearing cattle. They also hunt in the park and smoke bees out of their hives. They are known as great warmongers, at war with almost everyone, particularly the karo, the Hammer and the Surma.
The Kougu (also known as the Muguji) inhabit the junction of the Omo and Mago rivers. They commonly grow sorghum, and collect wild fruit, berries and honey. The koygu are known for fishing and for hunting the hippo, which they eat. They use both guns and traps for hunting.
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