A world where BIG is definitely beautiful.
In a remote village in Southern Ethiopia, men dream and compete to be the fattest.
The men here have proven themselves to be the biggest bodies in the Omo Valley and have been nicknamed by their neighbours as “the Bodi.”
Becoming a fat man is the dream of every Bodi kid because he will remain a hero for life even though his stomach gets back to normal after the competition.
Here’s how it works…
Young men are selected and isolated for six months.
During this period, women from the village serve them special meals and concoction that appears in the form of a cow’s blood and milk mixture.
On the d-day, the men design their bodies with clay and ashes before emerging from their huts for the walk to the spot where the ceremony will take place.
The ceremony involves spending long hours walking in a circle around a sacred tree, watched by the other men and helped by women who ply them with alcohol and wipe away the sweat.
Once the fattest man has been selected, the ceremony ends with the slaughter of a cow using a big sacred stone. Village elders will then inspect the stomach and the blood to find out if the winner’s future will be a bright one.
After the ceremony, the men’s lives return to normal and most lose their vast bellies.
Traditionally, the crowning is held between June and July of each year.