The raw scars on a Hamar woman's back after being whipped at a 'Jumping of the Bull' ceremony. The semi-nomadic Hamar of Southwest Ethiopia embrace an age-grade system that includes several rites of passage for young men. The most elaborate of them and the most important is the 'Jumping of the Bull' ceremony. Its climax is when the initiate leaps onto a line of ten or more of his family's bulls and runs along their backs; he must complete the feat twice in each direction. At the conclusion of the ceremony, the initiate attains full manhood and is permitted to marry.During the ceremony, female friends and relatives of the initiate are willing whipped with pliable sticks to show their solidarity and love for him. They do not flinch or show any sign of pain.