Konso Cultural Centre
Konso Cultural Centre
4.5
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
4.5
53 reviews
Excellent
26
Very good
23
Average
3
Poor
0
Terrible
1
george826
Ethiopia1 contribution
Mar 2016 • Family
An interesting place to visit konso new york found in geserigio. you have also got the people who accept a gust. konso have a town called karat the capital city of konso.
Written March 26, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Windowseatview
London, UK385 contributions
Feb 2014 • Solo
An excellent small selection of very well labelled artefacts, textiles, photographs and extensive muli-lingual (Amharic. French and English), information about Konso tradition, culture, religion, history, music and art. Notable amongst the displays are a wide variety of differing styles of rare Waga figures (memorial sculptures). A well curated small museum, definitely worth visiting and supporting.
Written March 10, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Arsenikos
Athens, Greece134 contributions
Aug 2019 • Couples
I will not write for the museum.I will write for the experience that I met for first time after visiting 109 countries all around the world.Coming out of the 4WD a had a transparent bag with pencils and candies.As all around Ethiopia a lot of children are appeared from nowhere asking for them.The local guide did not let me give even one,because as he told me,with this way of asking candies the children get aggressive !!!!!!
A 'good'lesson(opinion) from the local guide
A 'good'lesson(opinion) from the local guide
Written August 5, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
therapina
Limassol City, Cyprus606 contributions
Feb 2017 • Friends
The Konso area is an amazing Unesco World Heritage site due to its terrace farming, small terraces turned over by hand ploughs; its stone walls around the village and its culture. The hilltop area of the village we visited was over 800 years old and surrounded by stone walling. As they expanded they built houses outside the wall and after another couple of hundred years, built a second surrounding wall; then a third which was less than 100 years old. They are a community of nine tribes founded by the annimalists from whom their leader descends. The chief serves for 18 years and a generation tree is added to a stack of generation trees some 40 strong in the village square. In this square is also a big oval stone said to weigh 50 kilos, which young men have to lift up and over their heads before they can call themselves a man - and marry. The choice of wife cannot be from the same tribe but from one of the other eight tribes - helping to keep the peace! The price is very small - just a blanket for the father, some cow butter for the mother's hair and some money - maybe 400 birr (around twenty dollars). Compare this to the Mursi women who expect 39 cattle and a kalashnikov. When a chief dies he is mummified after having his intestines and eyes removed and left in a room for nine years, nine months, nine week, nine days (nine being the number of tribes). then the celebrations start for the funeral. He is buried in the ground and waga (totem poles) are erected on the grave depicting him, his wife, his enemies and any animals he has killed (although our guide said there are no wild animals to kill nowadays). Sadly many waga have been looted and sold but there is a small collection of them in the little museum opposite Kanta Lodge (a regular stopping point for lunch - salad and soup recommended). You may also see some newly carved in the villages which are probably for sale to tourists.
Written March 13, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
AugustoPiccagli
Brussels, Belgium67 contributions
Nov 2015 • Family
I really liked the museum visit the location is great with an outside space for picnic. The museum has just a need of intervention on illumination to increase the value of the items.
Written November 25, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dor M
Israel47 contributions
Aug 2014 • Family
This place really worth a visit, especially after visiting at least one Konso village. I even think that visiting one village, going to the museum and then visiting the other villages can be the best.
The museum itself contains a rare collection of original Wakas and also a lot of information about the Konso people, this information actually explains to you what did you see in the villages and we felt that visiting in the museum put everything in the right contex.
The museum itself contains a rare collection of original Wakas and also a lot of information about the Konso people, this information actually explains to you what did you see in the villages and we felt that visiting in the museum put everything in the right contex.
Written August 14, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thomas
Ethiopia23 contributions
Feb 2016 • Solo
Konso village :- about 95km drive from arbminch you will find the marvelous land scape of konso people famous by their terracing system, walled village, waka is the carved wooden status used for as a grave marker. Konso people they erect this status to memorized their parents. You can see benna and tsmay tripe wearing traditional dress made of leather on the way via to weyto r you can stay the night in jinka
Written April 9, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Finot-Tour-Ethiopia
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia140 contributions
Mar 2015 • Friends
On a recent sunny day in southwestern Ethiopia, the Konso people danced through the streets and sang enthusiastically to the music of a marching band.
Their colorful clothing, traditional masks and shields, and decorative feathers hinted at what a special occasion they were marking: the announcement by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) that Konso has been added to the official list of World Heritage sites.
The “Konso Cultural Landscape” has found a place on this prestigious list in recognition of the unique biocultural resources that thrive there. The landscape consists of productive and unique terraced settlements spread over 21 square miles in the semi-arid Konso highlands, 375 miles southwest of Addis Ababa. Deputy Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn travelled to Konso to mark the occasion.
Distinctive Traditions and Practices
The Konso, a Cushitic-speaking people of southwest Ethiopia, are well known for their distinctive religious and cultural traditions including their unique funerary rituals involving elaborate music and dance. Konso culture is also famous for its carved wood statues called wagas, which memorialize important people in the community. The wagas are often arranged in groups and erected on graves or at the entrances of the maze-like paths that lead to Konso villages. UNESCO describes these statues as “exceptional living testimony to funerary traditions that are on the verge of disappearing.”
The Konso’s resilient agricultural techniques, centered on extensive terracing and productive methods that nurture a web of agrobiodiversity, have also gained them attention. Farmers in Konso practice a highly sophisticated brand of terrace, agroforestry and manure agriculture that consistently provides bountiful harvests. When there are food shortages in the surrounding area, the web of relations that exists throughout the bio cultural landscape responds and provides for all. For centuries, the Konso have succeeded in sustainably growing millet, sorghum, corn, cotton and coffee, khat, beans, moringa, and many varieties of trees in their fields. They also raise cattle, sheep and goats that serve as important currency to exchange with other communities.
Their colorful clothing, traditional masks and shields, and decorative feathers hinted at what a special occasion they were marking: the announcement by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) that Konso has been added to the official list of World Heritage sites.
The “Konso Cultural Landscape” has found a place on this prestigious list in recognition of the unique biocultural resources that thrive there. The landscape consists of productive and unique terraced settlements spread over 21 square miles in the semi-arid Konso highlands, 375 miles southwest of Addis Ababa. Deputy Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn travelled to Konso to mark the occasion.
Distinctive Traditions and Practices
The Konso, a Cushitic-speaking people of southwest Ethiopia, are well known for their distinctive religious and cultural traditions including their unique funerary rituals involving elaborate music and dance. Konso culture is also famous for its carved wood statues called wagas, which memorialize important people in the community. The wagas are often arranged in groups and erected on graves or at the entrances of the maze-like paths that lead to Konso villages. UNESCO describes these statues as “exceptional living testimony to funerary traditions that are on the verge of disappearing.”
The Konso’s resilient agricultural techniques, centered on extensive terracing and productive methods that nurture a web of agrobiodiversity, have also gained them attention. Farmers in Konso practice a highly sophisticated brand of terrace, agroforestry and manure agriculture that consistently provides bountiful harvests. When there are food shortages in the surrounding area, the web of relations that exists throughout the bio cultural landscape responds and provides for all. For centuries, the Konso have succeeded in sustainably growing millet, sorghum, corn, cotton and coffee, khat, beans, moringa, and many varieties of trees in their fields. They also raise cattle, sheep and goats that serve as important currency to exchange with other communities.
Written September 15, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Tanja S
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia1,366 contributions
Jul 2015 • Couples
My husband and I visited/strolled through Gamole village, after having had lunch at the Kanta Lodge. We drove up from Arba Minch for the day. We organized our (excellent) guide at the Konso Tourist Information Centre. Gamole (old town) is more than 400 years old. Every 18 years a wooden pole is erected to keep track of time. Reportedly, there more than 30 poles. The "new" town is 150 years old. No wagas (carved sculptures erected to honour dead warriors). We loved the ancient stone walls and the wooden gates to private compounds. Old traditions going strong! We also saw and photographed (that's what tourists do, right?) a huge stone which youngsters have to lift over their heads as a sign of passage for marriage. The village was calm and peaceful. It was a Saturday afternoon (not sure that matters). Gamole reminded me of medieval villages in France, stone walls included (beautifully crafted - a skill in and by itself). Lovely views over the surrounding valleys as well. Tourists are rightly advised to ask permission before taking a photo of people. Kids run away from the camera - more form than fear I think. It's more like a game for them. We took plenty of photos of the Tukuls and respected people's request for privacy. I would not be pleased either being photographed by all and sundry. What else can I say? Go and visit yourself. For us, it was a privilege to visit Gamole. We made new memories.
Written July 15, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jenny W
London, UK121 contributions
Mar 2015 • Friends
Konso villages are very well organised, in their outlay as well as the guides.
You don't get hassled from any of the villages for photos as long as you don't point a camera at them, but if you do want a photo be prepared to pay 5br after asking their permission.
Very different from all other tribal villages i have seen,with village stone walls of different ages as the village and the 9 tribes within grow in size.
An area for the young boys to sleep and serve the village until they are married, a large stone as their right of passage (has to be lifted and passed over their head! I was luck to get it off the ground, apparently there is a technique though).
Very interesting and very different, definitely worth a visit.
You don't get hassled from any of the villages for photos as long as you don't point a camera at them, but if you do want a photo be prepared to pay 5br after asking their permission.
Very different from all other tribal villages i have seen,with village stone walls of different ages as the village and the 9 tribes within grow in size.
An area for the young boys to sleep and serve the village until they are married, a large stone as their right of passage (has to be lifted and passed over their head! I was luck to get it off the ground, apparently there is a technique though).
Very interesting and very different, definitely worth a visit.
Written March 30, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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