KARATU: ALONG the edges of Lake Eyasi, the Hadzabe live in a way that seems almost untouched by time.
They share their lives as one community, working, eating and celebrating together, rather than identifying themselves by clan or lineage.
Hunting, gathering honey and digging for roots form the rhythm of daily life, while traditions passed down through countless generations guide their most important moments.
Among these traditions is one of the most fascinating and littleknown aspects of Hadzabe life: the place of the baboon in marriage.
For a young Hadzabe man, the path to marriage begins not with wealth, connections, or family negotiations, but with courage and skill. He must step into the wild and prove that he can provide, protect and take responsibility for a household.
To earn the right to propose, he must kill two male baboons, one zebra and one eland and bring two containers of honey. Only after completing these tests can the bride’s family even consider his proposal.
The baboon’s head holds a sacred place in these ceremonies. On the wedding day, the groom carries the head of the baboon he has hunted and presents it to the bride’s father. He is the only one allowed to eat it, a gesture that honours him and recognises his role in entrusting a worthy daughter to another family.
The tradition does not end there. Even years later, whenever a baboon is killed and eaten in the household, the fatherin-law receives its head. It is a ritual that quietly threads respect and connection through generations, keeping families bound together.
The Hadzabe prize baboons for more than tradition. Elders describe their meat as richly sweet, a flavour that comes from the fruits and berries they eat, many of the same foods humans enjoy.
It is considered the finest meat of all, and the baboon plays a central role in the community’s celebrations, whether at a birth, a wedding, a funeral, or a ritual gathering.
Courtship, too, is guided by skill and character rather than age, status, or wealth. A young couple must first agree that their feelings are true.
Then the groom demonstrates his worth through the hunt, showing that he can track, aim and provide. Among the Hadzabe, a man who can bring down a baboon is a man who can lead, protect and care for a family; a mark of reliability and strength.
Boys are watched closely as they grow and when elders see signs of maturity, a young man is given a lightly poisoned arrow and sent out to hunt alone. Success brings recognition; elders inspect the site and only then is he deemed a competent hunter and a man ready to marry.
Marriage has no set date. It begins when the groom completes the hunting tests and the couple may even live together before a formal ceremony, a practice accepted in their culture.
After the wedding, the groom faces one last test: He must live with his bride’s family for a week. During this time, the parents watch him closely, observing his behaviour, manners and ability to manage a household. Every day, he hunts to provide meat for the family. If he succeeds, the parents escort their daughter to her husband’s home and the life of a new family begins.
By the time he returns to his home, strengthened by the days of hunting and sharing meat, especially the prized baboon, the elders know the marriage has taken root. These rituals, grounded in courage, skill and respect, reveal a worldview where human relationships are entwined with responsibility, honour and the land itself.
For anyone curious to see the Hadzabe’s traditions firsthand or to learn the many stories of the Ngorongoro region, a visit to the Urithi Geopark Museum offers a window into a living culture that continues to thrive against the passage of time.