BY:FLORA LYIMO ~HAHHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHHAAA NACHEKAJE MIE'' MBUTA NANGA!! WALE BAADHI YA WATANZANIA MSIO JUA UCHI 'HUU SASA NDIYO UCHI HASWAAA NA TENA WANAUME'CHECK TOCHI ZAO ZIKIMULIKA KUBWA NA NDOGO ''CHA MUHIM NI '''MWANGAA!!

Hero: Every child wants to become one of the fat men, according to Lafforgue, who are feted as heroes by the rest of the tribe for their incredible feat''

KAMA MWAKUMBUKA NINAVYOWAKUMBUSHENI KILA WAKATI KWAMBA KUNENEPA KUNADILIII''ONENI SASA!!

Slim might be in elsewhere but for Ethiopia's Bodi or Me'en people, bigger is always better. The tribe, which lives in a remote corner of Ethiopia's Omo Valley, is home to an unusual ritual which sees young men gorge on cow's blood and milk in a bid to be crowned the fattest man.
Six months after starting the regime, the men emerge to show off their newly engorged physiques and for a winner to be chosen. The champion fat man is then feted as a hero for the rest of his life. 
Now the little known rite is the subject of incredible photos taken by French shutterbug Eric Lafforgue - who spent time with the Bodi while travelling through south-western Ethiopia during the run up to the Bodi New Year or Ka'el ceremony.

Competition: On the day of the Ka'el ceremony, the tribe's fat men walk for hours around a sacred tree, watched by other men and helped out by the women''

Challenge: The feat begins six months before the Ka'el ceremony when participants retire to their huts where they stay, while the women bring them food'' NA HIZO NI NZI EEeeEE''UWII SIJUI SABABU NI HIYO NGOZI AU MAZIWA''RUWA MANGI"

Too much! A Bodi man finds that his morning bowl of blood and milk is a little too much and is ill outside his hut - watched by a baffled-looking herd of cows''

WAKIWA KWENYE MASHINDANO YA KUNYWA NA KULA KWA SANA ILI WANENEPEE ''

 HAHAHHAHAAA'' MBWA KAONA NYAMA HAPO YANI AKIMRUKIA AINYOFOE NDIO MWISHO NA MWANZO WA HABARI NA BAADA YA HABARI ''YANI Each competitor is nominated by his family who then spend the next six months helping him to fatten up on a diet of cow's blood and milk''

Beautiful: A Bodi woman living in the threatened village of Hana Mursi displays her spectacular scar patterns and elegant gold coiled cuff jewellery''

Relief: After the ceremony has concluded, the men return to normal eating patterns and have usually lost the extra weight within a few weeks of Ka'el''

On the way: Once the men are ready to go, they walk to the sacred tree where the ceremony takes place - a challenge for them because of their weight''

HAPA SIJAJUA INAHUUUUUUUU ILE MUCHEZO AU ''MBUTA   NANGA!!

Challenging: For many of the fat men''HATA KWENYE GARI KUSHUKA INAKUWA NOMAAA''HAHHAAA''

 HABARI NDIYO HIYOOO''MJIFUNZE SASA NYIE WATANZANIA MSIOJUA NINI MAANA YA UCHI NA SIYO KUISHI KWA KUROPOKA ROPOKA OVYO''FANYENI YENU WENZENU WANAFANYA YAO NA UKIYATAKA BASI YACHUKUE NA KUYATUNZA IPASAVYO NA SIYO UNAYACHUKUA KWA NJIA YA CHUKI 'HATE''