The Aari, or Ari, are the largest population among all the ethnic groups present in the Omo Valley in Ethiopia, their territory extends from the Northern border of the Mago National Park to the lands North of the city of Jinka, the Ari capital.

The Ari are about 120,000 individuals, they speak an omotic language that has nine dialects; their social structure foresees the division into nine tribes independent of one another, each tribe is structured in a clan.

The Aari live in the highlands around Jinka, they occupy the largest territory of all the tribes of the area and their economic system is based on agriculture.

Traditionally the Ari women wore skirts decorated with colored beads and made using the enset leaves, the false banana; they also wore many jewels such as earrings, belts made of beads, colored bracelets and necklaces.

The practice of scarification and body painting was part of the Ari culture and was widespread in the past, now this tradition is being more and more lost.

The Aari generally do not practice mutilation of the female genitals, nor male circumcision; the Ari men, just like the men of most of the Omo Valley tribes, can marry all the women they want as long as they can pay the price imposed by the bride’s family.