Ethiopian Mother Tells How Her 15 Children Were Cursed, Thrown To Hungry Crocodiles

A 45-year-old inconsolable woman narrates her painful story about her fifteen children being killed by tribal elders in southern Ethiopia’s Omo Valley.



Mingi is the traditional belief among Karo, Hamar and Bano tribes in southern Ethiopia that children with physical abnormalities will bring ill fortune, drought, famine, disease and death to its tribe, if they aren’t killed

Buko Balguda’s seven sons and eight daughters were all killed at birth by village elders. For Ms Balguda, the nightmare started when her future husband failed to be initiated as a man in a traditional ceremony and thus could not marry a woman.

Despite elders prohibition the wedding took place and every child born in this family was doomed to death as he/she was considered to be cursed (‘mingi’). Ms Balguda wasn’t required to kill her own child, she was forced to stand and watch as elders carried her babies away to their deaths.



Buko Balguda’s seven sons and eight daughters were all killed at birth by village elders

"I lost five plus five plus five babies – 15 in total. I had seven males and eight females. During this time, our tribal traditions were very hard. It was not me who killed the babies. It was other people from my village. I did not respect our traditions, so they killed my children."

Mingi is the traditional belief among Karo, Hamar and Bano tribes in southern Ethiopia that adults and children with physical abnormalities will bring ill fortune, drought, famine, disease and death to its tribe, if they aren’t killed.

A child can be declared Mingi for the following reasons: because of disabilities, because their parents didn’t get permission for a pregnancy from the elders, because they are part of a set of twins and most cruelly of all, because their teeth develop the wrong way.



Cursed children are left alone to be eaten by hyenas, thrown to hungry crocodiles or simply starved to death in a locked hut

Cursed children are left alone to be eaten by hyenas, thrown to hungry crocodiles or simply starved to death in a locked hut. The tribe leave cursed children alone in the bush without food and water to be eaten by hyenas or drown them in the river full of crocodiles.

The Karo officially banned the practice in July 2012, while around 50,000 individuals secretly continue to practice it in other Omotic communities. The charity organizations working in Ethiopia ask parents of ‘mingi’ children to give them to orphanages or foster parents. The Karo officially banned the practice in July 2012, while around 50,000 individuals secretly continue to practice it in Bana and Hamar communities.

The charity organizations working in Ethiopia ask parents of 'mingi' children to give them to orphanages or foster parents

The charity organizations working in Ethiopia ask parents of ‘mingi’ children to give them to orphanages or foster parents

It is illegal but elders do it in secret and nobody has been arrested for doing it so far. Until things change, the pain for women like Ms Balguda will continue. "At the time, I had no choice. Nowadays, when i see the women giving birth or giving milk, I feel sorry. I feel lonely. Nobody is on my side."

Sources: Dailymail, Naij.com news