There is drama even in routine migrations. The huts are dismantled and the items rolled up and packed between poles bundled together and wedged between ropes on the camel. All of the packing and loading is done entirely by women. Men take no part in it other than to restrain the camels if they become unruly or to help lift some prohibitively heavy items.
The Gabbra women wear blazing bright colors and beads. Gabbra girls are clitorectomized at 13 or 14 and usually marry between 14 and 16. Gabbra women unlike the men, have no assemblies of their own. Nevertheless they influence much decision making through their husbands, particularly regarding when and where to move camp.
