In celebration of the ten-year anniversary of Paul Salopek's first steps on his Out of Eden Walk journey, this dispatch is now available for educational use in fifth- and eighth-grade reading levels. The original text is available as the default reading level, as well as on the Out of Eden Walk website.

By Paul Salopek

AFAR TRIANGLE, ETHIOPIA (2/3/2013)

For nomadic zones in Africa, the concept of the Web has been around for a long time. Fast, correct information is important for survival. Information can help nomads locate water holes or avoid cattle thieves. It is not a luxury.

In the plains of Ethiopia, the Afar herders have a system for sharing news called dagu. Anyone walking through the landscape can be stopped and pressed for information. It is a required conversation. Phrases such as, “how is it?” (wagari) and “it is clear” (sahali), are repeated many times between other more important questions. The speakers squeeze each other dry of details. The word me’enahai signals the end of the exchange. To outside ears, it can sound like two computers “talking” in code.

Kassa Negussie Getachew claims that information from a dagu is more correct than what we find on the Internet. He is an Ethiopian anthropologist who has written a book on Afar culture. “You have to tell things exactly in a dagu. Whether a man has a scar on the left side of his forehead, for example. This will be passed exactly through many people. Even your walk will be part of the dagu exchanges all the way to Djibouti.”

View the original dispatch on the OOEW site to hear an Afar dagu exchange.