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During Samburu wedding celebrations,warriors resplendent with long Ochred braids dance with young girls who have put on all their finery for the occasion. Both warriors and girls smear their faces,necks and shoulders with red ochre mixed with animal fat to enhance their appearance. Two spears are tipped with ostrich-feather pompoms.
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The invited guests at a Samburu wedding gather together to sing in praise of the couple and to dance. Celebrations will go on late into the night.
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During Samburu wedding celebrations,married women congregate apart from the warriors and young girls to sing in praise of the couple and to dance.
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During Samburu wedding celebrations,married women congregate apart from the warriors and young girls to sing in praise of the couple and to dance.
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Song is an art form ingrained in Turkana culture. At the end of a dance session,the participants invariably enjoy the Song of the Bulls. Each young man will take centre-stage to extol the praises of his favourite ox. He will explain how it came into his possession,its distinguishing traits and with outstretched arms,imitate the shape of its horns.
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Song is an art form ingrained in Turkana culture. At the end of a dance session,the participants invariably enjoy the Song of the Bulls. Each young man will take centre-stage to extol the praises of his favourite ox. He will explain how it came into his possession,its distinguishing traits and with outstretched arms,imitate the shape of its horns.
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Song is an art form ingrained in Turkana culture. After months of separation,young men and girls gather together during the rains when grass is abundant and life is relatively easy for a while. The Turkana have a rich repertoire of at least twenty dances,most of which are quite energetic.
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Song is an art form ingrained in Turkana culture. At the end of a dance session,the participants invariably enjoy the Song of the Bulls. Each young man will take centre-stage to extol the praises of his favourite ox. He will explain how it came into his possession,its distinguishing traits and with outstretched arms,imitate the shape of its horns.
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Gabbra women sing and dance to celebrate a wedding. The traditional metal ornamentation on their heads is called malmal.
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Kenya, Samburu District. A tourist attempting to jump as high as a Samburu warrior, in the dry river bed of the Ewaso Nyiro.
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Kenya, Samburu District. Samburu warriors and young girls sing and dance in the dry river bed of the Ewaso Nyiro River.
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Gabbra women dance at a gathering in the village of Kalacha. The Gabbra are a Cushitic tribe of nomadic pastoralists living with their herds of camels and goats around the fringe of the Chalbi Desert.
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Gabbra women dance at a gathering in the village of Kalacha. The Gabbra are a Cushitic tribe of nomadic pastoralists living with their herds of camels and goats around the fringe of the Chalbi Desert.
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Gabbra women sing and dance to celebrate a wedding. The traditional metal ornamentation on their heads is called malmal.
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Young Samburu girls dance during a wedding celebration. By arching their backs and thrusting out their chests,they flick their beaded necklaces up and down while dancing silently to the songs of the warriors. Their bodies and necklaces have been smeared with red ochre.
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A young Samburu girl dances during a wedding celebration. By arching her back and thrusting out her chest,she flicks her beaded necklaces up and down while dancing silently to the songs of the warriors. Her body and necklace have been smeared with red ochre,and her eyebrows blackened with charcoal dust mixed with animal fat.
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A lively Nyangatom dance is enjoyed by villagers in the late afternoon.The elevated houses in the background are both homes and granaries, which have been built to withstand flooding when the Omo River bursts its banks The Nyangatom are one of the largest tribes and arguably the most warlike people living along the Omo River in Southwest Ethiopia.
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Maasai girls gather to celebrate a wedding. Their broad beaded necklaces with predominantly white glass beads mark then as Kisongo Maasai,the largest clan group of the tribe which lives either side of the Kenya-Tanzania border.
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Samburu initiates sing during the month after their circumcision. As their wounds heal, their dances become more energetic. Before long, they imitate the dances of the warriors which, hitherto, they have been forbidden to perform.They spend much of their time wandering in the countryside attempting to kill as many birds as they can with a club and four blunt arrows. When a bird is killed, it is sk
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A Samburu bride waits pensively outside her new home until she is enticed in with promises of cattle.Her wedding gown is made of three goatskins, which are well oiled and covered in red ochre.She carries on her back a gourd full of milk and a small wooden jar containing butter.She now wears the mporro necklace of married women.
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Karo men excel in body art. Before a dance, they will decorate their faces and torsos elaborately using local white chalk, pulverised rock and other natural pigments. While older men style their hair with clay, young men prefer to braid theirs.Every man carries a wooden stool, which doubles as a pillow at night.The Karo are a small tribe living in three main villages along the lower reaches of the
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Karo men excel in body art. Before a dance, they will decorate their faces and torsos elaborately using local white chalk, pulverised rock and other natural pigments. While older men style their hair with clay, young men prefer to braid theirs.Every man carries a wooden stool, which doubles as a pillow at night.The Karo are a small tribe living in three main villages along the lower reaches of the
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Karo men excel in body art. Before a dance, they will decorate their faces and torsos elaborately using local white chalk, pulverised rock and other natural pigments. While older men style their hair with clay, young men prefer to braid theirs.Every man carries a wooden stool, which doubles as a pillow at night.The Karo are a small tribe living in three main villages along the lower reaches of the
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Kenya,Kajiado,lpartimaro. Two Maasai warriors in full regalia. The headress of the man on the left is made from the mane of a lion while the one on the right is fringed with black ostrich feathers. Their traditional weaponry includes long-bladed spears and shields are made of buffalo hide.
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A Samburu woman resplendent in her beaded necklaces and numerous bracelets makes best use of a large rainwater pond to wash herself. Water is scarce in much of Samburuland.
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Hamar women dance around cattle at a Jumping of the Bull ceremony as a rainbow gives colour to a threatening sky overhead.The Hamar are semi nomadic pastoralists of Southwest Ethiopia whose women wear striking traditional dress and style their red ochre hair mop fashion.The phallic protrusion of the women's chokers denote they are their husbands first wives.The Jumping of the Bull ceremony is a ri
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A group of Hamar women at a Jumping of the Bull ceremony.The Hamar are semi nomadic pastoralists of Southwest Ethiopia whose women wear striking traditional dress and style their red ochred hair mop fashion.The Jumping of the Bull ceremony is a rite of passage for young men.
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A Hamar woman blows a tin trumpet at a Jumping of the Bull ceremony.The Hamar are semi nomadic pastoralists of Southwest Ethiopia whose women wear striking traditional dress and style their red ochred hair mop fashion.The Jumping of the Bull ceremony is a rite of passage for young men.
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A Hamar woman blows a tin trumpet at a Jumping of the Bull ceremony.The Hamar are semi nomadic pastoralists of Southwest Ethiopia whose women wear striking traditional dress and style their red ochred hair mop fashion.The Jumping of the Bull ceremony is a rite of passage for young men.
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A Dassanech man in full tribal regalia participates in a dance during a month long ceremony. He wears a cheetah skin draped on his backs and a black ostrich feather headdress. He dances holding a long stick and a simulated shield.His face is smeared with mud giving him a singular appearance.
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Men and women dance during a month long Dassanech ceremony. The men wear leopard, cheetah or serval cat skins draped on their backs and black ostrich feather headdresses. The women, dressed in skins, hang a single black and white colobus monkey skin down their backs.
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One of the most important Maasai ceremonies is the eunoto when warriors become junior elders. Early one morning before the cattle are taken to pasture,their mothers shave their long ochred locks,which makes their appearance very different. One initiate can be seen blowing a Kudu horn trumpet.
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During an eunoto ceremony when Maasai warriors become junior elders,their heads are shaved and they daub themselves with white clay.
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In their dances,Samburu warriors take it in turns to leap high in the air from a standing position without bending their knees. This is achieved by flexing their ankles in a seemingly effortless way. Their long Ochred braids distinguish them from other members of their society. The pompom on top of one of the spears is made of ostrich feathers.
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Kenya,Maralal,Lodokejek. Samburu warriors and young girls sing and dance during a wedding celebration. The long Ochred braids of the warriors distinguish them from other members of Samburu society. A black ostrich-feather pompom decorates the top of a spear.
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Samburu warriors sing in a circle during a wedding celebration. As they sing and dance,they twist their spears in unison. Soloists ad-lib words to traditional tunes,praising the bravery of certain individuals or the bulls of their families' herds.
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A Samburu mother shaves her sons head outside her home the day before he is circumcised.Round her neck hangs his nchipi, the distinctive decoration of every boy who participates in the circumcision ritual. The strings of blue beads terminate in large bronze coloured wings of a torpedo shaped beetle, Sterocera hildebrandti.
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Mothers rub animal fat into their sons cloaks to make them supple. This task is performed shortly before the boys set out on an arduous journey to collect sticks, staves and gum to make bows, blunt arrows and clubs after their circumcision.
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In their dances, Samburu warriors take it in turns to leap high in the air from a standing position without bending their knees. This is achieved by flexing their ankles in a seemingly effortless way. Their long Ochred braids distinguish them from other members of their society.
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The evening before a Samburu boy is circumcised,he must lean over his mother under a special ochred goatskin cape as she milks a cow that has not given birth more than twice. This milk will be kept overnight in a traditional wooden gourd-like container and will be poured over the boy's head just before he is circumcised early the next morning.
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A Samburu mother wears an ochred goatskin cape ready for milking a cow the evening before her son is circumcised. This distinctive cape is worn only at circumcision ceremonies. The milk must be drawn from a cow that has not given birth more than twice and will be poured over her son's head just before he is circumcised early the next morning.
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During their dances,Maasai warriors take turns to leap high in the air from a standing position without bending their knees. They achieve this by flexing their ankles in a seemingly effortless way .
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Maasai warriors resplendent with long ochred braids relax and wait for the start of a ceremony. Red has always been their preferred colour.
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The adornments of Samburu warriors change from generation to generation. In the 1990's cheap plastic flowers from China became fashionable to decorate their Ochred braids. This warrior has had his hair styled in the 'sunshade' look by having his braids at the front combed forward.
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The adornments of Samburu warriors change from generation to generation. In the 1990's cheap plastic flowers from China became fashionable. This warrior is wearing several bracelets,which bear the Kenyan coat of arms.
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The adornments of Samburu warriors change from generation to generation. In the 1990's cheap plastic flowers from China became fashionable.
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A Samburu warrior has his Ochred hair braided by a friend. A mixture of cow's urine and ashes is often rubbed into the hair first to help straighten it. The wooden headrest is used as a pillow at night. Long braids of Ochred hair distinguish warriors from other members of their society. The warriors are vain and proud,taking great trouble over their appearance.
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Two Samburu warriors converse,their long braids of Ochred hair distinguishing them from other members of their society. Samburu warriors are vain and proud,taking great trouble over their appearance. An ostrich feather pompom decorates the top of a spear.
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A Samburu warrior resplendent with long braids of Ochred hair. His round ear ornaments are made of ivory. Samburu warriors are vain and proud,taking great trouble over their appearance. They use ochre extensively; it is a natural earth containing ferric oxide which is mixed with animal fat to the consistency of greasepaint. By tradition,warriors always used to carry two spears.
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Kenya, Samburu District, Wamba.Immediately an initiate completes his lmuget loolbaa ceremony a month after his circumcision, he becomes a junior warrior of the Samburu tribe. From wearing a drab black cloak and carrying a bow and arrows, he proudly dons the ochred finery of a warrior, spear in hand. Overnight, he is transformed from a boy into a man, confident of his new role in tribal affairs.
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A Samburu boy the day before his circumcision.He has daubed the right side of his face and body with white clay while drawing water from a source that never dries up. Each boy will carry for this purpose a new gourd shaped container made by his mother from hollowed out wood.
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Samburu girls are given strings of beads by their fathers when they are still young. As soon as they are old enough to have lovers from the warrior age set, they regularly receive gifts from them.Over a period of years, their necklaces can smother them up to their necks.
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The ritual sponsors and friends of a Samburu initiate make him a bow,blunt arrows and a club from the sticks,staves and gum he collected before he was circumcised. He will use these weapons to kill birds for a month following his circumcision. Initiates are forbidden to carry knives during this time.
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Dressed in his black goatskin cloak,a Samburu boy puts his bundle of sticks,staves and gum on the roof of his mother's house. He has collected these with other boys from a special type of Commiphora tree during an arduous journey on foot of up to 200 miles. After his circumcision,he will make them into bows,blunt arrows and clubs.
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A back view of a Maasai warrior resplendent with long ochred braids tied in a pigtail. This singular hairstyle sets him apart from other members of his society. His beaded belt is of a style only worn by warriors. The little copper bell-shaped ear ornament hanging from his elongated and decorated earlobe is also peculiar to the Maasai.
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Kenya,Kajiado,Maparasha. A Maasai warrior resplendent with long,ochred braids. This singular form of hairstyle distinguishes warriors from the rest of their society. This man has looped his elongated and decorated earlobes over his ears - a common practice when walking through thorn scrub country to prevent the loops being snagged by thorns.
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A Maasai warrior in full regalia. He has stuck a porcupine quill in his beaded headband to add to his other decorations. His long,Ochred plaits have been drawn forward from the crown of his head and tied in three bunches.
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Samburu warriors,spears in hand,jump into the air without bending their knees during one of their dance routines.
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A Samburu warrior resplendent with his long braids of Ochred hair. His round ear ornaments are made of ivory. Samburu warriors are vain and proud,taking great trouble over their appearance. They use ochre extensively; it is a natural earth containing ferric oxide which is mixed with animal fat to the consistency of greasepaint.
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A Samburu warrior resplendent with long,braided,Ochred hair. The braids at the front have been fashioned in a protruding fringe rather like a sunshade. The cloth on top keeps the braids in place. The round ear ornaments of the warriors are made of ivory. Samburu warriors are vain and proud,taking great trouble over their appearance.
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A Samburu warrior resplendent with long,braided,Ochred hair. The round ear ornaments of the warriors are fashioned from ivory. Samburu warriors are vain and proud,taking great trouble over their appearance. Ochre is a natural earth containing ferric oxide which is mixed with animal fat to the consistency of greasepaint.
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Detail of a Maasai warrior's ear ornaments and other beaded or metal adornments. The Maasai practice of piercing ears in adolescence and gradually elongating the lobes is gradually dying out. This warrior's body and his long braids have been smeared with red ochre mixed with animal fat.
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A proud Samburu mother of two recently circumcised boys wears briefly their bird skin headdresses round her neck after they discard them during the lmuget loolbaa ceremony a month after their circumcision. She in turn will throw them away the same evening and ensure the familys cattle trample them under foot so that they will never be used or seen in public again.
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Samburu initiates skin a bird without the use of a knife.While their wounds heal for a month after circumcision, initiates spend their time wandering in the countryside attempting to kill as many birds as they can with a club and four blunt arrows. When a bird is killed, it is skinned, stuffed with dry grass and attached to the boy's headband by means of its beak.
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A Samburu initiate takes aim at a bird with a blunt arrow.While their wounds heal for a month after circumcision, initiates spend their time wandering in the countryside attempting to kill as many birds as they can with a club and four blunt arrows. When a bird is killed, it is skinned without a knife, stuffed with dry grass and attached to the boys headband by means of its beak.
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A month after a Samburu youth has been circumcised, he becomes a warrior.He will go to the nearest stream or Waterhole to wash off a months grime.He then decorates himself with a mixture of ochre and animal fat, and adorns himself with beads. The sudden change in his appearance is remarkable.
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A Hamar woman dances around cattle while she blows a tin trumpet at a Jumping of the Bull ceremony.The Hamar are semi nomadic pastoralists of Southwest Ethiopia whose women wear striking traditional dress and style their red ochred hair mop fashion.The Jumping of the Bull ceremony is a rite of passage for young men.
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Hamar women dance at a Jumping of the Bull ceremony.The Hamar are semi nomadic pastoralists of Southwest Ethiopia whose women wear striking traditional dress and style their red ochred hair mop fashion. The Jumping of the Bull ceremony is a rite of passage for young men.After the ceremony, the initiate attains full manhood and is permitted to marry.
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A Hamar woman implores a man to whip her at a Jumping of the Bull ceremony.Female friends and relatives of the initiate are willing whipped with pliable sticks to show their solidarity and love for him. They do not flinch or show any sign of pain.The semi nomadic Hamar of Southwest Ethiopia embrace an age grade system that includes several rites of passage for young men.
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A Hamar woman blows a tin trumpet at a Jumping of the Bull ceremony.The Hamar are semi nomadic pastoralists of Southwest Ethiopia whose women wear striking traditional dress and style their red ochred hair mop fashion.The Jumping of the Bull ceremony is a rite of passage for young men.
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A Hamar woman at a Jumping of the Bull ceremony.The Hamar are semi nomadic pastoralists of Southwest Ethiopia whose women wear striking traditional dress and style their red ochred hair mop fashion.The Jumping of the Bull ceremony is a rite of passage for young men.
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A Samburu woman singing. The strings of black and white beads hanging from her ears signify that she has two grown-up sons who are warriors of the tribe. Note: the traditional horn snuff container hanging from her neck.
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A Samburu warrior drinks blood straight from the fold of skin cut in a goat's neck.During every Samburu ceremony,livestock is slaughtered and meat is roasted over wood fires. Warriors will never eat meat in the presence of married women.
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Kenya, Samburu District, South Horr, Samburu District, Kenya. The ritual helpers of two Samburu boys slaughter and skin rams the day before the boys are circumcised. The boys will sit on the skins while they are being circumcised.
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The day before Samburu boys are circumcised in their lorora,(a purpose-built circumcision encampment),senior elders will bless the sharp instruments of every household,such as pangas and axes,by pouring a little milk over them as they intone a blessing. The instruments must be laid out on the oxhide upon which the boy of each household will be circumcised.
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Maasai warriors draw water from a deep well. The depth of wells is measured by the number of men required to bring water to the cattle troughs at the top of them. A three-man well will be about 24 feet deep since the buckets are thrown between the men in a rhythmic chant.
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A Maasai warrior blows a trumpet fashioned from the horn of a Greater Kudu. The strap is decorated with cowrie shells. Kudu-horn trumpets are only sounded to call men to arms or on ceremonial occasions.
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A Maasai warrior resplendent with long ochred braids tied in a pigtail at the back,puts red ochre on his friend's plaits. Red ochre is anatural earth,which is mixed with animal fat to the consistency of greasepaint.
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A Maasai warrior with his long braids and body coated with red ochre mixed with animal fat. He has put ochre dust round his eyes to enhance his appearance ready for a dance. The singular hairstyles of Maasai warriors sets them apart from other members of their society.
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A Maasai warrior has daubed himself with red ochre mixed with animal fat to participate in a dance. His long ochred braids have been drawn forward from the crown of the head and tied in three places. This singular hairstyle sets warriors apart from the rest of their society.
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A Maasai warrior resplendent with long ochred braids. His body has been smeared with red ochre mixed with animal fat while parts of his face have been covered with ochre powder.
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Samburu girls are given strings of beads by their fathers when they are still young. As soon as they are old enough to have lovers from the warrior age-set,they regularly receive gifts from them. Over a period of years,their necklaces can smother them up to their necks. The metal cross-like ornament hanging from the girl's headband has no religious significance.
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Two Samburu warriors dress the braids of a colleague. Long braids of Ochred hair distinguish warriors from other members of their society. The warriors are vain and proud,taking great trouble over their appearance. Round ornaments,often made of ivory,adorn the pierced and extended earlobes of warriors.
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Kenya, South Horr, Kurungu.A Samburu youth after his circumcision. The day after he has been circumcised, the initiate must hang in his pierced earlobes copper ear ornaments that are normally worn by married women. His sponsors make him a new headdress of ostrich feathers fastened to a narrow band of plaited fibre, which fits tightly round his forehead like a sweatband.
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A Hamar woman being whipped by a man at a Jumping of the Bull ceremony.The semi nomadic Hamar of Southwest Ethiopia embrace an age grade system that includes several rites of passage for young men.
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A Hamar woman holds a tin trumpet at a Jumping of the Bull ceremony.The Hamar are semi nomadic pastoralists of Southwest Ethiopia whose women wear striking traditional dress and style their red ochred hair mop fashion.The Jumping of the Bull ceremony is a rite of passage for young men.
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