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Australia, Queensland, Laura. Lockhart River dancers at the Laura Aboriginal Dance Festival.
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Australia, Queensland, Laura. Young indigenous dancer decorated with tribal body paint.
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Red Ochre (or ocher stone) pigment used by Himba to create a reddish tint, Kaokoveld, Namibia, Africa
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Australia, Queensland, Laura. Young indigenous dancers in tribal body paint. Laura, Queensland, Australia
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Australia, Queensland, Laura. Young indigenous dancers at the Laura Aboriginal Dance Festival.
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Australia, Queensland, Laura. Young indigenous dancers at the Laura Aboriginal Dance Festival.
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Australia, Queensland, Laura. Indigenous dancer from the Lockhart River community at the Laura Aboriginal Dance Festival.
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Childhood is brief in nomadic communities. From an early age,Turkana girls help their mothers with the household chores and look after their younger brothers and sisters during the day. The baby has wooden charms round her neck to ward off evil spirits.
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A pretty tousle-haired girl of the nomadic Afar tribe wears bright colours in stark contrast to the drab,windswept surroundings of Lake Abbe.
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Australia, Queensland, Laura. Indigenous dancer in tribal body paint at Laura Aboriginal Dance Festival.
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Young Maasai girls decorate their faces with ochre and clay in preparation for a dance.
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Australia, Queensland, Laura. Indigenous dancers at the Laura Aboriginal Dance Festival.
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A young Turkana boy looks pensive as he holds a large gourd. Gourds are less common with the Turkana than the wooden containers their women make; firstly,they are expensive since they have to be brought from afar but more importantly they crack more easily on the move.
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Black clothing,Black ostrich feathers and the intricate white patterns on the face of this Maasai youth of the Kisongo section signify his recent circumcision.
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A young Datoga boy attired in beads. The metal bells worn around his ankles ensure that he does not wander far from home without his mother or another member of the family hearing him. The Datoga (known to their Maasai neighbours as the Mang'ati and to the Iraqw as Babaraig) live in northern Tanzania and are primarily pastoralists.
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Young Turkana boys have fun on a traditional raft made of doum palm logs lashed together. The fish held high by one of the boys is a tiger fish; these fish put up a good fight but are unpleasant eating because they have numerous small bones.
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A young Maasai girl wears a headband decorated with chains and cowrie shells that signifies her recent circumcision. Clitodectomy was commonly practiced by the Maasai but it is now gradually dying out.
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A proud Turkana father and his young daughter. Both their hairstyles are typical of tribal custom in the west of Turkanaland.
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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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Up to a year before his circumcision,a Samburu boy will style his hair in a distinctive 'pudding bowl' shape and often rub charcoal and fat into it.Uncircumcised boys are considered children whatever their age. They have no standing in the tribe and do not belong to an age-set.
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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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The proud father of a Samburu boy who has recently been circumcised. For each son who has been initiated into the warrior age-set,a father will tie a strip of lion skin below his knees,hang two copper ornaments normally worn by women in his pierced earlobes and places a string of pale green beads round his forehead. A ceremonial leather cape is slung over his shoulder.
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Australia, Queensland, Laura. Indigenous dancer from the Lockhart River community at the Laura Aboriginal Dance Festival.
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A young Maasai girl in all her finery pauses at the entrance to her mother's home. The wall and roof of the house are plastered with a mixture of cow dung and soil.
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A young Maasai girl wearing a wooden plug in her pierced ear to elongate the earlobe. It has been a tradition of the Maasai for both men and women to pierce their ears and elongate their lobes for decorative purposes. Her two lower incisors have been removed - a common practice that may have resulted from an outbreak of lockjaw a long time ago.
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A Nyangatom boy holds a cow whilst another boy draws his bow ready to fire an arrow with a very short head into the artery of the cow so they can bleed it. Several pints of blood will be collected which will then be mixed with milk and drunk by the Nyangatom. The Nyangatom or Bume are a Nilotic tribe of sem nomadic pastoralists who live along the banks of the Omo River in south western Ethiopia.
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A Nyangatom mother and young daughter in typical dress. Rugged skin clothing is still widely used.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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A young Maasai herdsboy drives his family's herds to grazing grounds close to the Sanjan River in Northern Tanzania.
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A young Maasai herdsboy controls his family's cattle at the Sanjan River to prevent too many animals watering at the same time.
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Black clothing and the intricate white patterns on the face of this Maasai youth of the Kisongo section signify his recent circumcision.
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Two Mursi men with singular hairstyles play a game of bau as a young boy watches them. Most men possess rifles to protect their families from hostile neighbours.Body art is an important aspect of Mursi culture.They live in a remote area of southwest Ethiopia along the Omo River.
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A Samburu youth is carried by his sponsors into his mother's house to rest just after he has been circumcised in the early morning. Boys are not allowed to show any sign of fear or pain. Even the blink of an eyelid is frowned upon. It takes a good circumciser a minute to finish the operation and move quickly on to his next customer.
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Maasai girls in all their finery and with bells tied round their legs wait at the entrance to a house before dancing with warriors.
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A young Maasai girl wears face paint and numerous beaded ornaments in preparation for a dance with warriors.
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A Maasai warrior and a young herdsboy draw water for livestock from the deep wells at Naberera where cattle paths are cut deep into the soil to allow livestock nearer to the source of water.
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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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Two jovial Pokot girls set off with leather bags in search of edible berries. Pokot girls and women traditionally wore leather skirts and capes made from home-tanned goatskins. The necklaces of young girls are made from small segments of sedge grass.
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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 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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The fetching hairstyle of a young Afar girl. Proud and fiercely independent,the nomadic Afar people live in the low-lying deserts of Eastern Ethiopia.
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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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A Samburu boy in reflective mood after his circumcision.A day after the ordeal, he will hang in his pierced earlobes copper earrings normally worn by married women and put on a new headdress of ostrich feathers fastened to a narrow band of plaited fibre, which fits tightly round his forehead.
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Two young Datoga boys. The youngest wears metal bells around his ankles to ensure that he does not wander far from home without his mother or another member of the family hearing him. The Datoga (known to their Maasai neighbours as the Mang'ati and to the Iraqw as Babaraig) live in northern Tanzania and are primarily pastoralists.
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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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A young Dassanech girl holds her little brother. She wears a leather skirt with an elaborate fringe of wooden and metal tassles. Much the largest of the tribes in the Omo Valley numbering around 50,000,the Dassanech (also known as the Galeb,Changila or Merille) are Nilotic pastoralists and agriculturalists.
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Childhood is brief in nomadic communities. From an early age,Turkana girls help their mothers with the household chores,while boys learn to look after the small stock. There are only short periods in a day when children can relax and play.
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A young Maasai girl keeps the holes in her pierced ears from closing with grass and rolled leaves. She will gradually stretch her earlobes by inserting progressively larger wooden plugs. By tradition,both Maasai men and women pierce and elongate their earlobes for decorative purposes.
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A coy young Dassanech boy with a hairstyle typical of the young boys of his tribe.The Dassanech speak a language of Eastern Cushitic origin. They practice animal husbandry and fishing as well as agriculture.
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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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When a Turkana woman gives birth,four goats will be slaughtered in a twenty-four-hour period to celebrate the occasion. The skin of the first goat will be made into a pouch for carrying the baby on its mother's back. The small wooden balls on the back of this pouch are charms to ward off evil spirits. The baby is wearing a bracelet of ostrich eggshell beads.
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A Samburu youth,his head freshly shaved,has milk poured over him from a wooden gourd-like container decorated with green grass prior to his circumcision. Milk and green grass are blessings to these pastoral people and feature in all important ceremonies.
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A young Turkana girl with her head shaved except for a tuft,which is braided. This is the usual hairstyle for women and girls.
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A young Dassanech girl holds her little brother. She wears a leather skirt with an elaborate fringe of wooden and metal tassles. Much the largest of the tribes in the Omo Valley numbering around 50,000,the Dassanech (also known as the Galeb,Changila or Merille) are Nilotic pastoralists and agriculturalists.
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A young Samburu boy sucks marrow from the leg of a freshly slaughtered ox. Marrow is a much sought-after delicacy.
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The Karo of the Lower Omo River excel in body art. They decorate their faces and torsos elaborately using local white chalk, pulverised rock and other natural pigments. Even young children daub their faces before a dance.The Karo are a small tribe living in three main villages along the lower reaches of the Omo River in southwest Ethiopia.
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A young Samburu warrior. In the days leading up to a circumcision ceremony,everyone becomes distinctly nervous of the conduct of the family members' undergoing the operation. Should a boy show signs of fear or cry out,he brings terrible shame to his entire family.
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In the weeks leading up to their circumcision, Samburu boys must wear charcoal-blackened cloaks, which are made from three goatskins by their mothers.They also style their hair in a tuft at the back of their skulls.The elders of the tribe harangue them frequently.Uncircumcised boys are considered children whatever their age.
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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 young Samburu man leads a donkey carrying the basic structure of a temporary home. The curved sticks will be tied together in a dome and covered with hides and woven mats to form a temporary shelter in a stock camp. Donkeys are widely used by the Samburu as beasts of burden.
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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 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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Australia, Queensland, Laura. Indigenous dancer from the Lockhart River community at the Laura Aboriginal Dance Festival.
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A young Samburu herdsman drives goats towards a Waterhole along the Milgis - a wide,sandy seasonal watercourse which is a lifeline for pastoralists in the low-lying semi-arid region of their district. The hair style of the young man denotes his status as an uncircumcised youth.
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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 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 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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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 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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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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In the early morning,a Maasai family drives their livestock across the friable,dusty plains near Malambo in northern Tanzania.
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A young boy of the Datoga tribe crosses the plains east of Lake Manyara in Northern Tanzania. The Manyara escarpment (a western boundary wall of the Gregory Rift) is visible in the distance. The Datoga (known to their Maasai neighbours as the Mang'ati and to the Iraqw as Babaraig) live in northern Tanzania and are primarily pastoralists..
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A Maasai boy herds his family's cattle near a waterhole in the foothills of Ol doinyo Orok (the Black Mountain). Childhood is very short in Maasailand; children begin to help their parents at a young age and may never attend school.
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In the late afternoon,a Maasai boy drives his father's cattle home across the grassy plains west of the Lake Manyara National Park.
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In the early morning,a Maasai herdsboy and his sister drive their family's flock of sheep across the friable,dusty plains near Malambo in northern Tanzania.
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Two young Maasai girls help to herd their family's cattle near a waterhole in the foothills of Ol doinyo Orok (the Black Mountain). Childhood is very short in Maasailand; children begin to help their parents at a young age and may never attend school.
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A Hadza hunter wearing the skins of a baboon and genet cat hangs strips of impala meat in a tree to dry in the sun.The Hadzabe are a thousand-strong community of hunter-gatherers who have lived in the Lake Eyasi basin for centuries. They are one of only four or five societies in the world that still earn a living primarily from wild resources.
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A young Dorze boy winds cotton onto a bobin for his father. Dorze men are synonymous with weaving the best cotton cloth in Ethiopia.
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