-
After 2-3 months seclusion, Pokot initiates leave their camp in single file to celebrate Ngetunogh. They must wear goatskins, conceal their faces with masks made from wild sisal (sansevieria) and carry bows with blunt arrows until this ceremony is over.
Rights-Managed
-
-
Merti, Northern Kenya. A nomadic Somali family migrates to find new grazing in drought conditions.
Rights-Managed
-
A young Datoga man tends his family's livestock on the plains east of Lake Manyara in Northern Tanzania.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..
Rights-Managed
-
An Afar girl has her attractive hairstyle embellished with buttons and beads,which is typical of the young girls of her tribe. Proud and fiercely independent,the nomadic Afar people live in the low-lying deserts of Eastern Ethiopia.
Rights-Managed
-
Tanzania, Olduvai. A Maasai boy sporting a fancy watch bathed in evening light.
Rights-Managed
-
Red Ochre (or ocher stone) pigment used by Himba to create a reddish tint, Kaokoveld, Namibia, Africa
Rights-Managed
-
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 .
Rights-Managed
-
A Karo woman with her face painted in preparation for a dance in the village of Duss. A small Omotic tribe related to the Hamar, who live along the banks of the Omo River in southwestern Ethiopia, the Karo are renowned for their elaborate body painting using white chalk, crushed rock and other natural pigments. She is wearing a goatskin apron and carries a leather belt decorated with cowrie shells
Rights-Managed
-
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.
Rights-Managed
-
-
Africa, Kenya, Narok County, Masai Mara. Maasai Man dressed in traditional attire.
Rights-Managed
-
-
Maasai pastoralists water their livestock at the seasonal Sanjan River,which rises in the Gol Mountains of northern Tanzania.
Rights-Managed
-
-
-
Turkana elders wear decorative ivory lip ornaments,secured in position by a spigot which is inserted in a hole pierced below the man's lower lip after initiation. This singular form of decoration was once widespread but is rarely seen today.
Rights-Managed
-
A young Pokot girl wearing a traditional broad necklace made of hollow reed grass that denotes her uninitiated status. The Pokot are pastoralists speaking a Southern Nilotic language.
Rights-Managed
-
A pretty tousle-haired girl of the nomadic Afar tribe wears bright colours in stark contrast to the drab,windswept surroundings of Lake Abbe.
Rights-Managed
-
The Turkana spear-fish in the shallow waters of Lake Turkana. The wooden shaft has a detachable metal tip with a sharp barb,which is secured to the end of a long piece of rope. Here,a fisherman waits motionlessly at the ready while standing on a raft made from four or five doum palm logs lashed together.
Rights-Managed
-
-
A Maasai warrior,his face and body decorated with red ochre and clay,wears an ostrich feather headdress. This singular adornment was once worn by warriors going into battle and was likely designed to frighten an enemy.
Rights-Managed
-
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.
Rights-Managed
-
A Nyangatom woman grinds sorghum using two stones. Typical of her tribe,she wears a heavily beaded calfskin skirt,multiple layers of bead necklaces and metal bracelets and amulets. The Nyangatom or Bume are a Nilotic tribe of semi-nomadic pastoralists who live along the banks of the Omo River in south-western Ethiopia.
Rights-Managed
-
Back view of lady wearing colorful dress, carrying basket with grass brushes on her head to market, Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkino Faso
Rights-Managed
-
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.
Rights-Managed
-
Courtyard with houses in village with pig walking by, near Gaoua, Poni Province, Burkina Faso
Rights-Managed
-
A Karo woman wears an elaborate headdress made from the wing-cases of beetles and a cape of calf skin fringed with cowrie shells. A small Omotic tribe related to the Hamar,who live along the banks of the Omo River in southwestern Ethiopia,the Karo are renowned for their elaborate body painting using white chalk,crushed rock and other natural pigments.
Rights-Managed
-
In the early morning, a Pokot woman milks her familys goats in the stock pen of her husbands settlement. The Pokot are pastoralists speaking a Southern Nilotic language.
Rights-Managed
-
Kenya, Samburu District. Young Samburu girl in traditional beaded necklaces.
Rights-Managed
-
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.
Rights-Managed
-
A Karo woman wears an elaborate headdress made from the wing-cases of beetles and a cape of calf skin fringed with cowrie shells. A small Omotic tribe related to the Hamar,who live along the banks of the Omo River in southwestern Ethiopia,the Karo are renowned for their elaborate body painting using white chalk,crushed rock and other natural pigments.
Rights-Managed
-
A Karo women stands in the doorway to her hut in the village of Duss. A small Omotic tribe related to the Hamar, who live along the banks of the Omo River in southwestern Ethiopia, the Karo are renowned for their elaborate body painting using white chalk, crushed rock and other natural pigments. In addition to painting her face she has decorated her body with whorls of goat hair tied by leather co
Rights-Managed
-
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.
Rights-Managed
-
A Maasai girl from the Kisongo clan wearing an attractive beaded headband.
Rights-Managed
-
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.
Rights-Managed
-
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.
Rights-Managed
-
Young Maasai girls decorate their faces with ochre and clay in preparation for a dance.
Rights-Managed
-
-
During a Ngetunogh ceremony, the mother of a Pokot initiate sings and dances holding high the cowhorn container she used to smear fat over the masks of her son and other boys as a blessing.
Rights-Managed
-
Africa, Kenya, Narok County, Masai Mara. Masai men dancing at their homestead
Rights-Managed
-
-
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.
Rights-Managed
-
A young Turkana herdsboy sneaks a drink of milk straight from a camel's udder. Camels are important to stockowners in the arid regions of Turkanaland since they are browsers and can be milked up to five times a day
Rights-Managed
-
-
A close-up of a Pokot woman's earrings,hairstyle and beaded ornaments. Only married women wear brass earrings and glass-beaded collars. The band over her head supports the weight of her heavy earrings.
Rights-Managed
-
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.
Rights-Managed
-
Traditional lifestyle of families on courtyards outside of homes, with modern little bike, Tiebele, Burkina Faso
Rights-Managed
-
A young Dassanech boy with an elaborate clay hairdo and headband of beads at his village in the Omo Delta. Much the largest of the tribes in the Omo Valley numbering around 50,000,the Dassanech (also known as the Galeb,Changila or Merille) and Nilotic pastoralists and agriculturalists.
Rights-Managed
-
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.
Rights-Managed
-
A Turkana woman makes the final ties to the dome-shaped framework of her home. In wet weather,hides will be laid on top and secured with leather thongs.
Rights-Managed
-
During Samburu wedding celebrations,married women congregate apart from the warriors and young girls to sing in praise of the couple and to dance.
Rights-Managed
-
Two Giriama girls pound corn outside their home using a large wooden mortar and pestles. Their small skirts are made from strips of printed cotton material - a traditional dress of Giriama women and children.
Rights-Managed
-
During Samburu wedding celebrations,married women congregate apart from the warriors and young girls to sing in praise of the couple and to dance.
Rights-Managed
-
A Maasai girl in traditional attire. The predominant white colour of her beadwork and the circular scar on her cheek denote that she is from the Kisongo section of the Maasai,the largest clan group,which lives either side of the border in Kenya and Tanzania.
Rights-Managed
-
-
-
A Wa-Arusha warrior carries home a yoke. His brown necklace is made from aromatic wood. The Wa-Arusha are closely related to the Maasai and speak the same maa language. Unlike the Maasai,however,they till the land. In the past,this has brought them into conflict with their pastoral neighbors who disdained cultivation.
Rights-Managed
-
-
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.
Rights-Managed
-
-
Pokot women wearing traditional beaded ornaments and brass earrings denoting their married status. celebrate an Atelo ceremony. The Pokot are pastoralists speaking a Southern Nilotic language.
Rights-Managed
-
A Pokot man with scarification on his right arm. This form of body art is quite common among his tribe. The cicatrices are raised by rubbing charcoal or the sap of a plant into them when the wounds are still fresh.
Rights-Managed
-
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.
Rights-Managed
-
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.
Rights-Managed
-
A Karo woman sits with child. A small Omotic tribe related to the Hamar,who live along the banks of the Omo River in southwestern Ethiopia,the Karo are renowned for their elaborate body painting using white chalk,crushed rock and other natural pigments. Typically for a Karo woman,the mother has ochred her hair in tight ringlets and has a ring through her bottom lip.
Rights-Managed
-
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.
Rights-Managed
-
In the early morning,young Samburu girls take kids to their mothers. They will then milk the nanny goats leaving half the milk for the kids. Only women and children milk goats although every member of the family will drink the milk.
Rights-Managed
-
Kenya, Laikipia, Lewa Downs. A Laikipiak Maasai warrior or moran in traditional dress.
Rights-Managed
-
Samburu warriors,spears in hand,jump into the air without bending their knees during one of their dance routines.
Rights-Managed
-
Maasai men ride camels in the dry bush country at Olorgasailie,situated between Nairobi and Lake Magadi.
Rights-Managed
-
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.
Rights-Managed
-
Kenya, Samburu District. A tourist attempting to jump as high as a Samburu warrior, in the dry river bed of the Ewaso Nyiro.
Rights-Managed
-
Pokot women and girls dancing to celebrate an Atelo ceremony. The Pokot are pastoralists speaking a Southern Nilotic language.
Rights-Managed
-
Chad, Barakatra, Ennedi, Sahara. A typical Tubu knife with an attractive leather scabbard and handle decorated with copper wire.
Rights-Managed
-
Up to a year before his circumcision,a Samburu boy will style his hair is 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..
Rights-Managed
-
In the semi-arid terrain of Turkanaland,women have to travel great distances to collect firewood. Like other Nilotic people,Turkana women balance heavy loads on their heads with graceful carriage and poise. The attire of this woman is typical of married women in the tribe.
Rights-Managed
-
A Turkana woman,typically wearing many layers of bead necklaces and a series of hooped earrings with an pair of leaf-shaped earrrings at the front,sits in the entrance to her hut.
Rights-Managed
-
A Pokot warrior wearing a leopard skin cape celebrates an Atelo ceremony, spear in hand. The Pokot are pastoralists speaking a Southern Nilotic language.
Rights-Managed
-
A Samburu warrior talks to children about the bush on a Cheli & Peacock family safari.
Rights-Managed
-
-
Pokot women and girls dancing to celebrate an Atelo ceremony. The Pokot are pastoralists speaking a Southern Nilotic language.
Rights-Managed
-
A Maasai warrior with his hair styled in a most unusual way. His long braids have been wrapped tightly in leather,decorated with beads and tied in an arch over his head. A colobus monkey tail sets this singular hairstyle apart from the more traditional warrior styles.
Rights-Managed
-
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.
Rights-Managed
-
A Dassanech man shows off his distinctive painted clay hairdo. The central panel consists of tightly packed coils of sisal thread extracted from grain sacks that allow the scalp to breathe underneath the clay. The scarification on his chest indicates that he has killed a man in combat. Much the largest of the tribes in the Omo Valley numbering around 50,000, the Dassanech, also known as the Galeb,
Rights-Managed
-
-
A warrior of the Kisongo section of the Maasai with his long Ochred braids decorated with beaded ornaments. His broad armulet is typical of the Kisongo living in northern Tanzania where white is the preferred colour of their beadwork.
Rights-Managed
-
A Maasai girl from the Kisongo clan wearing an attractive beaded headband and necklace.
Rights-Managed
-
Turkana girls return home from a Waterhole with water containers made of wood. Their cloaks are goatskin embellished with glass beads.
Rights-Managed
-
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.
Rights-Managed
