BTPA_the book

Beforetheypassaway

PhotograPhyby

JimmyNelsoN

2 3

Beforetheypassaway

PhotograPhyby

JimmyNelsoN

3

In life, much is about the right timing. When

Jimmy Nelson came into my office I was, as

usual, submerged in a pile of new ideas,

plans, projects and thousands of decisions

to be made. I was just wondering how I was

going to find the time to do all that had to

be done when in came a man with a dream.

Not my dream, at that moment, but I saw

instantly that this was not the umpteenth

artist seeking sponsorship. Jimmy’s passion

was irresistible. I remember he had tears in

his eyes when he explained his project to

me. I could hardly focus on the tribes, the

threatened cultures, the absolute necessity

to make pictures of isolated and distant

peoples before they disappeared forever. I

was just looking at the man, and I thought:

if someone has such a deep desire, I need to

help him to make it happen. And so I decided

to facilitate his dream. It was only along

the way that I understood what we were

doing. We were actually saving the last pure

people from being forgotten. We were taking

responsibility for the history of traditions

that were fading away. We were in it together,

on an important mission, away from daily

worries and short-term visions. Even though

it wasn’t immediately clear to me, it felt good

IrresIstIble passIon

from the start. And by introducing Hannelore

Vandenbussche and Bram Vis to the team,

I facilitated unthought-of opportunities for

realizing Jimmy’s dream.

Of course, I had thought of the necessity of

leaving a footprint, humanitarian, cultural

or other. What could I, as an individual,

leave behind other than family, friends,

business and good memories? Could I

contribute, if even for just a tiny bit, to a

more conscious world, a world beyond

materialism and greed? Jimmy Nelson put

me on the path I was secretly looking for. He

gave me the opportunity, not only to help,

but to understand a little more of mankind.

And by doing so, I got to understand a little

more about life. And myself. Accompanying

Jimmy, Hannelore and Bram on one of

their trips to the Amazon, I witnessed

firsthand their commitment and was deeply

impressed by their genuine passion for the

tribes and this project. Not to mention the

fun we had!

I sincerely hope his work, collected in this

wonderful book, will enhance your respect

for what we may call the origins of man.

Jimmy’s aesthetic approach will prove to be

timeless, and I am convinced that his sense

of beauty will be more than just a source of

joy. Pure beauty, as in pure soul, is able to

inspire us all to contribute to more harmony

and peace in this troubled world. May this

book be used to teach our grandchildren,

and their grandchildren after them, how it

used to be. Lessons in humanity, survival

and humility.

I am proud to have been Jimmy’s travel

companion, in more than one way. And I am

extremely happy to announce that we are

planning to spend ten percent of the profit of

this book on directly helping the tribes Jimmy

and his team have followed. The money,

safely kept in the books of a Dutch notary,

will be used to buy cattle, chickens or horses,

depending on the traditions, for those in

need. We cannot influence the climate, nor

are we master of war and peace, but we can

show our deep respect by giving what people

need most: food for their children, a horizon

and a future. If the tribes are on the way to

disappearing, may our small contribution at

least extend their lives, habits and rituals for

as long as possible.

I want to thank you for believing in this cause

as much as I do. Thank you for helping by

buying this book.

Marcel Boekhoorn

4 5

Jimmy Nelson is not a scientist, nor does

he pretend to have answers to the complex

questions surrounding the extinction of

cultures or tribes. He travels to extreme

places out of an inner necessity, remembering

how at age 16, he already wanted to find out

about his own eccentricity, not by hiding, but

by encountering others like him: atypical,

individualistic nomads. He found them

in Tibet, not in London, and knew that he

wanted to record these unique personalities

in order to save them from anonymity or,

worse, from being forgotten. He discovered

that a camera is the perfect tool for making

contact and building friendships. Initially he

concentrated on wars, gang culture, violence

and pain. Later he focused on purity and

beauty, trying to be a catalyst, demanding our

attention for the untouched, inauspiciously

melting in the distance.

Jimmy Nelson is not about facts: he is

a romantic, an idealist, an aesthete. By

celebrating the beauty and uniqueness of

shrinking communities in distant parts of our

world, he wants us to wake up to a reality

that most of us are trying to deny. If we do

not document these last unspoilt men and

their rituals, they will disappear without a

trace. It will be too late to mourn when the

last tribesmen are wearing suits and living

in townhouses. In their quest for modernism

the tribes themselves bury their traditional

dresses, jewellery, weapons and symbols and

give up their body paintings: the mysterious

messages within themselves. Because

nobody has told them how distinctively

unique they are, they don’t consider their

culture to be an inheritance worth protecting.

With the exception of the Maori in New

Zealand, the people that we incorrectly

tend to call ‘primitive cultures’ do not feel

different, let alone threatened.

However, being confronted by a photographer

who insists that they are unique incites an

extraordinary change in their attitude. Men,

women and children become proud, if not

rather vain. And insisting may even be too

weak a description when it comes to Jimmy

Nelson. When you see him at work you would

believe the devil has taken possession of his

whole being. He shouts, jumps, gesticulates,

The BeauTy of our origins

cries, hugs, laughs and even climbs trees to

explain what he wants. At the end of the day

he is nursing cuts and bruises. How can any

tribesman refuse a thing to a stranger with

so much passion? He becomes one of them,

almost wilder and prouder than they are.

What seemed unimportant to them, becomes

essential to him. Show us the essence of

your being, he orders, and out come the belts

and jewels, the knives and spears hidden in

cupboards, the traditional chief’s headwear

and the warrior’s face paint. A catalyst is

exactly what he is. He literally begs us all to

open our eyes and start caring.

The purity of humanity exists. It is there in

the mountains, the ice fields, the jungle,

along the rivers and in the valleys. Jimmy

Nelson found them and observed them. He

smiled and drank their mysterious brews

before taking out his camera. He shared what

real people share: vibrations, invisible but

palpable. He adjusted his antenna to the

same level as theirs. As trust grew, a shared

understanding of the mission developed: the

world must never forget the way things were.

How great, and yet how difficult. Hunters and

gatherers in their natural habitat. Free men

and women, not in a human zoo, but in their

trees, on their rocks, across their deserts and

in their ice fields.

The pictures may be directed, but they

still capture the hidden truth that the

photographer yearns to open our eyes

and minds to. This is where we, the urban

dwellers, come from. A world where justice

and honour are natural ingredients. Where

wars are fought out of the need to survive.

A world with strict rules and rituals. A

transparent world, free of hypocrisy. Tribal

people can teach modern man about values

and hope, optimism and courage, solidarity

and friendship. They are the enemy of

corruption and lies, of stupidity and greed,

with a ‘give in order to get’ philosophy.

Tribes and forgotten cultures teach us about

aspects of humanity such as love, respect,

peace, survival and sharing. There is a pure

beauty in their goals and family ties, their

belief in gods and nature, and their will to

do the right thing in order to be taken care

of when their time comes. Whether in Papua

New Guinea or in Kazakhstan, in Ethiopia

or in Siberia, tribes are the last resorts of

natural simplicity.

Jimmy Nelson merely shows us the tip of the

iceberg. He consciously chose just thirty-

one of the threatened tribes and cultures,

based on their geographical and traditional

extravagance, but above all for their

illuminating beauty. What drives him is not

compassion for poverty or illness, but passion

for painted bodies: mirrors of pure souls,

messages in flesh, worn as a second skin. His

fascination for the rapidly vanishing harmony

between man and nature takes us to places

we thought had disappeared long ago. His cry

for attention is so loud that we cannot help

but react.

Entire communities are disappearing due

to global evolution and communication.

However, owning a cell phone does not

mean that roots have to vanish. What can

we do to avoid this? How will we feel if our

grandchildren ask where all the tribes have

gone? What were they like? Why did nobody

care? There is still time to find an answer.

By supporting their cause, respecting

their habitats, recording their pride and

helping them to pass on their traditions to

generations to come, we might be able to

delay the seemingly inevitable. With this

book, Jimmy Nelson wants to open our eyes,

our minds and our hearts. He is a witness

to the most original of all people, bridging

worlds that seem far apart but have so much

in common. They are part of our history, our

origins and our fundamental being. They

are us.

We must give them as many chances as we

can to let them co-exist in modern times. This

will not happen without intelligent plans.

We are invited to organise their continuity,

to paint their souls for posterity. If we don’t,

they will indeed disappear forever and an

essential part of us will disappear with them.

What may be needed is a new concept, a

Museum for Aesthetic Cultures: a temple for

the celebration of timeless fashion, timeless

examples, and timeless beauty.

A home for painted souls,

before the people pass away.

Mark Blaisse

Painted souls

BooQs / Jimmy Nelson Pictures BV

Westerdoksdijk 603A

1013 BX Amsterdam

The Netherlands

Tel: +32 477 303 393

Email: [email protected]

www.beforethey.com

ISBN: 978-94-60650-765

WD: D/2013/11978/01

Before They Pass Away team:

Photography: Jimmy Nelson

Assistant photography:

Hannelore Vandenbussche

Assistant photography/film:

Bram Vis

Project coordinator and curator

photography: Narda van ‘t Veer

Text: Mark Blaisse

Graphic design: ReiNarDus

Language check:

The Language Lab

Post production images:

Magic Group & Souverein

Project owner & director:

Frans van Hapert

Printed in Italy

Copyright: Jimmy Nelson Pictures BV-

Rhenen - The Netherlands. All rights

reserved. No part of this book may be

used or reproduced in any manner

whatsoever without written permission

from the publisher and Jimmy Nelson

Pictures BV.

6 7

286vanuaTu

194TsaaTan

raBari232

8KaZaKhs

142musTang

98ChuKChi

124maori

430neneTs

58huli, asaro & Kalam402dani, yali & Korowai

360droKpa 324TiBeTans264ladaKhi

346huaorani

168gauChos

448maasai

370dassaneCh, Banna & Karo

248mursi

214samBuru

himBa38

98

Traditions

Among many Kazakh traditions is the

ancient art of eagle hunting. For more than

two centuries, Kazakh men have hunted on

horseback with trained golden eagles. Across

mountains and steppes, a large variety of

animals – including rabbits, marmots, foxes

and even wolves – are hunted for their fur, an

integral part of traditional Kazakh clothing.

The skill of training a golden eagle is passed

on through generations. Eagle hunters wear

boots, black coats and fox-fur hats called

loovuuz. The mid-October Golden Eagle

Festival signals the opening of the hunting

season. It is a colourful and picturesque

event attracting the best hunters and

birds and an important celebration for the

community.

The Kazakhs indulge in richly embroidered

clothing; women wear bright headscarves

(ah jaulih) and men wear skullcaps (tuhia) or

fox-fur hats.

Kazakh culture is quite different from

Mongolian culture: even Kazakh saddles are a

different shape.

Many Kazakhs are skilled in the performance

of traditional music. The dombra, a plucked

lute with two strings, and the kobyz, a

bow instrument played on the knees, are

mentioned in early documents.

Kazakhs have a tradition of oral history. They

lean heavily on their clan and are supposed

to remember at least seven generations of

their ancestors names in order ‘not to forget

where we come from’. In recent decades, the

Mongolian Kazakhs have been able to hold on

to their traditions and skills much more than

their brothers in neighbouring Kazakhstan.

Origin

The Kazakhs of Mongolia are (like their

brothers in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, China

and Russia) a Turkic people originating from

the northern parts of Central Asia. They are

the descendants of Turkic, Mongolic and

Indo-Iranian tribes and Huns that populated

the territory between Siberia and the Black

Sea. Kazakhs trace their roots to the 15th

century.

In Mongolia, the Kazakhs form the largest

minority and live mainly in the westernmost

province of Bayan-Ölgii, meaning ‘Rich

Cradle’ in Mongolian.

Most Kazakhs in this remote, mountainous

region are dependent on domestic animals

for their livelihood. They have roamed the

mountains and valleys of western Mongolia

with their herds since the 19th century. The

area has many peaks, ranging from 3,000

to 4,000 metres. Today the Kazakhs in the

province of Bayan-Ölgii number around

87,000 or about 88.7% of the provincial

population, while across the country they

represent around 4% of the total Mongolian

population (about 110,000 people).

Beliefs

Islam was brought to the ancestors of the

Kazakhs in the 8th century. Most Kazakhs

are Sunni Muslims, who more often than not

continue to believe in pre-Islamic cults of the

sky, the ancestors, fire and the supernatural

forces of good and evil spirits, of giants and

wood goblins. They wear beads and talismans

to protect themselves from evil. Shamanic

beliefs have been widely preserved among

the Kazakhs, as well as belief in the strength

of the bearers of this cult - the shamans,

which the Kazakhs call bakhsy.

Daily life

The Kazakhs are a semi-nomadic, pastoral

people. Many families move several times a

year with their herds between fixed seasonal

settlements. Others with smaller herds

stay closer to their winter home during

the summer but will nevertheless set up

a yurt (kiiz yi, meaning ‘felt house’). The

summertime yurt (and to a lesser extent

the winter house) is richly furnished with

embroidered, felt and woven textiles.

Up until 1930, the nomads could freely

move between Kazakhstan, Mongolia and

the Chinese province of Xinjiang. However,

after the founding of the Mongolian People’s

Republic in 1924, many of them gave up their

semi-nomadic lifestyle and began settling

down in the western Mongolian highlands.

Diet

For hundreds of years, Kazakhs have been

herders raising fat-tailed sheep, camels,

and horses, relying on these animals for

food, clothing and transportation. Mutton

and horse are the preferred meats. There is

widespread practice of salting and drying

meat to preserve it, and there is a preference

for sour milk, as it is easier to store and

therefore better suits their nomadic lifestyle.

KazakhsMongolia

18 19

“Fine horses and fierce eagles are the wings of the Kazakhs.”

3938

Traditions

The Himba live under a tribal structure based

on bilateral descent that helps them live

in one of the most extreme environments

on earth. Every tribe member belongs to

two clans: one through the father (patriclan

or oruzo), another through the mother

(matriclan or eanda). The eldest male leads

the clan. Sons live in their father’s clan. A son

doesn’t inherit his father’s cattle, but that of

his mother’s brother instead.

Marriages are arranged with a view to

spreading wealth. Once married, the women

move to the villages of their husbands where

they adopt the rules of the new clan.

Himba men are not monogamous and

may have a number of wives and children

in different homesteads. Women are

not monogamous either and may have a

number of partners. However, courtship and

relationships are bound by strict rules and

modes of behaviour.

Himba children are cared for by all the

members of the family in the homestead.

Between the ages of 10 and 12, the bottom

four incisor teeth of the child are knocked out

in a ceremony that is believed to protect the

child from dangerous influences and ensure

the protection of the ancestors. Young males

are circumcised and undergo a coming-of-age

ritual. Young girls also have a coming-of-age

ceremony.

Though scarcely clad, looks are vital to the

Himba. It tells everything about one’s place

within the group and phase of life.

The characteristic ‘look’ of the Himba comes

from intricate hairstyles, traditional clothing,

personal adornments in the form of jewellery

and the use of a mixture of goat fat, herbs

and red ochre. This paste, known as otjize,

is not only rubbed on the skin, but also into

hair and on traditional clothing. There has

been much speculation about the origins

of this practice, with some claiming it is

to protect their skin from the sun or repel

insects. But the Himba say it is an aesthetic

consideration, a sort of traditional make-up

that women apply every morning when they

wake. Men do not use otjize.

For centuries, necklaces and bracelets have

been made of shells, leather and copper.

Married women wear a small crown made

of goat skin on their heads. Girls wear their

hair in two braids over their brow. When

reaching puberty, they adopt a hairstyle

with a multitude of tiny braids that have

been ‘waxed’ with otjize. Himba boys can be

recognised by a small plaited pony tail that

runs from crown to forehead. Boys that wish

to marry sport the same tail, but wear it tied

in a bow. A married man wears his hair in a

‘turban’.

Origin

The Himba are an ancient tribe of semi-

nomadic herders, many of whom still live

and dress according to ancient traditions.

They speak Herero and since the 16th

century, they have lived in scattered

settlements throughout the region of the

Kunene River in north-west Namibia and

south-west Angola.

The homes of the Himba are simple

cone-shaped structures of saplings bound

together with palm leaves and plastered

with mud and dung. A family may move from

one home to another several times a year

to seek grazing pastures for their goats and

cattle.

The Himba are a tall, slender and

statuesque people, currently numbering

an estimated 15,000. Although constantly

jeopardised by development, including

proposed hydroelectric projects, many

Himba lead a traditional lifestyle that has

remained unchanged for generations,

surviving war and droughts.

Beliefs

The Himba practice monotheism and

ancestor worship. Their god is Mukuru,

creator of everything, but a remote god.

Communication with Mukuru only takes place

through the spirits of the male ancestors. For

this reason the ancestral fire, or okuruwo, is

kept burning 24 hours a day. Mukuru created

man, woman and cattle from the same tree,

although he does not have unlimited power

and ancestors can also greatly influence

worldly events. One of the duties of the

male leader of the family is to maintain the

ancestral fire, where he prays to departed

progenitors and asks for their blessings for

his family. Whereas Mukuru has power over

most physical elements of the earth, such

as the land, water and weather, ancestors

control more immediate concerns, such as

the health of kin or cattle.

Himba believe in omiti, meaning ‘bad

medicine’ or ‘witchcraft’.

Daily life

The Himba day starts early. Women arise

before or at dawn and apply otjize. They

milk the cattle, which are then herded to

the grazing areas by the men. If the grazing

pasture is poor, the entire village will move

to a place with lusher grazing land. Young

men often set up separate, temporary villages

and move around with the cattle, leaving the

women, children and older men at the main

homestead. Women take care of cooking,

gardening, milking cattle, looking after

children, caring for livestock in the kraal and

making clothes, jewellery and otjize. Flour

is made from maize and butter is churned.

Wood has to be collected, and water has to

be carried from wells. The children help with

the tasks.

The Himba homestead is a family unit,

overseen by the headman who is normally

a grandfather and the oldest male in the

village. He is responsible for residence,

religious aspects of life embodied by the

sacred fire and ensuring that the rules of

tradition and the specific rules of the clan are

obeyed. The matrilineal aspect is responsible

for movable property and economic matters

such as handling of money and property.

The Himba headman’s authority is identified

by an erenge bracelet. He oversees births,

marriages and coming-of-age ceremonies.

He performs the various ceremonies at

the sacred fire, involving the spirits of the

ancestors in the daily life of the village. The

headman is also responsible for the rules of

the tribe.

Diet

The diet of the Himba consists mainly of a

porridge made from maize and milk. Milk

left over after making the porridge is used

to make butter, which is churned in gourds.

Although meat is a part of the Himba

diet, beef is consumed sparingly as cattle

represent the wealth of a clan. Meat from

small stock such as goats is more likely to

be found in Himba meals. When cattle are

slaughtered, it is usually done ceremonially.

Married men eat meat that is kept separately

for them.

HimbanaMIbIa

42 43

“Don’t start your farming with cattle,

start it with people.”

59

Traditions

The traditional highland apparel is scant:

women wear grass skirts, men wear nothing

but a koteka, or penis gourd. However, to

impress and scare off the enemy, men go to

considerably more effort.

The Asaro cover themselves in mud, wear

terrifying masks and brandish spears. Legend

has it that the Mudmen were defeated by

an enemy tribe and forced to flee into the

Asaro River. They waited until dusk before

attempting to escape. The enemy saw them

rise from the muddy banks covered in mud

and thought they were spirits. Terrified, they

ran back to their village. After that episode,

all of the neighbouring villages came to

believe the Asaro had the spirits of the river

on their side. Clever elders of the village saw

the advantage of this and kept the illusion

alive. For countless years, the Asaro would

frequently apply their mud and masks and

terrorise other villages with occasional early-

morning visits.

The Huli paint their faces yellow, red, and

white. They also make wigs from their own

hair. These look like plumed hats, intricately

decorated with feathers of birds of paradise

and parrots. Other ornaments include shells,

beads, pig tusks, hornbill skulls and foliage.

An axe with a cassowary claw completes the

intimidating effect.

Tribal warfare is a common among the

highland tribes of Papua New Guinea. They

fight over three things: land, pigs and women

- in that order. To be regarded as important,

men need plenty of each: land for farming,

pigs as a measure of wealth and a number of

wives to tend to land and livestock.

The tribes comply with a payback system,

within which punishment for a wrongdoing

must be more severe than the original

misdeed. To forgive and forget would be an

unthinkable crime. To end a feud, elaborate

peace ceremonies are organised, usually

involving the slaughter and cooking of a large

number of pigs.

Origin

The eastern half of New Guinea, the

world’s second largest island, gained full

independence from Australia in 1975, when

the nation of Papua New Guinea was born.

The indigenous population is one of the

most heterogeneous in the world.

It is believed that the first Papua New

Guineans migrated to the island over

45,000 years ago. Today, over three

million people, approximately half of the

total population, live in the highlands.

The harsh terrain and historic inter-tribal

warfare has lead to village isolation and

the proliferation of distinct languages. A

number of different tribes are scattered

across the highland plateau, surrounded

by mountains. Traditionally they live

in small agrarian clans consisting of a

group of families. Divided by language,

customs, and tradition, some of these

communities have engaged in low-scale

tribal conflict with their neighbours for

millennia. The largest highland tribe are

the Huli Wigmen, who are famous for their

tradition of making ornamental wigs from

their own hair. Another tribe, living in the

eastern highlands, are the legendary Asaro

Mudmen. The highlanders have lived in

their regions for 1,000 years and recount

lengthy oral histories relating to individuals

and their clans. Both tribes first met with

the Western world in the middle of the 20th

century.

Beliefs

The highlanders are traditionally animists

who abide by strict ritualised offerings

to appease the spirits of their ancestors.

Sickness and misfortune are thought to be the

work of witchcraft and sorcery.

Daily life

Life is simple in the highland villages. The

residents have plenty of good food, close-knit

families and a great respect for the wonders

of nature.

The highlanders live by hunting, done

primarily by men, and by gathering plants and

growing crops, done primarily by women. The

men help clear the land, but the rest of the

cultivation is the responsibility of the women.

They practice cyclical agriculture, moving to

a new location after the soil is exhausted to

allow reforestation and recovery. The women

are exceptional farmers. The first Westerners

to visit the highlands were impressed to find

vast valleys of carefully planned gardens and

irrigation ditches. Crops grown include sweet

potatoes, corn, cabbages and maniocs.

Women and children also care for the prized

possession of the family: the pigs.

The highlanders live in grass huts - two to four

in each community - which are surrounded

by split wood and mud walls. The walls

of the compound serve a dual purpose of

keeping domesticated pigs in the compound,

while keeping enemies and evil spirits out.

Traditionally, the men sleep in one hut and

the women and children sleep in another.

Diet

The highlanders subsist primarily on a diet of

sweet potatoes, and occasionally meat from

locally raised pigs, wild cassowary or other

forest game.

papua new guinea

58

Huli,Asaro & Kalam

84 85

“Knowledge is only a rumour until it is in the muscle”

99

Traditions

Sculpture and carving on bone and walrus

tusk are the most highly developed forms

of folk art among the Chukchi. Common

traditional themes are landscapes and

scenes from everyday life: hunting parties,

reindeer herding and animals native to

Chukotka. In traditional Chukchi society, only

men engage in these arts. Chukchi women

are skilled at sewing and embroidering.

The traditional dress for Chukchi women is

a kerker, a knee-length coverall made from

reindeer or seal hide and trimmed with

fox, wolverine, wolf, or dog fur. On holidays

and special occasions, women can be seen

wearing robe-like dresses of fawn skins

beautifully decorated with beads, embroidery

and fur trimmings. At important traditional

events, we see men wearing loose shirts and

trousers made of the same material.

Due to the harsh climate and difficulty of

life in the tundra, hospitality and generosity

are highly prized among the Chukchi. It is

forbidden to refuse anyone, even a stranger,

shelter and food. The community is expected

to provide for orphans, widows and the poor.

Miserliness is considered the worst character

defect a person can have.

Traditional Chukchi sports are reindeer

and dog-sled races, wrestling, and foot

races. Competitions of these types are often

performed following the reindeer sacrifices

of the inland Chukchi and the sea-spirit

sacrifices of the coastal Chukchi. The coastal

Chukchi, like the neighbouring Eskimo, enjoy

tossing each other high into the air on walrus-

skin blankets.

Chukchi of all ages traditionally enjoy singing,

dancing, listening to folk tales and reciting

tongue twisters.

Origin

The Chukchi are an ancient Arctic people

who chiefly live on the peninsula of

Chukotka. They are unusual among the

Northern people in having two distinct

cultures: the nomadic reindeer herders

(Chauchu) who live in the interior of the

peninsula, and the village-based marine

mammal hunters (Ankalyn) who live along

the coasts of the Arctic Ocean, the Chukchi

Sea and the Bering Sea.

The Chukchi, who call themselves the

Lygoravetlat - meaning ‘genuine people’

- presently number slightly over 15,000.

Their territory is mostly treeless tundra. The

climate is harsh, with winter temperatures

sometimes dropping as low as minus 54°C.

The cool summers average around 10°C.

Chukchi folklore includes myths about the

creation of the earth, moon, sun, and stars;

tales about animals; anecdotes and jokes

about foolish people; stories about evil

spirits responsible for disease and other

misfortunes; and stories about shamans

with supernatural powers.

Ancient legends and archaeological

evidence suggest that Chukchi takeover

of Chukotka was anything but peaceful.

Unlike other native groups of Siberia, they

were fiercely militant, and have never been

conquered by Russian troops. Under Soviet

rule, the Chukchi people endured mass

imprisonment and destruction of their

traditional culture

Pollution, weapons testing, strip mining

and overuse of industrial equipment and

vehicles have greatly damaged Chukotka’s

environment and endangered its ability to

support traditional Chukchi activities.

Beliefs

Chukchi beliefs and practices are best

described as a form of shamanism. Animals,

plants, heavenly bodies, rivers, forests and

other natural phenomena are all considered

to have their own spirits. During their

rituals, Chukchi shamans fall into trances

(sometimes with the aid of hallucinogenic

mushrooms), communicate with the spirits,

allow the spirits to speak through them,

predict the future, and cast spells of various

kinds.

The most important traditional Chukchi

holidays were festivals in which sacrifices

were made to the spirits that the Chukchi

depended upon for their survival.

Daily life

For at least a few hundred years, the cone-

shaped yaranga has been the traditional

home of Chukchi reindeer herders. It takes

about 80 reindeer skins to build a yaranga.

Nowadays, fewer and fewer Chukchi live in

yarangas.

The coastal Chukchi traditionally used

dogsleds and skin boats for transportation,

while inland Chukchi rode in sledges pulled

by reindeer. These traditional methods

of transportation still survive, but are

increasingly supplemented by air travel,

motorboats, and snowmobiles.

Although both sexes share responsibility for

running the household, they have different

tasks. Chukchi men drive their reindeer

in search of vegetation and travel to the

edge of the taiga to hunt sea mammals and

gather firewood and fish. The women’s work

includes cleaning and repairing the yaranga,

cooking food, sewing and repairing clothing

and preparing reindeer or walrus hides. It is

considered unseemly for a man to perform

work usually done by women.

Diet

The staple foods eaten by the inland Chukchi are

products of reindeer farming: boiled venison,

reindeer brains and bone marrow, and reindeer-

blood soup. One traditional dish, rilkeil, is made

from semi-digested moss from a slaughtered

reindeer’s stomach mixed with blood, fat, and

pieces of boiled reindeer intestine. Coastal

Chukchi cuisine is based on boiled walrus, seal,

whale meat/fat and seaweed. Both groups eat

frozen fish and edible leaves and roots. Traditional

Chukchi cuisine is now supplemented with canned

vegetables and other foodstuffs purchased in

stores.

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determines your place in heaven.”

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Traditions

Defining aspects of Maori traditional culture

include art, legends, tattoos (ta moko),

performances (notably kapa haka), customs,

hospitality and community.

The haka war dance, meant to intimidate

the enemy, is one of the best-known cultural

traditions of the Maori. These dances are

accompanied by song and body percussion

created by clapping hands, stomping feet,

and slapping thighs. The dance itself involves

energetic postures representing warlike and

aggressive poses.

Maori chanting follows very strict rules.

To break a chant in midstream is to invite

disaster or even death for a community. These

chants often tell of family lines or the exploits

of ancestors.

Tattooing has always been an important part

of Maori culture. Receiving tattoos was an

important step to maturity and there were

many rites and rituals associated with the

event. Every member of a Maori tribe had a

specific role and a specific place within the

social order. An individual’s place within

society was often signified by their garments

and tattoos. People of high social status were

always tattooed, whereas tribesmen with no

tattoos were considered worthless.

Maori tribe members who had great skill in

a particular craft such as wood carving or

weaving were given the title Tohunga. These

individuals would not only be very skilled in

their craft but also highly knowledgeable in

the rituals of the craft.

Contemporary Maori culture has been shaped

by the traditions of its rich cultural heritage,

with an outward view of the challenges faced

by indigenous peoples in a global society.

Origin

The Maori are the indigenous people of

New Zealand and their story is both long

and intriguing. On the basis of oral records,

archaeological finds and genetic analyses,

we can place the arrival of Maori in New

Zealand in the thirteenth century AD.

The origin of the Maori has been reliably

traced to the islands of Eastern Polynesia.

Their journey to New Zealand from the

mythical homeland Hawaiki occurred in a

number of epic waka (canoe) voyages over

a significant period of time. Legend has

it that twelve large canoes each carried a

different tribe (iwi). Even today, most Maori

people can tell which original tribe they are

descendants of. These journeys established

the Maori as daring and resourceful

adventurers, and as one of the greatest

navigating peoples of all time.

Due to centuries of isolation from the rest of

the world, the Maori established a distinct

society with characteristic art, a separate

language and unique mythology.

The early Maori were very peaceful in

comparison to later generations, amongst

whom a warfare culture emerged with many

battles between tribes.

The early settlers did not call themselves

Maori until the arrival of the European

colonists in the 18th century. They then

needed a name to mark their distinction

from the newcomers and used Maori,

meaning ‘ordinary’ (as in different from the

extraordinary gods).

By the end of the nineteenth century,

the effects of early colonisation, wars

and epidemics had reduced the Maori

population to a low of around 40,000. In

early 20th century, the Maori population

numbers began to recover and Maori

culture underwent a renaissance. There are

currently around 650,000 Maori in New

Zealand.

Beliefs

As a polytheist culture, the Maori worshipped

many gods, goddesses and spirits. Maori

believe that ancestors and supernatural

beings are ever-present and able to help the

tribe in times of need. Myths are set in the

remote past. They present Maori ideas about

the creation of the universe and the origins of

gods and of people. The mythology accounts

for natural phenomena, the weather, the

stars and the moon, the fish in the sea,

the birds of the forest, and the forests

themselves. The Maori understanding of the

development of the universe was expressed

in genealogical form. The cosmogonic

genealogies are usually united by the two

names Rangi and Papa (Father Sky and

Mother Earth). The marriage of this celestial

pair produced the gods and, in due course,

all living things on Earth.

Daily life

While the arrival of Europeans had a profound

impact on the Maori way of life, many aspects

of traditional society have survived into the

21st century. The Maori participate fully in all

spheres of New Zealand culture and society,

leading largely Western lifestyles while also

maintaining their own cultural and social

customs. Traditional kinship ties are actively

maintained, and the whanau (extended

family) in particular remains an integral part

of Maori life.

Though many Maori migrated to larger rural

towns and cities, they remained almost

exclusively a rural population.

Maori society is particularly visible at the

marae. Formerly the central meeting spaces

in traditional villages, marae frequently host

events such as weddings, funerals and other

large gatherings, with traditional protocol

and etiquette usually observed. These events

are great occasions to show off their colourful

traditional garments, jewellery, intricate

tattoos, dances and chants: in short, to re-

establish Maori traditions.

Diet

Kai is the Maori word for food. The Maori diet

was based on birds and fish, supplemented

by wild herbs and roots. In their tribal

gardens, Maori also grew root crops including

yams, gourds and kumara (sweet potatoes).

The Maori usually cooked in underground

ovens called hangi. To this day, this

traditional cooking method is still used on

special occasions, creating feasts made from

traditional ingredients.

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my language is the window

to my soul.”

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Traditions

The Loba’s traditions are closely related to

early Buddhism. Most people in Mustang still

believe that the world is flat, illness is caused

by evil spirits and monks heal diseases with

exorcisms. Honouring an ancient Tibetan

custom, a woman can marry several brothers

at the same time.

One of Mustang’s most unusual Tibetan

customs is polyandry amongst brothers. In

Mustang, the fertile land is scarce and if each

brother married a different wife, the land

would be divided, making the family poor.

Lama doctors, or amchis, practise Tibetan

medicine, the roots of which stretch back

more than 2,000 years. They believe that

the body is a microcosm of the universe,

made up of the five basic elements: earth,

fire, water, air and space. Tension between

the elements is the major cause of disease.

There’s good blood for the healthy and bad

blood for the ill, and there are 72 kinds of

bad blood to be taken from different parts

of the body. If the illness in question is not

caused by bad blood, the amchis believe

that it is caused by one of 1,080 demons,

or dus, which invade the body to cause the

404 known diseases in humans. The amchi

then writes a prayer prescription for a fellow

lama to chant, beseeching one of the eight

medical gods to vanquish the demon. Lama’s

are also religious scholars who dispute the

evidence that the earth is round. The Tibetan

way teaches that the world is flat, with Lhasa

at its centre. An important traditional event

is the Tiji festival, a three-day ritual known as

‘the chasing of the demons’. Monks wearing

masks and colourful costumes enact the story

of a deity named Dorje Jono, who battles

against his demon father to save the Kingdom

of Mustang from destruction. The demon

father wreaks havoc on Mustang by causing

a shortage of water, which in this extremely

arid land is the most precious life-sustaining

resource. Dorje Jono eventually defeats

the demon and banishes him from the

land. Tiji is considered the most important

Buddhist festival, held annually at the onset

of spring. The spring season symbolises

the regeneration of life, and the festival is

about hope, revival and affirmation of life.

Dressed in their finery, people from all over

Mustang gather in Lo Manthang to celebrate.

In summer, the capital is host to the Yarlung

horse festival, with races, dancing, drinking

and all sorts of festivities.

Origin

Mustang (from Tibetan Mun Tan, meaning

‘fertile plain’) is the former Kingdom of

Lo, lying on a high and windswept plateau

between north-west Nepal and Tibet, in one

of the most remote regions in the world.

Although Mustang is linked by religion,

culture and history to Tibet, politically it

is part of Nepal. At a time when Tibetan

culture in Tibet is in danger of disappearing,

Mustang now stands alone as one of the

last truly Tibetan cultures existing today.

The people of Lo are called ‘Lopa’, and their

language is a dialect of Tibetan.

The ‘Land of Lo’, as it is known to its 7,000

inhabitants, occupies a mere 2,000 square

kilometres in the upper valley of the Kali

Ghandaki River, which flows straight from

north to south. Routes parallel to the river

once served as a major trade route. Salt

from the vast lakes deep inside Tibet and

wool from mountain yaks were traded

for grain and spices from India. Mustang

in particular was a thoroughfare for this

immensely important trade, providing

the surplus that enabled the construction

of large monasteries and the creation of

stunning works of art, particularly from the

late 14th to the 17th centuries. At the end of

the 18th century, the kingdom was annexed

by Nepal.

Though still recognised by many Mustang

residents, the monarchy officially ceased

to exist in 2008, when Nepal became

a republic. The last official king (raja or

gyelpo) is Jigme Dorje Palbar Bista

(b. 1933), who remains king to this day

albeit in an unofficial capacity, traces his

lineage directly back to Ame Pal, the warrior

who founded the Buddhist Kingdom of Lo

in 1380.

Ame Pal oversaw the founding and building

of much of Mustang’s capital Lo Manthang,

a walled city that has changed surprisingly

little in appearance since that period.

Until 1991, the king refused to allow

outsiders to enter Mustang. The long-

forbidden kingdom was then cautiously

unlocked, although even then, only 1,000

visitors a year were allowed in by the raja,

who considers this the only way to preserve

the kingdom.

Beliefs

The people of Lo practise Tibetan Buddhism.

In Tibetan Buddhism, monasteries and

monastic communities play a major role. The

people of Mustang are highly religious, and

prayers and festivals such as Tiji form an

integral part of their lives. In Mustang, nearly

every village has a monastery. The stunning

grandeur of the monasteries in Lo Manthang,

in particular, illustrates the prominent

position of religion. This is also evident in

traditional family structure, where the eldest

son will inherit the family’s property and

families are expected to give up their second-

born sons to the monasteries when they are

six or seven years old.

Daily life

Daily life in arid Mustang revolves around

animal husbandry (goats, horses, mules,

donkeys, cows and yaks), agriculture, trade

and - since 1992 - tourism. Most of the

population of Mustang lives near the Kali

Gandaki river, 2,800 - 3,900 metres above

sea level. The presence of water makes

sustenance agriculture possible. The main

crops are barley and buckwheat, while maize,

apples, apricots and different vegetables

are also grown. The land is carefully terraced

and irrigated. In winter, a large migration

takes place into the lower regions of Nepal to

escape the harsh conditions.

Diet

Oily Tibetan tea laced with salt and yak

butter is a staple of the Mustang diet. Meat

dishes are likely to be yak, goat or mutton.

Yak yoghurt, butter and cheese are frequently

eaten and flour milled from roasted barley is

always an ingredient in Lopa cuisine.

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“The one who is guilty has the higher voice.”

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Traditions

Gauchos were loners who were hardy

and uncompromising, but famed for their

kindness to fellow travellers, always sharing

their food or what little shelter they had. Sons

of gauchos invariably became gauchos too.

The pastimes of the gauchos included

gambling, drinking, playing the guitar and

singing about their skills in hunting, fighting

and love-making. The gaucho, his horse and

his facon were inseparable. Knives could

open cows and close discussions.

Knives were used mostly as tools during the

gaucho’s long days in the prairie, to perform

hundreds of minor and major tasks.

Duels amongst gauchos were not intended

to kill. They just wanted to mark the other,

preferably on the face. That mark would make

it obvious and forever to all that the bearer of

the scar had lost a duel. If one of the gauchos

unintentionally wounded his opponent

fatally, sympathy was felt for the killer who

would from then on be considered a man in

disgrace in need of protection and help to

escape. Little sympathy was felt for gauchos

known to be deliberate killers.

The typical gaucho outfit would include a

poncho (which doubled as a saddle blanket

and sleeping gear), a facon, a rebenque

(leather whip) and loose-fitting trousers

called bombachas. Nowadays, working

gauchos are as likely to be found in overalls

and wellington boots as in their traditional

dress, the latter usually worn in desfiles

(parades) during festivities and celebrations.

Origin

The Argentinian Pampas - rolling terrains of

grasses, flowers and herbs - are the home

of the Gauchos. The nomadic and colourful

horsemen and cowboys have wandered the

prairies since as early as the 1700s, when

the flatlands were overpopulated by wild

Cimarron cattle, originally brought to South

America by the Spanish conquistador Pedro

de Mendoza in 1538.

In the 18th century, when leather was in

high demand and hides fetched great prices,

gauchos arose to clandestinely hunt the

huge herds of horses and cattle that had

escaped more than a century earlier.

Gauchos were usually of mixed European

and indigenous ancestry, but sometimes

were of largely African or part-African

descent.

Some presume that the name gaucho

is derived from the Mapauche cauchu,

meaning ‘vagabond’. Others consider the

Quechua word huachu, meaning ‘orphan’,

to be a better candidate.

Whatever its roots, the word ‘gaucho’ came

into existence for the first time in the late

1800s to describe a roguish individual

that would ride alone, sometimes with a

woman, whose only baggage was a facon

(knife), boleadoras (three iron or stone

balls on leather cords thrown at the legs

of an animal to immobilise it) and a reata

(lasso), in order to capture running cattle or

game. The gauchos were self-sufficient free

spirits who were wedded to their horse and

the open plain. Not only were the gauchos

independent and tough, they knew the

pampas intimately and were extremely

skilled horsemen, which made them ideal

cavalry during the wars of independence

(1810-1818) and the civil wars that followed.

The life of the gaucho got increasingly

difficult during the 19th century, as

anti-vagrancy and other laws forced the

horsemen further inland. Extensive portions

of the prairies were settled, leaving less

room for the gauchos to roam with their

ponies and the wild herds of cattle they

lived on. By then, commercial cattle

ranching had begun, and the pampas had

been fenced into huge estancias. The ranch

and landowners (estancieros) needed

managers to control cattle breeding and

herding, and none were better qualified for

the job than the gauchos.

Beliefs

Gaucho beliefs consisted mainly of age-

old superstitions varnished with Roman

Catholicism.

Setting themselves apart from society

and being free spirited allowed gauchos

to do whatever they thought necessary to

survive, without being worried about fate,

destination, sin, guilt, heaven or hell.

Daily life

The gauchos spent their days caring for

their herds and catching wild cattle. Being

nomadic, the gauchos would spend little time

at home, which was a mud hut covered with

cowhides and containing a few horse skulls

to sit on.

Gauchos usually did not marry the woman

they lived with. She raised their children (with

sons following in their father’s footsteps) and

took care of housekeeping.

Over time, the early gauchos gave up their

solitary existence to work for the estancieros.

They settled down, rounded up cattle,

mended fences, branded animals and tended

sheep.

As their way of living changed, the legend of

the gaucho grew.

Diet

When on the range, the gaucho diet consisted

almost entirely of beef, supplemented

by yerba mate, a herbal tea-like drink

rich in caffeine and nutrients. Cows were

slaughtered for their hides, leaving the meat

for the gauchos, who promptly roasted it on

an open fire before it spoiled. Argentina’s

national dishes are derived from simple

gaucho cooking (assado).

ArgentinA

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is only half a man.”

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Traditions

The customs and traditions of the Tsaatan

people are defined by migration, governed

by the needs of their reindeer. The Tsaatan

rely on the animal for most, if not all, of their

basic needs: the milk, which is also used to

make cheese; the antlers, which they use to

make tools; and first and foremost, transport.

Tsaatan ride their reindeer and use them as

pack animals.

Not surprisingly, the Tsaatan treat their

reindeer almost reverently. Their very identity

and survival is linked directly to their reindeer

herd. The relationship between human and

animal is mutual. The tribe put a lot of effort

into finding optimal pastures for the animals,

as well as protecting them from natural

predators like wolves.

The Tsaatan have traditionally ridden their

reindeer to hunt wild game as they can move

swiftly across both snow and the slushy

terrain that the taiga turns into when the

ground thaws. Reindeer have never been

reared as food.

Urtyn duu (long song) is a means of

chronicling local and family history,

and is even considered to be a way of

communicating with animals.

In an elaborate ritual of song, the Tsaatan

compose pleasing melodies to reward

individual animals or ‘tell’ the herd of the

needs of the young reindeer.

The yearly Tsaatan reindeer festival highlights

the traditions of the tribe and its nomadic

lifestyle. It features folk singing, shamanistic

rituals, marching reindeer herds, reindeer

riding and reindeer polo. Both men and

women wear their finest deels (big overcoats

usually worn with a large belt).

Origin

The Tsaatan (reindeer people) of northern

Mongolia are a nomadic tribe who depend

on reindeer for nearly all aspects of their

survival. Inhabiting the remotest subarctic

taiga, where winter temperatures can drop

to minus 50°C, the Tsaatan are Mongolia’s

last surviving reindeer herders. Originally

from Siberia, the Tuvan speaking Tsaatan

are a Turkic people. For thousands of

years, the Tsaatan have survived the harsh

conditions of the forested mountains,

moving their families, ortz (tepees),

animals and their few worldly possessions

between five and ten times a year. This tribe

of ethnic people has developed a unique

culture and tradition in which reindeer

play a pivotal role. In fact, the Tsaa, the

Mongolian reindeer themselves, have

dictated the Tsaatan’s way of life for as long

as we know.

Presently, only 44 families remain. It is

estimated that those 44 families number

between 200 to 400 people in total,

although there are no official figures to draw

upon. The greatest threat to the Tsaatan

existence is the dwindling number of their

reindeer herd, as well as the wildlife around

them, to which their destiny is intrinsically

linked. Reproductive diseases have infected

their herds of domesticated reindeer,

causing the numbers to dwindle from

thousands to less than 600.

Beliefs

Shamanism, the traditional spiritual belief

system based on nature worship, is still

practised among the Tsaatan. To influence

and extract meaning from their environment,

they perform many mystical holy rituals and

use many different magic charms in their

daily life, for hunting, calling, preventing the

rain etc.

Daily life

The Tsaatan’s daily life is perhaps best

described as bordering on subsistence

living, meaning they survive only by virtue of

man’s basic needs: air, water, food, clothing

and shelter. The traditional dwelling of the

Tsaatan is the ortz, a conical tent made of

animal skin and wooden poles, which is easy

to set up and pack. They certainly cannot be

said to lead a sedentary life. Reindeer play

an integral role in the day-to-day life of the

Tsaatan. They use their milk as a staple in

their diet and creatively use shed antlers for

a myriad of different purposes. Men leave

early in the morning to lead their reindeer

and forage for moss in the surrounding high

mountains. The women go about their daily

chores and milk the reindeer when they

return, while the men chop wood for cooking

and warmth in the brutally cold weather.

The reindeer are highly domesticated. They

roam freely and even enter the ortz without

being chased out (except when their antlers

are too large).

Diet

The Tsaatan do not use the reindeer for meat,

preferring instead to subsist on elk, moose,

or boars caught in the wilderness. This makes

the tribe unique among reindeer-herding

communities. Reindeer milk is a favourite

beverage and is also used to make yoghurt,

cream, dried curds and cheeses. The milk is

preserved in containers dunked into a stream

or river: perfect natural refrigeration.

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Traditions

Marriage is a unique series of elaborate

rituals. Great importance is given to the gifts

from the bridegroom (two goatskins, two

copper earrings, a gourd for keeping milk and

a sheep) and the gifts for the ceremony. The

marriage is concluded when a bull - guided

by the bride’s mother - enters the hut and

is killed.

Fertility is very important for the Samburu.

Childless women are ridiculed, even by

children. Samburu boys throw cow dung at the

huts of women thought to be sterile. A fertility

ritual involves placing a mud figure in front of

the woman’s house. One week later, a feast

will be given in which the husband invites

neighbours to join him in eating a slaughtered

bull. The people gathered will pray for a child.

Both boys and girls go through an initiation

into adulthood, which involves training in

adult responsibilities and circumcision for

boys. Two five-year stages of initiation lead

eventually to becoming a senior warrior

(moran). The initiates are then free to marry

and join the married men (the junior elders).

For girls, entry into womanhood is also

marked with a circumcision ceremony.

The Samburu love to sing and dance,

but traditionally use no instruments, not

even drums. They have dances for various

occasions in life. The men’s dance involves

jumping, and high jumping from a standing

position is a very popular sport. Most dances

involve the men and women dancing in their

separate circles with particular dance moves

for each sex. They do however coordinate

their dances.

Origin

The Samburu people, approximately

140,000 in number, live slightly south of

Lake Turkana in the Rift Valley in northern

Kenya, where the foothills of Mount Kenya

merge into the northern desert.

In an arid region with sparse vegetation,

they have traditionally herded cattle, sheep,

goats and camels, all of utmost importance

to the Samburu culture and way of life. The

Samburu are extremely dependent on their

animals for survival.

A nomadic lifestyle is essential for their

survival since attempts to settle down in

permanent locations have reduced their

self-sufficiency and ability to maintain their

traditional values and practices.

As cattle-herding Nilotes, the Samburu

reached Kenya some five hundred years ago,

moving southwards from the Sudan Nile

Valley along the plains of the Rift Valley in a

rapid, all-conquering advance. Their Maasai

‘cousins’ moved further south into what is

now Tanzania.

The Samburu language is a Maa-language

and very close to that of the Maasai.

Severe droughts have reduced the amount

of available pasture and thus the number

of cattle, with a resulting decline of wealth,

status and stature of family groups.

Their society has depended on cattle and

warfare (for both defence and raiding

others) for so long that they find it hard to

change to a more sedentary lifestyle. The

purported benefits of modern life are often

undesirable to the Samburu. Their lifestyle

and attitude remains much more traditional

than the Maasai.

Beliefs

The Samburu tribe have had cultural conflicts

with the Somali, and so regard Islam with

great suspicion. Virtually no Samburu have

become Muslims. Traditionally they believe

in a distant creator, one supreme god, whom

they call Nkai or Ngai, as do other Maa-

speaking peoples. Nkai is thought to dwell

in beautiful mountains, large trees, caverns,

and water springs. The greatest hope of an

old man approaching death is to be buried

facing a majestic mountain, the seat of Nkai.

Belief in the spirits of the ancestors and even

witchcraft are common. The Samburu believe

in charms and have traditional rituals for

fertility, protection, healing and other needs.

They also believe in a evil spirit called Milika.

Diviners (laibon) predict the future and cast

spells to influence this predicted future.

Daily life

The Rift Valley in Kenya is a dry, somewhat

barren land, and the Samburu have to

relocate to ensure their cattle can feed.

Generally, between five and ten families set

up encampments for five to six weeks before

moving on to pastures new. Their huts are

built from mud, hide and grass mats strung

over poles. A thorny fence is built around the

huts for protection from wild animals. These

settlements are called manyattas. The huts

are constructed to be easy to dismantle and

transport when the Samburu move to a new

location. Men take care of the grazing cattle,

which is their main livelihood. Women are

in charge of gathering roots and vegetables,

milking cows, fetching water, gathering

firewood, cooking and tending to children.

They are also in charge of maintaining their

homes. Duties of boys and girls are clearly

delineated along the same division of labour,

helping their fathers or mothers.

Samburu are very independent and

egalitarian. Community decisions are

normally made by men (senior elders or both

senior and junior elders), often under a tree

designated as a ‘council’ meeting site. Women

may sit in an outer circle and may make

comments or express concerns through a male

relative. However, women may have their own

meetings and then carry the results of such

discussions to men for consideration by the

men’s council. Both men and women wear

brightly coloured traditional shukka, a length

of cloth that they loosely wrap around their

bodies. This is enhanced with many colourful

beaded necklaces, earrings and bracelets.

Both men and women wear jewellery, which is

made by the women. Samburu men dye their

hair with red ochre, and warriors keep their

long hair in braids. The Samburu paint their

faces using striking patterns to accentuate

their facial features.

Diet

The Samburu diet consists mostly of milk

and sometimes blood from their cows. The

blood is collected by making a tiny nick in the

jugular of the cow, and draining the blood into

a cup. The wound is then quickly sealed with

hot ash. The Samburu diet is supplemented

with roots, vegetables and stems which are

dug up and made into a soup. They don’t

slaughter their animals often, only eating

meat on special occasions and during

ceremonies such as the birth of a child,

initiation and marriage.

kenya

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Samburu

216 217

218 219

220 221

222 223

224 225

“A deaf ear meets

with death, a listening

ear with blessings.”

226 227

228 229

230 231

233

Traditions

Rabari have a very rich cultural past and

present. Embroidery is a vital, living and

evolving expression of the crafted textile

tradition of the Rabaris. As far back as the

tribe’s collective memory stretches, Rabari

women have diligently embroidered textiles

as an expression of creativity, aesthetics and

identity. Designs are taken from mythology

and the tribe’s desert surroundings. Girls

learn the art of embroidery at a young age,

practising their new-found skills by working

on a collection of embroidered items that

will later become their dowry. This collection

can sometimes take two or three years to

complete.

Marriage, which celebrates the vitality of life

and ensures its continuity, is considered of

utmost importance. Traditionally, weddings

can be extravagant events, and they take

place on a particular day of the year: the

feast of Gokulashtami, Krishna’s birthday.

Childhood marriage is still very much in

vogue with the tribe. Rabaris marry only

within the tribe and often into families that

are closely related.

For hundreds of years, the tribal women have

practiced tattooing for decorative, religious

and therapeutic purposes. Traditional

patterns (trajuva) are passed down through

the generations. The female elders of the

tribe women still work as tattoo artists at

fairs, festivals and markets where the Rabari

gather to trade their goods.

Nearly all surfaces of the body are tattooed.

Rare folk songs and stories are part of the

rich Rabari culture. Traditionally, women sing

about their loved one’s death.

Origin

For almost 1,000 years, the people of the

Rabari tribe have roamed the deserts and

plains of what is today western India. It

is believed that this tribe, with a peculiar

Persian physiognomy, migrated from the

Iranian plateau more than a millennium

ago. The Rabari are now found largely

in Gujarat and Rajasthan. Their name,

meaning ‘outsider’, refers to the fact that as

nomadic herders, they would be found not

within town walls, but in the periphery and

further, where there was enough land for

their grazing herds. Traditionally the Rabari

were camel herders, crossing desert areas

that were off-limits to other tribal groups,

but presently most Rabari herdsmen also

keep sheep and goats. Although only about

one to two percent still practise an entirely

nomadic lifestyle, the main sources of

Rabari income remain livestock and related

products such as milk, wool, leather and

dung. Shepherds are often hired to herd the

combined livestock of entire villages, with

flocks sometimes numbering more than

500.

Rabaris can be easily identified by looking

at their womenfolk, who usually wear long

black headscarves (lobadi) and distinctive

heavy brass earrings. They tattoo magical

symbols on their necks, breasts and arms.

A Rabari man commonly appears in white

dress, sporting golden earrings.

Beliefs

Rabari are devout Hindus. According to their

myths, they were created by Parvati, the

consort of Shiva. As Shiva was meditating,

Parvati wiped the dust and sweat from his

body and modelled the very first camel from

the dust balls she collected. Once Shiva had

breathed life into the camel, it kept running

away. So, Parvati fashioned and gave life to

a man – the first Rabari – to look after the

camel. Keeping animals has thus always been

a devout occupation and the Rabari people

see themselves primarily as custodians,

rather than owners, of animals. It is also

their belief that Parvati is their guardian.

Her advice is taken on many occasions and

animals are commended to her care.

Daily life

While the men are on the move in search

of grazing pastures for their livestock, the

women and children remain in the villages.

The villages are usually small, featuring no

more than the most basic amenities, and

they are almost always set in bleak, barren

surroundings.

In a typical village, two-room rectangular

houses (vandhas) with whitewashed mud

walls and tiled roofs may look stark, but the

interior decoration of these houses reflect the

Rabari’s fondness for adornments of all sorts.

The women are shrewd and intelligent and

manage the hamlets and all money matters.

Going to the local village or town markets

is an important part of daily life. There, the

Rabari women trade milk and milk products

from their livestock. Wool and leather are sold

in order to purchase commodities they do not

produce themselves. Rabari women dedicate

long hours to sewing, traditional embroidery

and bead work.

Diet

As the Rabari are Hindu, they do not eat beef.

Staple foods include millet and milk, curd

and butter milk. Milk is deemed sacred food

and offering it to someone is considered a

gesture of friendship and welcoming.

Tea was introduced by the British for

medicinal purposes, to counteract the plague

epidemic in the early 19th century. Since

then, tea – with milk and sugar – has become

the most popular drink in the region.

india

232

Rabari

234 235

236 237

238 239

240 241

“It is morning whenever you wake up.”

242 243

244 245

246 247

249

Traditions

Mursi women are known all over the world for

wearing clay plates in their lower lips. At the

age of 15, girls get pierced, after which their

lips are stretched out to create enough space

to place the lip plate. It is said that the lip

plates were invented to make Mursi women

less attractive to slave traders. In the tribe

today, the bigger the lip plate, the more cattle

the girl is worth by the time she is traded

into marriage.

In order for young tribesmen to qualify for

marriage, own cattle and have children, they

must face up to a unique dare, known as

the bull-leaping ceremony. It is also a rite

of passage to mark the boys’ coming of age.

Cows are lined up in a row. Each boy, naked,

has to make four clean runs over the back of

the cows, without falling. Success gains him

the right to marry. During this impressive

display, the young man is accompanied by

women of his tribe, cheering for him, dancing

and singing. Polygamy is permitted: a man is

allowed to have as many wives as he wants,

but must be able to afford them.

Mursi warriors are marked with horseshoe-

shaped scars on their bodies. Men are

gashed on their right arms, whereas women

are gashed on their left arms. Very successful

warriors have their thighs marked. The Mursi

are also very famous for their stick-fighting

ceremony, the donga.

Origin

The Mursi tribe lives in the lower Omo

Valley, situated in Africa’s Great Rift Valley

in south-west Ethiopia, not far from the

Kenyan border. The Mursi number about

4,000 and have their own language,

known as Mursi, which is one of the Surmic

languages. They are a nomadic tribe of

herdsmen who, over the past few decades

have encountered growing threats to their

livelihood. Extreme drought has made it

more and more difficult for many Mursi

families to feed themselves by means

of their traditional activities such as

cultivation and cattle herding. Furthermore,

the establishment of national parks with

their fences and roads has seriously

restricted the access of local tribes and

threatened their natural resources. The

cattle-herding Mursi fear that they will be

denied grazing rights in areas designated as

game parks.

Beliefs

Even though the Mursi tribe has been in

contact with Christian evangelist missionaries

and has been influenced by nearby Muslim

tribes, their main religion is classified as

Animism. Nowadays the tribe practises a

mixture of monotheistic and traditional

animist beliefs, resulting in what is actually

polytheism. In accordance with animist

traditions, people believe that all natural

objects, like trees and even rocks, have

spirits. Muslim legend has also added the

jinni, a spirit that can assume human or

animal form and influence people by means

of supernatural powers.

Daily life

The Mursi, like the other tribes in the region,

build huts using a range of materials such

as thatch, river reed, branches and sticks.

During migration, they sometimes leave

the huts and sometimes bring them along.

It is the women’s job to build and

dismantle the huts.

The Mursi are considered to be a rather

primitive tribe within the Omo Valley, even

though their way of living isn’t so different

compared to other tribes. Mursi have always

shown reluctant and aggressive behaviour

towards foreigners in general, but since

tourists have found their way to their land,

that attitude has become even worse. In the

past, the Mursi economy concentrated on

bartering, and the tribes’ possessions were

mostly shared. This changed when tourists

arrived, offering money in exchange for

photographs. Today the Mursi have a hard

time dealing with this new form of economy,

resulting in many Mursi men consuming more

alcohol than they can handle.

Diet

Mursi mainly live off their cattle, corn and

honey. In rare cases it is known they have

hunted wildlife. Unlike some other regional

tribes, they do not fish.

ethiopia

248

Mursi

250 251

252 253

254 255

256 257

258 259

260 261

262 263

“It’s better to die than

live without killing.”

265

Traditions

The people of Ladakh are conservative and

traditional, and their lifestyle is much the

same as it was 2,000 years ago. They have

a rich folklore, remarkable for its songs and

legends, some of which date back to the pre-

Buddhist era.

Most of the Ladakhi festivals fall in winter,

and serve as an excuse for social and convivial

gatherings. In summers, archery competitions

and a native version of polo are common.

Folk songs and dances add to the jovial

atmosphere and chang, the local barley wine,

flows liberally. The folk musical instruments

surna (oboe) and daman (drum) accompany

the ceremonies and public events.

The Ladakh festival is held every year in

September. Performers adorned with gold

and silver ornaments and turquoise headgear

throng the streets. Monks wear colourful

masks and dance to the rhythm of cymbals,

flutes and trumpets. Dances depict the many

legends and fables of Ladakh. Buddhist

monasteries sport prayer flags and thankas

(silk paintings of deities), and archery and

polo competitions are organised.

Festivals and celebrations are unmissable

opportunities for the Ladakh to display

goncha, the traditional dress. Typical

costumes include gonchas of velvet,

elaborately embroidered waistcoats and

boots and hats. Well-to-do Ladakhi women

have a striking and opulent appearance.

Their gonchas are made of heavy Chinese

silk and they wear impressive jewellery, with

baroque pearls, turquoises, coral and amber

bedecking their necks and ears. The gonchas

of the less fortunate are made of coarse,

home-spun, woollen cloth in a dark

shade of maroon.

Newborn children are given a warm welcome,

with celebrations on their 15th and 30th

day in the world, as well as on their first

birthdays. The family invites friends, relatives

and neighbours and serves tsampa (roasted

barley flour) mixed with butter tea.

Weddings in Ladakh are occasions for music,

dance and feasting. Boys are generally

promised or married by the age of 16 and girls

by the age of 12. The relatives of the groom

bring gifts to the bride’s home. If accepted,

the wedding takes place within a few months.

New wives move in with their husbands and

- depending on their status and wealth - her

parents offer clothes, animals and land to the

couple as a dowry or raqtqaq.

Men are the head of the family and the eldest

son inherits the property of his father, which

passes to the next brother after him. If there

are no sons in the family, the father brings

in the husband of the eldest daughter and

property gets transferred in the daughter’s

name and then passes on to her first son.

Origin

The people of Ladakh (meaning ‘land of the

passes’) live in very high mountain valleys

between the Himalaya and Karakoram

ranges in the northern Indian state of

Jammu and Kashmir. Ladakh is divided into

the mainly Muslim district of Kargil and the

primarily Buddhist Leh district.

The ancient inhabitants of the region were

the Dards (Dropka), an Indo-Aryan tribe.

However, immigration from Tibet more than

a thousand years ago largely overwhelmed

the Dard culture and its distinguishing

characteristics and features. In eastern and

central Ladakh, today’s population seems to

be mostly of Tibetan origin.

Leh, the capital of Ladakh, was the home of

an independent monarchy for a thousand

years. The Ladakhi royal family, which traces

its lineage back to 300 BC, still lives in Leh,

but since India’s independence in 1947, its

influence has been merely symbolic.

Ladakh is a cold desert, with winter

temperatures of minus 30°C, rainfall of no

more than eight centimetres per year and

very limited sources of water. Despite this,

it has been home to a thriving culture for

more than a millennium. The self-sufficiency

of the Ladakh, having developed unique

irrigation systems over many centuries, is

essentially based on an economy of small

agricultural communities.

For centuries, Ladakh’s culture was

preserved by geographic isolation. Since

1974, when foreigners were permitted to

visit this strategically sensitive area, there

has been an increasing influx of tourists

(currently around 15,000 per year).

Beliefs

The Ladakhi share the beliefs of their

Tibetan neighbours. Tibetan Buddhism,

mixed with images of ferocious demons from

the pre-Buddhist Bon religion, has been

the principal religion in Ladakh for more

than a thousand years. Traces of influence

from the dark, distant past are found in

the demonic masks and re-enactments of

human sacrifices that make up their festivals.

Buddhism has very deep roots in Ladakh, as

this region was introduced to the faith as far

back as the 7th century AD. The culture and

lifestyle of the people of Ladakh are quite

deeply influenced by their Buddhist religion,

with ancient Buddhist inscriptions and rock

engravings scattered liberally throughout

this mountainous region. Many villages are

crowned with a gompa or monastery, which

may be anything from an imposing complex of

temples, prayer halls and monks’ dwellings

to a tiny hermitage which houses a single

icon and is home to a solitary lama. Lamas

are believed to be the messengers between

the physical and the spiritual world and often

act as astrologers and oracles, predicting the

auspicious time to start any major enterprise.

Daily life

Because of the harsh mountain environment

of Ladakh, helpfulness and cooperation

are essential for survival. Ladakhi society is

structured in phasphuns, a cooperative group

of several unrelated families maintaining

alliances of friendship, cooperation, and

helpfulness. The six to ten families in the

phasphun usually live in the same village,

participate in group religious ceremonies,

and worship a common god. Neighbours help

each other, especially during harvest season,

when workdays begin at dawn and end at

dusk. Even then, the work is done at a relaxed

pace, so all ages can join in and help. There

is laughter and song, and the distinction

between work and play is not rigidly defined.

As the Himalayan farming season is short,

Ladakhi only work for four months of the year.

During the eight winter months, they cook,

take care of their livestock and carry water,

but work is minimal. Most of the winter is

spent at festivals and celebrations. Even

during summer, hardly a week passes without

a major festival or celebration of one sort or

another, while in winter, the celebrations

are almost a continuous affair. Weaving is an

important part of traditional life in eastern

Ladakh. Both women and men weave,

although they use different looms.

The nomadic tribes of the Changpa rear long-

haired goats and sheep, whose under-fleece

is used for the famous Kashmiri Pashmina

shawls. They are keenly interested in trade.

Raw wool is their chief commercial product.

The men travel long distances, seeking

favourable prices for their wares, which in

addition to the precious wool, also include

salt, dry fruits, pearls and semi-precious

stones. In return, they get tea, tobacco, grain,

sugar and other goods.

Diet

Many of the local people of Ladakh are

farmers, and the produce of their fields are

used to make traditional Ladakhi cuisine.

Vegetables such as potatoes, pumpkins,

beetroots and beans are cooked in a variety

of different ways and accompany meat dishes

of mostly mutton and chicken. The staple

food includes sku (noodles), thukpa (thick

soup with vegetables), pava and khambir

(bread made from wheat flour).

india

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Ladakhi

266 267

268 269

270 271

272 273

274 275

276 277

278 279

“The land is so harsh and the passes so numerous, that only the best of friends or the worst of enemies would visit you.”

280 281

282 283

284 285

287

Traditions

Ceremonies typically involve an exchange

of food, such as traditional taros and yams,

kava, fowl, pigs and chicken, as well as feasts.

Dancing is an important part of Ni-Vanuatan

culture, and many villages have dancing

grounds called nasara.

The three-day Toka Festival on the island

of Tanna is one of the most significant

traditional celebrations of Vanuatu. The event,

which used to mark the end of a tribal war, is

nowadays a symbol of alliance and friendship

between different tribal groups. During

this gift-exchanging ceremony, up to 2,000

participants attempt to outdo each other

with their lavish gifts, dancing skills and

ornate make-up.

The island of Ambrym is famous for its

magnificent tam-tams sculpted from tree

trunks. These slit gongs, which are several

metres tall, are used to beat the rhythm for

the singing and dancing during ceremonial

rituals. The more striking dance is the Rom

dance, held every year in Northern Ambrym.

It is exclusively a male event and kept very

secret. The outfits worn for the dance are

destroyed immediately after the event so the

spirits won’t haunt the dancers.

A nambas is a traditional penis sheath made

from bark or the leaf of the pandanus. Two

tribes on the island of Malakula, the Big

Nambas and the Smol (Small) Nambas are

named for the size of their nambas. Nambas

are characteristic of central Vanuatu. On the

northern islands, long mats wrapped around

the waist are worn instead.

Women wear grass skirts, using leaves, woven

mats or the fibres of the hibiscus.

To this basic form of dress, the Ni-Vanuatu

add masks, headdresses and various

Origin

The Ni-Vanuatu are the Melanesian people

that make up the population of the Republic

of Vanuatu. This chain of 83 islands in the

south-west Pacific Ocean, formerly the New

Hebrides, gained independence from Britain

and France in 1980.

Espiritu Santo is the largest island. The

capital Port Vila lies on the south-central

island of Efate.

Archaeological remains found indicate that

settlement in Vanuatu dates back to around

500BC. There is a growing evidence that

Melanesian navigators from Papua New

Guinea were the first to colonise Vanuatu.

Over the centuries, other migrations

followed. Nowadays, all the inhabited

islands have their own languages (over one

hundred distinct languages are spoken) and

their own customs and traditions.

The total population of Vanuatu is

approximately 170,000.

Beliefs

Many Ni-Vanuatu still practice traditional

native religions. These include cargo cults,

which believe that wealth can be obtained

through religious ceremonies, the best known

of which is the John Frum movement. This

group holds on to some traditional

practices, including ritual dancing and

the drinking of kava.

Daily life

Vanuatu is still a rural country. Most Ni-

Vanuatu live on their home islands and are

subsistence farmers who do cash cropping

on the side. The method of production is

‘slash-and-burn’ horticulture, with farmers

clearing and then burning new forest plots

each season.

Crops are sold at local markets. With a

growing tourist industry, there is a small

market for traditional handicrafts. Customs

are involved in every single major event

in daily village life (marriage, death,

circumcision, initiation, rites of passage

etc.) and they also ensure that law and order

is maintained. If disputes arise, they are

resolved peacefully by exchanging gifts.

Diet

Ni-Vanuatu combine traditional south Pacific

cuisine with introduced elements. Before

contact with the West, staple foods included

yams, taros, bananas, coconuts, sugar cane,

nuts, greens, pigs, fowl and seafood. After

contact, other tropical crops (cassavas,

plantains, sweet potatoes, papayas,

mangoes) and temperate crops (cabbage,

beans, corn, pepper, carrots, pumpkins) were

added to the diet.

The national ceremonial dish is laplap, which

is a pudding made of grated root crops or

plantains mixed with coconut milk, greens

and meats, wrapped in leaves and baked for

hours in a traditional earth oven.

vanuatu islands

ornaments for different ceremonies.

Kava has a long history in Vanuatu. It is

a drink made from the pepper plant that

contains a mildly intoxicating drug. A nakamal

is an area where the men from a village gather

to drink kava after a working day. Held under

a large tree or ‘lean to’, the men from the

village gather to talk about current issues.

Often, the chief will use this time to mediate

and/or make judgement on village disputes.

This method of mediation and reconciliation -

if an issue has reached a high level of

conflict - has led to Vanuatu being very

peaceful, especially compared to its

Melanesian neighbours.

Some Ni-Vanuatu practice male initiation,

which usually involves circumcision. Following

the ritual, a young man wears a cover of

braided fibres over his genitals.

People of the northern islands of Vanuatu

pass through a series of status levels during

adulthood. A person gains entry to each stage

by purchasing the symbols associated with

it and by making a large sacrifice of animals,

usually pigs. Men mainly pass through the

status levels, but women may

also participate.

The role of women varies among the Ni-

Vanuatu. In some areas, men are in charge.

In others, especially in parts of the islands of

Espiritu Santo and Efate, women have more

power. In these societies, descent is traced

through the female side of the family.

For the rural Ni-Vanuatu, the choice of a

marriage partner is determined by family

and descent. The marriage itself is usually

accompanied by an exchange of gifts,

including woven mats and pigs.

286

Vanuatu

288 289

290 291

292 293

294 295

296 297

298 299

300 301

302 303

304 305

“A girl is like a branch of nettle tree - whatever ground you

plant it in, it will grow.”

306 307

308 309

310 311

312 313

314 315

316 317

318 319

320 321

322 323

325

Traditions

Though not void of practical considerations,

most Tibetan traditions, such as the many

festivals, are related to Buddhism. It is

said that the traditional Tibetan opera

(Lhamo) stems from the 14th century, when

a lama, Thangthong Gyalpo, staged the first

performance with seven beautiful girls to

raise funds for iron-chain bridges in order

to improve transport of goods and facilitate

pilgrimage. Tibetan opera then became

popular throughout the region. Performances

are held during festivals marking different

occasions. Buddhist teachings and Tibetan

history are the sources of inspiration for the

operas. Different masks reveal the role of the

performers, whether they be king, queen,

lama or deity.

The ceremonial scarf (Hada), is highly

regarded. Tibetans usually present Hada as a

token of esteem.

Tibetan traditional medicine is one of the

oldest forms in the world. It uses up to

two thousand types of plants, forty animal

species and fifty minerals.

Sky burial is a funerary practice in Tibet,

wherein the deceased is placed on a

mountaintop and exposed to the elements

(mahabhuta) and wildlife - in particular

to predatory birds. In Tibet, the practice is

known as jhator meaning ‘giving alms to the

birds’. In much of Tibet, the ground is too

hard and rocky to dig a grave, and, due to the

scarcity of fuel and timber, sky burials are

often more practical than cremation.

Polyandry is practised in parts of Tibet.

A typical arrangement involves women

marrying one or more brothers of her first

husband. This is usually done to avoid

division of property and provide financial

security. However, monogamy is more

common throughout Tibet.

Origin

Tibet is known as the ‘roof of the world’.

Five mountains exceed altitudes of 8,000

metres, including Mount Everest, the

world’s highest peak. Lhasa is the political,

economic, cultural and religious centre

with an abundance of cultural relics. Tibet

accommodates 1,700 monasteries, some of

which date back to the 8th century.

The approximately 5.5 million Tibetans are

an ethnic group with bold and uninhibited

characteristics. Legend has it that the

ancestors of the Tibetan people are a

monkey and a female ogre. However,

archaeological and geological discoveries

indicate that the Tibetans are descendants

of aboriginal and nomadic Qiang tribes. The

history of Tibet began around 4,000 years

ago.

Beliefs

Tibetan Buddhism is the main religion

of Tibet. Religion is a daily, if not hourly

practice. Tibetans spend much of their

time in prayer or spinning prayer wheels,

which is believed to be almost as spiritually

meritorious an activity as prayer. Like all

Buddhists, Tibetans adhere to non-violence,

do good deeds, present gifts to monks and

aspire to have gentle thoughts.

Tibetan Buddhism absorbed elements of Bon

when it developed in the 8th century AD. The

Bon religion is an ancient shamanist religion

with esoteric rituals, exorcisms, talismans,

spells, incantations, drumming, sacrifices, a

pantheon of gods and evil spirits, and a cult

of the dead. It has greatly influenced Tibetan

Buddhism. Prayer flags, prayer wheels,

sky burials, festival devil dances, spirit

traps, rubbing holy stones - all of which are

associated with Tibetan beliefs - evolved from

the Bon religion.

Daily life

Animal husbandry is the main occupation of

most Tibetans and they continue to lead a

semi-nomadic life, living in thick black yak-

hair tents lined with bags of precious barley

and surrounded by their grazing flocks.

The ubiquitous yak is the most useful animal,

although sheep are also reared for meat

and wool, and most families have a number

of goats. Tough little mountain ponies are

a means of transport and mare’s milk is a

treasured delicacy and cure-all.

Tea-churning is a daily ritual for Tibetans.

Every Tibetan family owns an ingenious

wooden ‘blender’ to churn butter, salt and

freshly brewed brick tea. Once mixed, the

concoction is poured into a kettle so that it

can be kept warm over a fire and is ready to

be served at any time.

Tibetan costume and ornaments

communicate not only the habits, but also the

history, beliefs, climate and character of the

local people, and they have undergone few

changes throughout history. The most striking

feature of Tibetan costume and ornaments

is the large variety, not only in material

(including brocade, fur, leather, silk, wool,

cotton, and many more) but also - depending

on the wearer’s location and occupation - in

design.

Herdsmen need clothing that they can easily

move in. Their robes are loose enough to

serve as a quilt at night and allow the free

movement of the arms during the day.

When sunshine raises the temperature,

they can easily free one arm from the sleeve

to help adjust body temperature. By and

by, wearing a robe with one arm bare has

become a symbol of the Tibetans’ uninhibited

character.

Made of sheepskin, fox skin, or beribboned

golden satin, Tibetan caps are of great

aesthetic value. Boots are so long that they

sometimes reach the upper part of the leg.

The insteps are often embroidered. Most

Tibetan clothing is made of animal fur,

with sheepskin being most common. The

traditional woollen fabric is Pulu. Cotton

garments are welcome in summer.

Tibetan costumes are brilliantly coloured.

Women in the pastoral areas are particularly

fond of bright colours. Tibetans love

ornaments more than any other ethnic group.

Ornaments are the symbol of assets and

social status. They wear all kinds of jewellery,

such as necklaces, hairpins, earrings, and

bracelets, made of shells, animal bones,

gold, silver, pearls, jade and other precious

stones.

Diet

The cuisine of Tibet reflects the rich heritage

of the country and people’s adaptation

to high altitude and religious culinary

restrictions. The most important crop is

barley. Dough made from barley flour

(tsampa), is the staple food of Tibet. Meat

dishes are likely to be yak, goat, or mutton,

often dried or cooked into a spicy stew with

potatoes. Mustard seed is cultivated in

Tibet, and therefore features heavily in its

cuisine. Yak yoghurt, butter and cheese are

frequently eaten, and well-prepared yoghurt

is considered something of a prestige item.

Tibetans

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“Better to see once

than to hear many times.”

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Traditions

The Huaorani identify deeply with the

jaguar, an important and majestic predator.

According to myth, they are the descendants

of a mating between a jaguar and an eagle.

They will never hunt a jaguar. They will also

never kill snakes, as they are considered an

evil force and a bad omen, the anaconda

in particular. The Huaorani have many

traditional hunting and eating taboos. They

will not eat deer, as deer eyes look like

human eyes. While a joyful activity, hunting

has ethical implications. The Huaorani must

kill animals to live, but they believe that

animal spirits live on and must be placated

or else they will take revenge. Therefore,

a shaman shows respect during the ritual

preparation of the poison (curare) on darts.

Hunting with such darts is not seen as killing,

but as a kind of harvesting from the trees.

Spearing peccaries (wild musk hogs) is

considered killing and involves violence

and fury.

The Huaorani have a vast knowledge of plants

and trees, with uses including poisons,

medicines, hallucinogens, building materials

and many more.

The Huaorani groom one another, making the

tradition an important social activity. They

typically wear their hair long. Face and body

painting is done for a vast number of reasons,

from religious ceremonies to scaring off evil

spirits, or simply for aesthetic purposes.

The paints come from trees and plants that

grow in the area. Traditional dancing is an

important part of life. Children are included

in most dances to make sure that the dances

are passed on to the next generation.

In many situations, these dances involve the

entire village.

The polygamous Waodani traditionally marry

within the tribe, through marriages

between cousins.

Origin

For at least a thousand years, the

Amazonian rainforest of Ecuador, the

Oriente, has been home to the Huaorani.

They currently number around 2,000 and

they are also known as Waorani or Waodani

(meaning ‘human beings’ or ‘the people’).

The Huaorani consider themselves to be

the bravest tribe in the Amazon. They are

outstanding hunters and feared warriors

who live in a world that is green, wet, and

filled with the sounds of the forest. Until

1956, they had never had any contact with

the outside world. They have fought hard

to protect their land and culture and have

shown no mercy to unwelcome intruders.

However, life is changing for the Huaorani.

Over the last decades, they have - against

their will - shifted from a hunter-gatherer

society to mostly living in permanent forest

settlements. However, in remote villages,

hunting is still the way of life and the key to

survival. They possess an intimate

and profound knowledge of animals,

which stems from a total reliance on the

natural world.

The Huaorani homelands are threatened by

oil exploration and illegal logging practices.

As of 2012, the Huaorani have

approximately 6,800km² of land, about one-

third of their original territory.

Beliefs

The animist Huaorani believe the animals

of their forest have a spiritual as well as

a physical existence. They believe that a

person who dies walks a trail to the afterlife,

which is guarded by a large anaconda snake.

Those among the dead who cannot escape

the snake fail to enter the domain of dead

spirits and return to Earth as animals, often

termites. Spirits are present throughout the

entire world, which to the Huaorani, includes

only the forest.

Daily life

One of the most important things to the

Huaorani is family life. In the long houses,

extended families are very close. Everyone

helps out: men, women and children.

Usually, the men provide for the family by

hunting. Their main hunting weapon is the

blowpipe. These are typically 3 to 4 metres

long. The men make and fashion all weapons.

Huaorani spears are most often made from

the wood of the peach-palm tree and have

sharpened barbs on both ends. Blow darts

are dipped with poison from the curare

plant, which paralyses its victims. Blow guns

enable tribes to hunt prey such as birds and

monkeys from a distance.

Their accuracy is deadly.

The men fell trees to clear fields for the

women to tend. The food that they plant

includes bananas, peanuts, sweet potatoes

and maniocs. Once they have used the soil to

its full potential, they leave the area to find

another. They do this to allow the ground to

heal. Women take care of the crops, clean the

homes, and look after the children.

Huaorani like to sing, dance and drink

manioc beer. They take great care in planning

ceremonies. Many of their ceremonial

drinking festivities lead to marriages.

Diet

Hunting and fishing supply a large part of the

Huaorani diet, as well as being of cultural

significance. Traditionally, the creatures

hunted were limited to monkeys, birds, and

peccaries. Neither land-based predators nor

birds of prey are hunted. Bananas, maniocs,

peanuts, sweet potatoes, berries and fruits

are on the menu. Fermented manioc is the

main ingredient for their beer, which flows

plentifully during festivities.

ecuador

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“As our ancestors live, so will we live; as our ancestors died, so will we die.”

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Traditions

For centuries, the Drokpas have been

indulging in public kissing and wife-swapping

without any inhibitions. Groups of women

and men from the tribe would queue up in

lines and kiss openly and fervently without

any consideration for marital relationships.

As the practise was deemed uncivilised by

the army, the civil administration, and by the

‘urbanites’ of Leh – and therefore banned –

the Drokpas now only conduct this passionate

display in the absence of outsiders.

The Drokpas are fond of music, dancing,

jewellery, flowers and barley wine.

Their cultural exuberance is reflected in

exquisite dresses and ornaments, worn

particularly at festivals such as the late-

summer Bonano festival, when both men

and women dance for three nights in a row.

Drokpa males wear a large woollen dress

held at the waist over woollen trousers. The

women don special woollen dresses and

adorn themselves with shells, beads and

silver jewellery. Goatskin capes complete the

traditional dress. Both men and women wear

unusual headdresses decorated with flowers,

coins and seashells.

Their songs tell the story of their history and

their journey to Ladakh.

Origin

Around 2,500 Drokpas live in three small

villages in the Dha-Hanu valley of Ladakh,

which is situated in Jammu and

Kashmir, a disputed territory between

India and Pakistan.

The valley lies 163 kilometres south-west

of Leh, the capital of the former Himalayan

kingdom of Ladakh.

Historians have identified the Drokpa

people as the only authentic descendants

of the Aryans left in India. One theory is

that the original Drokpas were a group

of soldiers from Alexander’s army who

lost their way while returning to Greece

after having been defeated by the Indian

king Porus in 326 BC, while another - less

romantic but probably more accurate - is

that the Drokpa descend from the Dards,

an Aryan tribe that centuries ago moved

into western Ladakh from the Hindukush

mountains (in Gilgit Baltistan, now a region

of Pakistan).

They settled in Dha-Hanu, since it is the only

fertile valley in Ladakh.

The Drokpas are completely different

– physically, culturally, linguistically

and socially – from the Tibeto-Burman

inhabitants of most of Ladakh. Drokpa men

and women are tall and fair, with big, lightly

coloured eyes, full lips and distinctive noses

and eyebrows. As a result, they consider

themselves superior and do not marry into

other communities. This insularity is how

the tribe preserves its ethnicity.

Beliefs

The Drokpa are nominally Buddhist, although

animist and pre-Buddhist Bon rituals still

survive. Offerings of sacrificial goats and

sheep to appease the gods and demons are

commonly practised.

Daily life

Daily life consists of husbandry and (primarily

subsistence) agriculture. The fertility and

temperate climate of the valley makes for

lush greenery. The Drokpas’ main sources of

income are apples, grapes, walnuts, dried

apricots, oil from apricot kernels, and other

products cultivated in the Drokpa’s well-

tended vegetable gardens.

Diet

The traditional Drokpa diet is based on locally

grown produce such as barley and hardy

wheat, which are most frequently prepared

as tsampa or sattu (roasted flour). Other

important foodstuffs include apricots, apples,

potatoes, radishes, turnips, and gur-gur cha,

a brew of black tea, butter and salt. During

festivals and rituals, mutton and goat are on

the menu.

india / pakistan

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Drokpa

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“Boast during

the day,be humble at night.”

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Traditions

In order for young tribesmen to qualify for

marriage, own cattle and have children, they

must face up to a unique dare, known as

the bull-leaping ceremony. It’s also a rite of

passage to mark the boys’ coming of age.

Cows are lined up in a row. Each boy, naked,

has to make four clean runs over the backs

the cows, without falling. Success gains him

the right to marry. During this impressive

display, the young man is accompanied by

women of his tribe. They dance and sing,

encouraging him.

Polygamy is permitted: a man can have as

many wives as he wants, but must be able to

afford them.

The biggest ceremony in a man’s life is called

Dimi. Its purpose is to celebrate and bless

his daughter for fertility and future marriage.

When he has gone through Dimi, a man

becomes an elder. About 10 cattle and 30

smaller animals are slaughtered and other

stock is traded for coffee. Men and women

dress in animal fur capes to feast and dance,

and the leaders of the village bless the girl.

Girls are circumcised at around the age of 10

or 12 years. Until then, as a tease, girls are

called ‘wild animals’ or ‘boys’, since they

cannot act like women (i.e. wear clothes, get

married etc.) before they are circumcised.

Several girls always undergo the ritual

together. When completed, the girls are

given sour milk to drink and a necklace by

their mothers.

Like the Dassanech, the Karo and the

Banna practise ritual dancing and singing.

To prepare for a ceremony, they paint their

bodies and faces with white chalk mixed

with yellow rock, red iron ore and charcoal.

Men often sport clay hair buns adorned

with feathers.

The Dassanech tribe is typical in that it is not

strictly defined by ethnicity. Anyone – man

or woman – will be admitted, as long as they

agree to be circumcised. Over the centuries,

the tribe has absorbed a wide range of

different peoples. Members of the same clan

are forbidden from marrying – or indeed

dancing with – each other.

Origin

The Omo Valley, situated in Africa’s Great

Rift Valley in south-west Ethiopia, is home

to an estimated 200,000 tribal people who

have lived there for millennia. Amongst

them are 1,000 to 3,000 Karo who dwell

on the eastern banks of the Omo River

and practise flood-retreat cultivation,

growing sorghum, maize and beans. The

20,000-strong Dassanech (meaning ‘People

of the Delta’) inhabit the southernmost

region of the valley, where the Omo River

Delta enters Lake Turkana. As for most other

tribes of the Omo Valley, cattle are central to

the lives of the Dassanech. When they lose

their cattle to disease, drought or raid by a

neighbouring tribe, they turn to the world’s

largest desert lake for sustenance, hunting

fish, crocodile and the occasional hippo. The

Banna, approximately 45,000 in number,

are a mainly agricultural people who inhabit

the highlands east of the Omo River.

Cattle and goats provide milk and meat,

as well as hides for clothing, shelter and

sleeping mats. They also display wealth

and prestige: without them, a man is

considered poor, and in most tribes cannot

get married because he has nothing to offer

as a bridal gift.

The tribes here have always traded between

each other, for beads, food, cattle and cloth.

More recently, the trade has been in guns

and bullets. Inevitably, as roads are made

through the area, other goods like beer

and food find their way into the villages.

There are serious concerns about the impact

of a gigantic dam that is currently under

construction. It will produce much-needed

electricity, but at the same time it will

reduce the river’s flow and tame the seasons

of flood and retreat, which the tribes living

downstream rely on to nourish their crops.

The fencing of game parks is another threat,

as it could seriously restrict the access of

the local tribespeople.

Beliefs

Most of the peoples are Muslim by name,

although the Banna, Karo and Dassanech

have also been influenced by evangelist

missionaries. Traditional Animism is also still

practised. The tribes now share a mixture of

monotheistic and traditional animist beliefs,

resulting in what is actually polytheism. In

accordance with animist traditions, people

believe that all natural objects, such as

rocks and trees, have spirits. Muslim legend

has also added the jinni, a spirit that can

assume human or animal form and influence

people by means of supernatural powers. The

Dassanech believe that some men have the

power over both water and crocodiles and

are responsible for dealing with diseases of

the glands across the tribe. The Turat clan is

responsible for dealing with burns from fire.

They have powers to keep away snakes and to

cure many diseases, and also have the ability

to keep away enemies from their animals.

Daily life

Life in the Omo Valley has changed very little

since the turn of the first millennium. The

tribes live a simple life of hunting, gathering,

raising cattle and growing sorghum along the

banks of the River Omo. Within the village,

the women build and take down the huts

during migrations. They are semi-circular

constructions with no interior divisions, made

up of sticks, thatch, river reed and branches

called miede. Women claim the right-hand

side of the hut (and of the porch outside) as

their own.

The Karo were known for their magnificent

houses (when they were still rich in cattle)

but after they lost their wealth, they adopted

the much lighter conical huts. Every Karo

family owns two houses: the Ono, which is

the principal living room of the family, and

the flat-roofed Gappa, which is the centre of

several household activities.

Diet

Meat and milk are staple foods. Some tribes

also grow maize, beans and sorghum. If

necessary, the Dassanech fish and hunt

crocodiles in Lake Turkana.

ethiopia

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“A close friend can become a close enemy.”

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403

Traditions

The koteka, or penis gourd, is one of many

distinguishing features as far as traditional

clothing is concerned. The Yali and Dani

men tend to the growing of the calabashes

with both tribes meticulously cultivating a

different style. The koteka of the Dani is much

smaller than the long and slender one that

the Yali men wear.

A gourd is a piece of traditional clothing.

Without it, men consider themselves naked.

Just as people look to facial and bodily

decorations to establish a stranger’s tribal

identity, so too do those in the know look to

penis gourds.

The Korowai are one of the few Papuan tribes

that do not wear kotekas. The men of this

tribe ‘hide’ their penises in their scrotums, to

which a leaf is then tightly tied.

The three tribes decorate their bodies to

varying degrees. The Dani, using paint,

shells, pig tusks and feathers, decorate more

than the Yali and Korowai, with the latter not

going beyond bones and pig or dog teeth for

decorative purposes. Both Yali and Korowai

customs include cannibalism. The Dani often

had to fight for their territory against different

villages or other tribes. That’s why they

have been called the most dreaded head-

hunting tribe of Papua. This is remarkable

considering the fact that they did not eat

their enemies, like the majority (including

the Yali and Korowai) of other Papuan tribes

did. For all three tribes, pigs are of the utmost

importance. The domestic pig has social

value and is only eaten during rituals and

feasts on special occasions.

All three tribes are polygamist and all conduct

festivals for weddings, funerals or other

important occasions. All rituals relating to

birth, marriage and death are occasions

at which reciprocal obligations must be

fulfilled. During such events, socially valued

items such as pigs, dog teeth and shells are

presented to the group organising the ritual.

The group receiving the gifts is obligated to

reciprocate a similar or even more valuable

gift at a later stage. Although the means

and the actual event may vary from place to

place, the reciprocal exchange of gifts occurs

throughout Papua.

Origin

In the midst of the Jayawijaya mountain

range of Papua in Indonesia, on a plateau

situated 1,600 metres above sea level, you

can find the Baliem Valley. The surrounding

peaks of 2,500 to 3,000 metres provide a

steady supply of rain, making the valley a

lush and fertile habitat. Archaeological finds

prove that the valley - only ‘discovered’ in

1938 - has been farmed for 9,000 years.

Two of the tribes inhabiting the Baliem

Valley region are the Dani in the actual

valley and the Yali (‘Lords of the Earth’) in

the virgin forests of the highlands. Though

‘neighbours’, each tribe has a distinct

language and culture. Physically, the Yali

are remarkably smaller than the Dani. With

men standing at just 150cm tall, the Yali are

officially recognised as pygmies.

South of the central mountain range

is a large area of lowland. The area

accommodates a myriad of rivers forming

swamps, wetlands and mangrove forests.

It’s the habitat of the Korowai, a tribe that

until the early 1970s, believed that they

were the only humans on earth.

Approximately 250,000 Dani currently live

in the central mountain range. The Yali

population is estimated at 30,000, while

3,000 Korowai live in the inaccessible

southern lowlands.

Beliefs

The Dani, Yali and Korowai universe is filled

with all kinds of spirits, some more personal

in character than others. Particular reverence

is paid to ancestral spirits. In times of

trouble, domesticated pigs are sacrificed to

the spirits of the ancestors. The tribes have

an extraordinary and rich oral tradition,

including myths, folk tales, magical sayings

and charms.

Daily life

Though different in appearance and

language, the two tribes of the Jayawijaya

mountain range and the Korowai have a

similar way of life. Both the Korowai and

pygmy Yali are hunter-gatherers, practice

less sophisticated cultivation techniques and

keep fewer pigs than the farmers of the Dani,

who use an efficient irrigation system and

enjoy huge harvests of their staple

sweet potatoes.

The Yali supply the Dani with decorative bird

feathers, tree kangaroo and cuscus pelts

and fine rare woods that have long since

disappeared from the valley.

Both Dani and Yali build round or oval huts

made out of straw and wood, with thick

thatched roofs. Dani and Yali men, women

and children sleep separately in different

huts (honai). While the Korowai live in tree

houses, they also adhere to strict separatism

between men and women.

The tribes’ tools have not changed in

thousands of years: stone axes, net bags

hung from the forehead, bows five or six feet

long and arrowheads carved specifically for

particular purposes, such as to kill large

game, birds, or their enemies.

Their material culture is limited to the

indispensable things of daily life.

However, they do cherish the modest luxury

of body ornaments.

Diet

Sago is the main staple food, supplemented

by larvae, wild pigs, snakes, cassowary and

other birds. Vegetables include palm leaves,

fern and breadfruit.

indonesia

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Dani,yali & Korowai

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“If the hand does nothing, the mouth does not chew.”

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431

Traditions

Reindeer play a vital role in the lives and

traditions of the Nenets. Aside from their

market value, reindeer provide a source of

food, shelter, clothing, transport, spiritual

fulfilment and means of socialising. A bride

price or dowry in the form of reindeer is

therefore still common. The reindeer is also

revered as a symbol. The Nenets believe that

people and deer entered a kind of social

contract, where reindeer offered themselves

to humans for their subsistence and

transport, and humans agreed to accompany

them on their seasonal migrations and protect

them from predators.

The Nenets still rely on traditional clothing

sewn by the women. Nenets men wear a

Malitsa, which is a coat with hood made of

around 4 reindeer skins, fur on the inside

and leather on the outside. In extremely cold

conditions, men wear yet another layer of

reindeer fur, known as a Gus. The women

wear a Yagushka which has a double layer

of around 8 reindeer skins. Both men and

women wear hip-high reindeer skin boots

consisting of an inner (tobaki) and outer

boot (kisy).

The Nenets have a rich tradition of oral

literature and songs.

Origin

The Nenets people of the Siberian arctic

are a nomadic tribe of reindeer herders.

Migrating across the Yamal peninsula,

where the Ob River and Ural Mountains

meet the Arctic coast, the Nenets have

thrived for more than a millennium in one

of the most inhospitable places on earth,

with temperatures that dip to minus 50°C

in winter and soar to 35°C in summer. On

their annual migration of over a thousand

kilometres, these people move huge herds

of reindeer from summer pastures in the

north to winter pastures just south of the

Arctic Circle. The migration includes a 48km

crossing of the frozen waters of the Ob River.

For these journeys, the reindeer are used to

pull sledges that carry the people and their

camp. The giant single-file reindeer trains

can stretch out to 8km in length.

No Arctic people that we know of have

persisted for so long and so defiantly. Today,

more than 10,000 nomads herd 300,000

domestic reindeer on the pastures of the

Arctic tundra.

After possibly thousands of years of

existence, the Nenets now face perhaps

their greatest challenge. Since the discovery

of oil and gas reserves in the 1970s, the

Nenets have had increasing contact with

the outside world and the infrastructure

on the Yamal Peninsula has been rapidly

expanding. The tundra is now home to

several gas-worker villages, is covered by

thousands of exploration drill sites, and is

home to a new railway connecting Russia

to the West. Building infrastructure on a

peninsula of permafrost, bogs and lakes has

significant consequences for the Nenets’

indigenous lifestyle, which is intrinsically

linked to this environment.

Beliefs

Shamanism is still practised in parts of

the tundra. Nenets have an animist belief

system centred on local deities. These are

represented by wooden idols that they carry

on sacred sledges. Figurines representing

ancestors also play an important role. Several

times a season, the sacred sledge is anointed

with freshly slaughtered reindeer blood. When

they sacrifice a reindeer, they split the animal

in half, starting at the skull. They eat half and

leave the rest as an offering to the gods. The

Nenet people believe that certain stones with

unusual shapes are remnants of the gods who

have guarded them for millennia. Sacred sites

are scattered throughout the Yamal peninsula.

Daily life

The Nenets live in one-family chums, made

of reindeer skins laid over a skeleton of long

wooden poles. During migrations, chums are

moved every other day. A carefully chosen

chum site should provide pasture and good-

quality ground, as well as a nearby source of

water from which they can brew their favourite

beverage, Sri Lankan black tea. After checking

the vegetation at a chum site, the headman

plants his reindeer-driving stick (khorei) in the

ground in the exact spot where he wants the

centre of the chum to be.

The men take care of grazing the reindeer,

slaughter, choosing pastures etc. The

women’s role is primarily to prepare and

cook the staples of meat and fish, to repair

clothing, to pack and unpack the households

during periods of migration and to look after

children. Hunting and fishing supplement the

Nenets’ way of life.

When talking amongst themselves, Nenets

speak a Finno-Ugric language. However,

every Nenet under 50 speaks fluent Russian,

as from the late Stalin period onwards,

all children have been enrolled in Soviet

boarding schools. At first, families resisted

this policy, but today, boarding schools

have become part of the typical Nenets

life cycle and parents are supportive of the

opportunities that this education provides.

Diet

Except for their favourite brew, Sri Lankan

tea, The Nenet nomads rarely depend upon

outside sources for their food, living on

reindeer, fish and whatever else they can

forage from the forbidding Arctic soil.

In summer, when meat can’t be stored, fish

becomes the main diet.

Nenetsrussia

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“If you don’t drink warm blood and eat fresh meat, you are

doomed to die on the tundra.”

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449

Traditions

To be a Maasai is to be born into one of the

world’s last great warrior cultures. From

boyhood to adulthood, young Maasai begin

to learn the responsibilities of being a man

and a warrior. The role of a warrior is to

protect the livestock from human and animal

predators and to provide security to their

families. Through rituals and ceremonies,

including circumcision, Maasai boys are

guided and mentored by their fathers and

other elders on how to become a warrior. Even

when small, Maasai youngsters must learn

all of the cultural practices, customary laws

and responsibilities he’ll require when he

is an elder. An elaborate ceremony (Eunoto)

is usually performed to mark the graduation

from boy to warrior. Becoming a warrior

means a young man can settle down and start

a family, acquire cattle and later become a

responsible elder.

At the age of 14, girls are initiated into

adulthood via an official circumcision

ceremony known as Emorata. Presently, the

female circumcision ritual is outlawed and

its use is diminishing within the Maasai’s

culture. When girls come of age, their parents

‘book’ a warrior from a respectable clan as an

appropriate husband for their daughter.

The Maasai are famous for their jumping

dance (Adumu), performed by the men of the

village, who leap into the air to show their

strength and stamina as tribal warriors. Each

young man will jump as high as he can while

the others stand in a circle and sing.

Origin

The semi-nomadic Maasai people of East

Africa live in southern Kenya and northern

Tanzania along the semi-arid and arid

lands of the Great Rift Valley. The Maasai

occupy a total land area of 160,000

square kilometres, with a population of

approximately half a million people. The

Maasai speak Maa, a language which, like

them, originates from the Nile region of

northern Africa. The Samburu tribe is the

closest to the Maasai in both language and

cultural authenticity. It is thought that the

Maasai’s ancestors originated in northern

Africa, before the Maasai migrated south.

When the Maasai migrated from the Sudan

in the 15th century, they attacked the tribes

they met along the way and raided cattle.

By the end of their journey, the Maasai had

taken over almost all of the land in the Rift

Valley as well as the adjacent land from

Mount Marsabit to Dodoma, where they

settled to graze their cattle. At the turn of

the 19th century, tragedy struck the Maasai

tribe. Rinderpest and other diseases killed

large numbers of their animals, followed

by a severe drought that lasted years. Over

half of the Maasai and their cattle perished

during this period. Soon after, more than

two-thirds of the Maasai territory was

requisitioned to create both ranches for

settlers and Kenya and Tanzania’s wildlife

reserves and national parks.

Beliefs

The Maasai are monotheistic. Their god, Ngai,

is the creator of everything. In the beginning,

Ngai was one with the sky and the earth, and

owned all the cattle that lived on it. However,

one day the earth and sky separated, and

Ngai was no longer earthbound. To prevent

his cattle from dying, he sent the herds to the

Maasai, who he instructed to look after his

cattle. There are two main manifestations of

Ngai: the good and benevolent black spirit

and the vengeful red spirit.

Daily life

The Maasai’s nomadic way of life follows

patterns of rainfall over vast land in search

of food and water for their large herds of

cattle. The Maasai tribe measures wealth by

the number of cattle and children a person

has. Men can have as many wives as they can

afford and support. Each wife is responsible

for building her own home for herself and her

children. A hierarchy exists among the wives,

with the first wife holding the most value

and power. The Maasai live in kraals (boma).

Their huts are loosely constructed and semi-

permanent. They are made of mud, sticks,

grass and cow dung. Skins and hides are

used as bedding. The fence around the kraal

is made of acacia thorns, which prevent lions

from attacking the cattle. Men are responsible

for fencing off the boma, while women

construct the huts, supply water, collect

firewood, milk cattle and cook. Traditionally,

kraals are shared by extended families,

although kraals limited to just the nuclear

family have become customary. Both warriors

and boys herd the livestock. Elders direct and

advise on day-to-day activities. Every morning

before the cattle leave to graze, the elder

who is the head of the boma announces the

schedule that everyone must follow.

Though they traditionally dressed in animal

skins, typical Maasai dress in the modern

era is a red length of cloth (shukka) wrapped

around the body, as well as a great deal of

beaded jewellery worn on the neck and arms.

These are worn by both men and women and

may vary in colour depending on the occasion.

Ear piercing and the stretching of earlobes are

also part of Maasai beauty, and both men and

women wear metal hoops on their stretched

earlobes. Women shave their heads and

remove two middle teeth on the lower jaw

(for oral delivery of traditional medicine).

The Maasai economy is increasingly

dependent on the market economy.

Livestock products are sold in order to

purchase beads, clothing and grains, or to pay

for the children’s school fees.

Nowadays, it is common to see young Maasai

men and women in major towns and cities

selling not just goats and cows, but also

beads, mobile phones, charcoal and grain,

among other items.

Diet

All of the Maasai’s needs for food are met by

their cattle. They eat the meat, drink the milk

and on occasion, drink the blood. Bulls, oxen

and lambs are slaughtered for meat on special

occasions and for ceremonies. The Maasai’s

entire way of life has historically depended

on their cattle, although more recently, with

their cattle dwindling, the Maasai have grown

dependent on food such as sorghum, rice,

potatoes and cabbage (known to the Maasai

as goat leaves).

tanzania

448

Maasai

450 451

452 453

454 455

“Lions can run faster

than us, but we

can run farther.”

456 457

458 459

460 461

462 463

467

I am a photographer, not a writer. My notes

are in my head, forever inspiring my work.

My memories are more often than not of a

spiritual kind, not apt for description. In

many ways I am a loner, although people

are my passion. Sometimes I wondered

whether observing the tribes pictured in

this book, as I did, with my camera, was fair

and transparent enough. But then I knew

that they were observing me as much as I

was picturing them. I must have seemed an

oddity, a stranger from another world. How

right they are.

This project could never have taken place

without others, and I realize how grateful I am.

I am forever indebted to Marcel Boekhoorn,

who wanted to share my dream and whose

financial backing was invaluable.

I owe so much to my parents, mothers in

law and my wife Ashkaine. My parents for

introducing me and my sister Lucy to remote

afterword

and beautiful countries. Ashkaine, for all her

encouragement and keeping what’s most

valuable secure in my long absences: our

children Ardash, Naroush and Alaya.

To have a friend like Narda van ‘t Veer, who

saw the potential of my plan long before

others became believers and who introduced

me to Marcel, is a blessing. Narda has

virtually been by my side during the whole,

complicated project, coaching and fighting on

a daily basis for the good cause.

Without Frans van Hapert, very little would have

been possible in the aftermath of our travels.

I cannot start counting the many

adventures, stories, failures, desperations

and celebrations I shared with my travel

companions, assistant photographer

Hannelore Vandebussche and the exceptional

cameraman Bram Vis, who both followed me

tirelessly and supported unquestionably.

Mark Blaisse, for all his writing and wisdom,

will have my eternal friendship.

The project images received loving care

from Magic Group, Souverein and

Maarten Wouters.

I wish to thank all my friends and supporters

who have invested in me morally and

financially: without them I would not have

been able to grow as a photographer

and a person.

Above all, I am grateful for the open

minds, trust and friendship we

encountered wherever we went. I wish

to thank all the generous families who

invited Hannelore, Bram and me into their

lives and homes. Their warm hospitality

and patience kept us all inspired and safe

and changed us forever.

I am eternally grateful. Thank you.

Jimmy Nelson

BTPA_the book

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