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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
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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
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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
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“Fine horses and fierce eagles are the wings of the Kazakhs.”
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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
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“Don’t start your farming with cattle,
start it with people.”
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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
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Huli,Asaro & Kalam
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“Knowledge is only a rumour until it is in the muscle”
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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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“A Gaucho without a horse
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.
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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.
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Rabari
234 235
236 237
238 239
240 241
“It is morning whenever you wake up.”
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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.
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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).
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Ladakhi
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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.”
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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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330
“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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Huaorani
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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
360
Drokpa
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“Boast during
the day,be humble at night.”
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371
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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Dassanech, Banna, Karo & Hamar
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374 375
376 377
378 379
“A close friend can become a close enemy.”
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390 391
392 393
394 395
396 397
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400 401
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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408 409
410 411
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414 415
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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
430
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438 439
“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