mail_outline sales@mediastorehouse.com
Himba women perform the otjiunda dance, stamping their feet, clapping and chanting while one of them gyrates in the centre of the circle
An Herero man and two women ride home in a donkey cart. The elaborate dresses and unique hat styles of Herero women can be traced back to 19th century German missionaries who took exception to what
!Kung hunter-gatherers pause to check a distant wild animal in the early morning. The !Kung are a part of the San of Southern Africa who are often referred to as Bushmen
A band of !Kung hunter-gatherers makes a stealthy approach towards an antelope, their bows & arrows at the ready. The !Kung are a part of the San of Southern Africa who are often referred to as
An attractive !Kung woman. The !Kung are San hunter-gatherers, often referred to as Bushmen. They differ in appearance from the rest of black Africa having yellowish skin and being lightly boned
An old Kikuyu lady picks coffee Taken in the 1960 s, this photograph depicts a traditional form of dress and ear ornaments among Kikuyu women, which has completely disappeared
A proud Samburu mother of two recently circumcised boys wears briefly their bird skin headdresses round her neck after they discard them during the lmuget loolbaa ceremony (the ceremony of the arrows)
A young Samburu boy sucks marrow straight from the leg bone of a cow. Marrow is a much sought-after delicacy. During every Samburu ceremony
Samburu initiates sing during the month after their circumcision. As their wounds heal, their dances become more energetic
Kenya, South Horr, Kurungu. A Samburu youth after his circumcision. The day after he has been circumcised, the initiate must hang in his pierced earlobes copper ear ornaments that are normally worn
Dressed in his black goatskin cloak, a Samburu boy puts his bundle of sticks, staves and gum on the roof of his mothers house
In the weeks leading up to their circumcision, Samburu boys gather frequently to sing the lebarta, a circumcision song with a slow, haunting melody whose words are ad-libbed to suit the occasion
Up to a year before his circumcision, a Samburu boy will style his hair in a distinctive pudding bowl shape and often rub charcoal and fat into it
Laikipiak Msai
Women of the nomadic Gabbra tribe prepare to move their familys possessions by camel. The long sticks are the structures for their dome-shaped houses
An old Luo lady smoking a traditional clay pipe
A Swahili Muslim woman from Kenyas coast province dressed in a traditional buibui
Ole Senteu Simel, grandson of the famous Msai Laibon Mbatian (after which the highest peak of Mount Kenya is named), was the most respected laibon of the Msai until his death in 1986
Msai warriors draw water from a deep well. The depth of wells is measured by the number of men required to bring water to the cattle troughs at the top of them
A Msai warrior, his face and body decorated with red ochre and clay, wears an ostrich feather headdress. This singular adornment was once worn by warriors going into battle
A Msai warrior with his long braids and body coated with red ochre mixed with animal fat. He has put ochre dust round his eyes to enhance his appearance ready for a dance
Detail of a Msai warriors ear ornaments and other beaded or metal adornments. The Msai practice of piercing ears in adolescence and gradually elongating the lobes is gradually dying out
A Msai warrior in full battle cry, his long-bladed spear at the ready
Kenya, Kajiado, lpartimaro. Two Msai warriors in full regalia. The headress of the man on the left is made from the mane of a lion while the one on the right is fringed with black ostrich feathers
During an eunoto ceremony when Msai warriors become junior elders, their heads are shaved and they daub themselves with white clay
The traditional weaponry of the Turkana warriors consisted of a long-shafted spear with a narrow blade, a small rectangular shield made of giraffe or buffalo hide
A Turkana man with a fine clay hairstyle, so typical of the southern Turkana. The black ostrich feather pompoms denote that the man belongs to the ng imor (black) moiety of his tribe
Turkana elders wear decorative ivory lip ornaments, secured in position by a spigot which is inserted in a hole pierced below the mans lower lip after initiation
A Turkana man strides purposefully across the treeless Lotagipi Plains as an Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus) watches him atop a termite mound
The Turkana spear-fish in the shallow waters of Lake Turkana. The wooden shaft has a detachable metal tip with a sharp barb, which is secured to the end of a long piece of rope
In their dances, Samburu warriors take it in turns to leap high in the air from a standing position without bending their knees
Samburu warriors, spears in hand, jump into the air without bending their knees during one of their dance routines
A Samburu boy in reflective mood after his circumcision. A day after the ordeal, he will hang in his pierced earlobes copper earrings normally worn by married women
A Samburu youth, his head freshly shaved, has milk poured over him from a wooden gourd-like container decorated with green grass prior to his circumcision
At sunrise, a Samburu warrior leads baggage camels down the Milgis lugga - a wide, sandy seasonal watercourse. Water is never far below the surface of the Milgis
A Hamar woman blows a tin trumpet at a Jumping of the Bull ceremony. The Hamar are semi-nomadic pastoralists of Southwest Ethiopia whose women wear striking traditional dress
Assisted by her husband, a Hamar woman draws water from a deep well to give to her familys herds.; The Hamar of Southwest Ethiopia are semi-nomadic pastoralists whose whole way of life is based
Nyangatom men their faces and bodies with stylised patterns using natural pigments obtained from chalk, ochre and crushed rock prior to a dance
A Dorze man sits outside his home smoking locally-grown tobacco using a traditional long-stemmed pipe. Living in highlands west of the Abyssinian Rift Valley
A Borana man at Mega in southern Ethiopia wears a phallic Kallaacha on his forehead. Made of cast aluminium and ivory or bone
A man rides to market on his gaily-caprisoned pony. His saddlecloth is embroidered with Ethiopias imperial lion. Lions are associated with Ethiopias last monarch, the late Emperor Haile Selassie
Warriors of the nomadic Afar tribe wear their hair long and carry large curved daggers, known as jile, strapped to their waists
The impressive Shewa Gate is one of the seven entrances to the medieval walled city of Harar. Once an independent city-state dating back to the early 16th century
A Mursi woman wearing a large clay lip plate. Shortly before marriage, a girls lower lip will be pierced and progressively stretched over a year or so
A Karo man with braided hair plays a traditional stringed instrument beside the Omo River near Duss. Young men settle disputes by fighting with hippo hide whips
A Dassanech man in full tribal regalia participates in a dance during a month-long ceremony. He wears a cheetah skin draped on his backs and a black ostrich-feather headdress
A camel driver stands in front of the pyramids at Giza, Egypt. (MR)
During a dance, Muslim girls from the Sultanate of Tadjoura, dress up in all their finery and display the curved daggers of their men
