A Samburu warrior resplendent with long, braided, Ochred hair. The round ear ornaments of the warriors are fashioned from ivory
A young Dassanech boy silhouetted against the evening sky at his settlement alongside the Omo River. Much the largest of the tribes in the Omo Valley numbering around 50, 000
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
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
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 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
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
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
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
Two young Datoga boys. The youngest wears metal bells around his ankles to ensure that he does not wander far from home without his mother or another member of the family hearing him
A young Datoga boy attired in beads. The metal bells worn around his ankles ensure that he does not wander far from home without his mother or another member of the family hearing him
Hadza youth sings to the accompaniment of his two-stringed musical instrumentSitting on a Greater Kudu skin, a Hadza youth wearing a baboon skin cape sings to the accompaniment of his two-stringed musical instrument.The Hadzabe are a thousand-strong community of
A Wa-Arusha warrior carries home a yoke. His brown necklace is made from aromatic wood. The Wa-Arusha are closely related to the Msai and speak the same _maa language
A Msai woman in traditional attire. The preponderance of white glass beads in her ornaments denotes that she is from the Kisongo section of the Msai, the largest clan group
Msai youth with decorated faceBlack clothing and the intricate white patterns on the face of this Msai youth of the Kisongo section signify his recent circumcision
Young Datoga man in a wellA young Datoga man helps to draw water for his familys livestock from a well on the east side of Lake Manyara. All young men wear strings of twisted yellow and light blue beads round their waists
A Himba woman in traditional attire. Her body gleams from a mixture of red ochre, butterfat and herbs. Her long hair is styled in the traditional Himba way
A Himba mother and baby son relax outside their dome-shaped home. Their bodies gleam from a mixture of red ochre, butterfat and herbs
Almost every Himba woman wears anklets. They comprise strands of homemade metal beads threaded onto leather. Women cover their bodies in red ochre mixed with butterfat
A Samburu initiate with bird skins hanging from his headband. While their wounds heal for a month after circumcision, initiates spend their time wandering in the countryside attempting to kill as
A Samburu initiate takes aim at a bird with a blunt arrow. While their wounds heal for a month after circumcision, initiates spend their time wandering in the countryside attempting to kill as many
A Samburu mother shaves her sons head outside her home the day before he is circumcised. Round her neck hangs his nchipi - the distinctive decoration of every boy who participates in the circumcision
Mothers rub animal fat into their sons cloaks to make them supple. This task is performed shortly before the boys set out on an arduous journey to collect sticks, staves and gum to make bows
A Samburu youth is forcibly restrained after throwing a fit in the tension-filled days leading up to his circumcision. It is not uncommon for Samburu youths and warriors to succumb to hysterical
A Turkana woman sitting in the doorway of her hut. Her heavy mporro braided necklace identifies her as a married woman. Typical of her tribe
A Turkana woman, typically wearing many layers of bead necklaces and a series of hooped earrings with an pair of leaf-shaped earrrings at the front, sits in the entrance to her hut
El Molo fishermen in their dugout canoe on the fringe of the Omo Delta. The El Molo are reputedly Kenyas smallest tribe, a group of nomadic fishermen who fish the Omo delta and Lake turkana
A Msai warrior speaks on his mobile phone from the saddle of his camel near Lake Magadi in Kenyas Rift Valley Province. Mobile phones are a popular method of communicating with family
Gabbra women sing and dance to celebrate a wedding. The traditional metal ornamentation on their heads is called malmal
Two Samburu warriors resplendent with long Ochred braids and beaded ornaments relax in typical pose beside a river bank
A Msai warrior blows a trumpet fashioned from the horn of a Greater Kudu. The strap is decorated with cowrie shells. Kudu-horn trumpets are only sounded to call men to arms or on ceremonial occasions
A back view of a Msai warrior resplendent with long ochred braids tied in a pigtail. This singular hairstyle sets him apart from other members of his society
