Back from a 4 weeks trip in Angola, and Namibia mostly.
Angola is a really great place to discover, once you get the visa,so far from the so touristic mood of Namibia..Allow me some time to work on the 100 gigas of pictures i 've taken!
On this one: an old Himba woman in Angola, not the kind of ones you see in Namibia going to supermarket, but living in remote place, in south Angola, far from modern world, keeping their traditions strongly..
© Eric Lafforgue
www.ericlafforgue.com
Tags: angola tribe tribal himba woman old elder face africa femme vieille tribo tribu tribes ethnic ethnology ethnie culture tradition أنغولا 安哥拉 Ανγκόλα Ангола אנגולה 앙골라 アンゴラ แองโกลา himbas bantoue bantou namibia cuene kuene thnic group kaokoland nomadic pastoral people 7468 angolan african people human herero hereros black people south angola cultura étnico sul de Angola etnias etnia tourismo tourism
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Mwila (or Mwela, Mumuhuila, or Muhuila) women are famous for their very special hairstyles. Hairstyles are very important and meaningful in Mwila culture. Women coat their hair with a red paste called, oncula, which is made of crushed red stone. They also put a mix of oil, crushed tree bark, dried cow dung and herbs on their hair. Besides they decorate their hairstyle with beads, cauri shells (real or plastic ones) and even dried food. Shaving the forehead is considered as a sign of beauty. The plaits, which look like dreadlocks, are called nontombi and have a precise meaning. Women or girls usually have 4 or 6 nontombi, but when they only have 3 it means that someone died in their family. Mwila Women are also famous for their necklaces, which are central and meaningful as for each period of their life corresponds a specific type of necklace. Young girls wear necklaces, heavy red made with beads covered with a mix of soil land latex. Later girls wear yellow necklaces called, Vikeka, made with wicker covered with earth. They keep until their wedding which can last 4 years. When married they start to wear a set of stacked up bead necklaces, called Vilanda. Women never take their necklace off and have to sleep with it. They also use headrests to protect their hairstyles. However, more and more men and women dress in a western way, because people make fun of them when they go to markets. Women sometimes walk 50 kilometers to sell goods in Huila market. Mwila rarely eat meat, they rather eat porridge, corn, chicken, honey and milk. They kill their cattle only on special occasions. Mwila are not allowed to mention people’s name in public.
© Eric Lafforgue
www.ericlafforgue.com
Tags: 6691 angola tribe tribal girl fille africa african Mumuhuila Mumuhuilas flash Mumuila Mumuilas teenager tradition culture make up maquillage haircut cow beads colliers necklace angolan tribo tribu tribes ethnic ethnology ethnie أنغولا 安哥拉 Ανγκόλα Ангола אנגולה 앙골라 アンゴラ แองโกลา Muhilla muila people human mwila herero hereros black people south angola cultura étnico sul de Angola etnias etnia tourismo tourism Drought
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Dof at 1,2 with 85mm
It is a real pleasure to share some moments with the angolan tribes, as they are curious of foreigners as we are curious of them! Miss Ines is from Mundimba tribe. They live in the south of Angola, in a very simple way. I was dispointed to come there without Polaroids.. I bought the last Fuji Instax, a kind of Polaroid camera, but when i wanted to order films, everything was sold out! Crazy industry: they sell a camera, but do not provide films!I was angry after Hasselblad and canon, i'm angry after Fuji now! Who's next?
© Eric Lafforgue
www.ericlafforgue.com
Tags: 0449 portrait face mundimba tribe tribu tribal girl woman beauty eyes african black necklaces headwear regard ines mudimba gps -16.98803813.922302 zemba dhimba mudhimba dhimba angolan people africa human أنغولا angola 安哥拉 Ανγκόλα Ангола אנגולה 앙골라 アンゴラ แองโกลา -16.98807333,13.92122500 herero hereros tribo tribes ethnic ethnology ethnie culture tradition black people south angola cultura étnico sul de Angola etnias etnia tourismo tourism Headgear headdress
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The haircut says everything about the girls: if the hair are on the front, it means she is not married yet. If the hair are in the back, it means they are married. The mariage is an important step in Himba life, but the tribe is very liberal about sexuality.
In fact, i say hair, but i'm wrong: the dreadlocks are not only made with their own hair, as they also can use the hair of some other family members! And if they live near towns, some told us they use indian hair sold in shops!
Himba women are famous for covering their body and hair with a paste made of butter, ochre (hematite powder) and ashes, called otjize, which is supposed to protect them from the sun and the insects. The red complexion it gives to women’s skin, is considered a sign of beauty. Body decoration is important in Himba culture, especially for women. They wear jewelry made of shell, metal, bone or skin. Women usually go topless (as well as men) and wear a skirt made of goat skin. Adult women also wear heavy iron or copper necklaces, that can weigh several kilos, and beaded anklets to protect their legs from venomous animal bites. Himba dress codes and hairstyle rules are very complex. Himba hairstyles are really meaningful as they enable to identify their social status. Pre-pubescent girls wear 2 plaits in front of their faces. Replacing them with many strands hanging all over the head, means the girl is in her puberty period. A girl with long tied back braids is considered ready for marriage. Once married, an « erembe » (a piece of goat leather) is tied to the top of her head. Hairstyle also indicates the status of men.
© Eric Lafforgue
www.ericlafforgue.com
Tags: 0057 himba himbas profile smile angola أنغولا 安哥拉 Ανγκόλα Ангола אנגולה 앙골라 アンゴラ แองโกลา girl black and white noir et blanc bantoue bantou namibia cuene kuene thnic group kaokoland nomadic pastoral people namibie women filles girls angolan african people africa human herero hereros tribe tribo tribal tribu tribes ethnic ethnology ethnie culture tradition black people south angola cultura étnico sul de Angola etnias etnia tourismo tourism
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Mucubal (also called Mucubai, Mucabale, Mugubale) people are a subgroup of the Herero ethnic group, which means they are bantu speaking, and are supposed to have come from Kenya and to be related with Massais.
They are semi nomadic pastoralists living of cattle raising and agriculture. They live in a large area between the slopes of Chela Mounts in the north, and River Cunene to the south, where they are believed to have stopped during the Herero migration, about 300 years ago.
Mucubal have some very specific customs and traditions. They only are interested in cattle and do not care of the rest of the world outside of the bush. Mucubals are not allowed to mention people’s name in public, except their parent’s one, and children’s name in general. A married couple is not allowed to talk to each other in public, as long as the wife hasn’t had children. They only can speak to each other in private. Girls have their upper teeth sharpened and lower ones removed. In order to convince young girls to have their lower teeth removed, old men make them believe, that their teeth leave their mouth during the night, to go in a hole dug to relieve themselves and return in their mouth covered with excrement. The family structure and organization is also very specific. The father has the authority and is the head of the family, although the matrilineal descent is considered more important, as they inherit throught the mother's family. For example the son of the Soba -chieftain of the village-’s sister is the heir of the Soba. It is possible to be disowned by their father's family but not by their mother's because for them this link is sacred. The maternal uncle has to provide his nephew with an ox, called Remussungo. However a father provides his son with an ox, called Hupa. Mucubal can only get married with an outsider of the clan, although it cannot be with a member of another tribe like a Himba for example. Marriages of convenience are the rule most of the time. The fiancée is presented to her future husband during the Fico ceremony, when she is fourteen or less. This ceremony consists in a party with the two families during which presents are offered. The couple has to wait a few more years before consummating the marriage in the centre of the village. Mucubal men can have several wives and are also allowed to sell their wife, if they don’t get along with her or even if they want to earn money, as a woman can be worth 2 cows, which is about 2000 euros and represents a lot of money. For a first marriage a woman can even be worth 3 or 4 cows.
Their nomadic lifestyle based on cycles, between nomadism and stays in the same places (where they settle their villages), accounts for their religious customs and the funerary rites they follow. Mucubal people believe in a God called Huku, Klaunga, Ndyambi. They also worship their ancestors' spirits called Oyo Handi and Ovi huku, which are considered inferior to their supreme divinity. Divination is very important in their culture. They use talismans and amulets to protect their herds or prevent adultery. Nevertheless Mucubal are not afraid of death. Funerals can last several days or weeks. They decorate their graves with cattle horns. The number of cows sacrificed are in relation with the importance of the deceased. This shows the importance of cattle in their culture. Cattle is only killed on special occasions, as Mucubal usually don’t eat meat but rather corn (when they manage to grow some), eggs, milk and chicken.
They don’t eat any fish because according to the legend, one of their chieftains was brought to the sea by the portuguese and never came back. So they think that fish kills men.
Women use mupeque oil, a yellow dried fruit crushed and boiled from which they just drink juice but do no eat pulp. They also eat small red berries with a pepper taste that they boil. In order to show they are hungry Mucubal mimic the gesture we do when we brush our teeth. Mucubal especially women, are famous for the way they dress. The latter wear an original and unique headdress called the Ompota. It is made of a wicker framework, traditionally filled with a bunch of tied cow tails, decorated with buttons, shells, zippers and beads. But tradition is disappearing as some women use modern stuff to fill their ompota headdress. One was using a Barbie doll box! Women whether they are married or not can wear jewels. Ornaments like iron anklets, called Othivela, and armlets, called Othingo, are worn by girls as well as adult women. Mucubal women are also famous for the string they have around their breast, called oyonduthi, which is used as a bra. Women use to smoke tobacco (that they keep in a snuffbox called boceta) in pipes called opessi. There are several ways of saying hello. "Okamene" means good morning", "Tchou"is what a woman answers to a greeting and "Mba" is the word a man answers back to a woman saying him hello.
© Eric Lafforgue
www.ericlafforgue.com
Tags: 6857 أنغولا angola 安哥拉 Ανγκόλα Ангола אנגולה 앙골라 アンゴラ แองโกลา mugabale tribe tribal Mugamboes Mucubal woman flash tribo tribu tribes ethnic ethnology ethnie culture tradition mugubale africa african angolan Mucubai Mucabale people human herero hereros black people south angola cultura étnico sul de Angola etnias etnia tourismo tourism Headgear headwear headdress
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