Very traditional herdsmen Photo

Photographer’s Note

The dominant ethnic groups of southern Sudan, the Dinka and the Nuer, have traditionally based their life and economy on raising cattle. The men and older boys usually spent long periods in the bush with their animals. Life went on the same way it had done for hundreds or thousands of years. According to tradition there was no need to wear any clothes. To protect themselves against insects the men covered themselves with ashes.
This picture was taken from a boat going down the Nile in February 1983. A few seconds later I had my camera taken away by security agents and in the evening, when we reached the town of Bor, I was taken ashore along with some other lawbreaking foreigners, and brought to a police-station. We were threatened to have the films taken away, but after some discussion we were warmly welcomed to Sudan and wished a pleasant continued journey.
A few months later civil war broke out in Sudan between the South and the North and the Dinka formed the core of the southern liberation army SPLA. I think the people on this picture were Dinka, but I'm not sure. I wasn't close enough to identify them from their ritual scars on the foreheads.
This was scanned from a Kodachrome slide.

rodgerg, mafegan, saxo042, UlfE, fanni, molla, pastadog, dareco, mikolaj_kawa, COSTANTINO, noborders, ChrisJ trouve(nt) cette note utile

Critiques | Translate

rodgerg (24773) 2008-08-17 1:36

Hello Gert,

A good photowork and a good scan of an "old" slide but especially a very interesting photo and note. A work for TE. Thanks.
Best regards,
Roger

saxo042 (16164) 2008-08-17 1:41

Hej Gert,

An exceptional photo! This must be one of your best!

This is really a scene which certainly would have looked exactly the same, eons before the invention of the camera.

Hälsningar
Gunnar

serp2000 (9643) 2008-08-17 1:41

Hallo, Gert,

I see you have very interesting life story. Sudan... Vietkong... etc. My personal congratulations, Gert. Good work and useful note!
With the best wishes from Russia,
Serghei

mafegan (4425) 2008-08-17 1:54

Hello again Gert
I sounds as though you are very fortunate to have this photo and to be able to post it on trekearth 25 years later. Also I would think you were very lucky to be able to capture such a scene as you sailed past on a boat. Very well done and very sharp. I travelled in Sudan in 1974 - not in the south but from Geneina in the Darfur region, to Sennar on the Nile and then north to Egypt. I remember the Sudanese as extremely friendly and in recent years have often thought of the people we met and wonder how life treated them. Thanks for sharing, Marlene

nirvana73 (8822) 2008-08-17 2:17

Hello Gert,
very nice tradional shot from you
naturel and simple life
thanks for sharing and explanations
tfs
regards
Ozhan

kschanna (6) 2008-08-17 2:40

Hello Gert,

Very nice piece of history. I am amazed by the clarity of the image and the colors are striking.

You have got a few very interesting elements in the composition. The water, the men and the cattle. You must have had a bit of a scare.

Well done

Kamran

janusz2054 (917) 2008-08-17 3:18

HI GEART

VERY BEAUTIFUL IMAGE

UlfE (9110) 2008-08-17 5:55

Hej Gert!

I love this vivid shot with all the cattle and the people that have just arrived in a canoe and other people are gathering around them. Superb colours and clarity. TFS and have a nice Sunday!

Hälsningar

Ulf

fanni (8791) 2008-08-17 11:05

Hello Gert,
this IS really one of the best photos! I was amazed by the colours (I especially liked it that the colour of the cattle matches the colour of the ashes the people are covered with)...
wonderful scan, good (and most probably hard) work you've done.

Judging by your note, you were lucky to have taken some photos there... otherwise we wouldn't be viewing this interesting image. And thank God you were allowed to have the camera and take photos :)
An exceptionally interesting documentary image ... art work!
best wishes,
Elena

archimatica (13318) 2008-08-17 14:10

Hi, Gert.
This is a real symbiosis between men and animals... It's Africa. Great photo journalism.
Un saluto
Renzo

SteveH (3982) 2008-08-17 17:49

Hi Gert, Great shot of this interesting people following their traditional life. You sure captured some good detail and colour in this scan. Reading your note and response to Kamran it sounds like a difficult area to travel in, even then. I never made it there as by the time I was travelling the war had well and truly started. cheers, Steve

molla (6891) 2008-08-18 0:52

hej gert, don't know if things could be more far away then this. it's sure a millennia away. your story is great and thank's your diplomatic way of discuss things so we have the opertunity to se those picture.
One quest? wasn't this the area the former Nazi propaganda photogrpher Leni Riefenstahl went to make (a public) apology.
Anders

pastadog (12821) 2008-08-18 4:29

"Mr. Livingstone, I presume..." ... for somehow this shot reminded me of those exploration voyages of the 19th century... and indeed this could have been the scene in those days too... and also many centuries before... A great one, Gert... and I esp. like the inclusion of the canoe... Thanks for sharing, Daniel

dareco (17104) 2008-08-19 1:51

I find both your note and this picture extremely interesting. Very nice pov and detail. Great job! TFS and have a happy day!

scalerman (25783) 2008-08-20 1:31

Gert: it's been awhile - I don't always have time to be as through at scanning TE... a frenetic market image you've presented here - complexity but uniform color scheme. Great note also, regards, c

mikolaj_kawa (30985) 2008-08-21 0:46

Hello Gert! Wonderful scene. Amazing perspective. Perfect shot. Great effect. Good luck!

COSTANTINO (23105) 2008-08-22 7:29

Hello Gert,
Beautiful composition of this scenery in Sudan
Original version,good work thanks for sharing
such a photo..
i like the subject and I believe that this photo must be one of your best..
thanks for sharing
Çostantino

noborders (14201) 2008-08-24 8:14

Superb, splendid, all these vertical elements and these elongated bodies...
Then reading your interesting note, I see that you too had your shares of adventures, funny to read the change of mind of the authorities and great for us, as fortunately we are now able to admire such a scene - absolutely splendid and intemporal...
These painted bodies remind me of the beautiful photos of Leni Riefenstahl, who did a splendid book about the Nouba people living Kau (also south Soudan, a country where I never travelled).
Congratulations,
Cath.

CLAP (636) 2008-10-27 9:30

Hello Gert,

Beautiful composition

Claude

ChrisJ (70419) 2009-06-19 23:43

Hello Gert

A superb daily life scene from Africa, with good repetition of the white cattle, & the Dinka men & boys. Good sharpness & tfs!

sixTL (8586) 2009-10-24 12:49

very, very beautiful photo!

Super shot!

Best regards

Artur