Wodaabe men decorated for the Geerewol celebration, making themselves attractive so that a woman might select them for courtship
Carol Beckwith and Angela Fisher have been learning about and photographing the traditional cultures of Africa for 30 years, and have published several books of their work, including a seminal text on the subject: African Ceremonies (Abrams, 1999).
In September 2012 they came out with a book focusing more specifically on bodyart traditions: Painted Bodies: African Body Painting, Tattoos and Scarification (find it on amazon) and I received a link (via Craig Tracy) to a National Geographic Live! video of these two remarkable ethnologists talking about this new book and their journeys to these remote African cultures to create such a record of vanishing traditions.
VIDEO: National Geographic Live! – Carol Beckwith & Angela Fisher: Painted Bodies of Africa
Girls of the Surma people, Ethiopia. In the video, Carol and Angela discuss how fragile such traditions are. Omo River cultures such as the Surma and Karo are going through drastic changes this year, as a new dam on the river will do away with the annual flooding that their way of life has depended on.
To learn more about our programs and performances: http://www.agostinoarts.com
Related articles
- The Omo Tribes: Ethiopia’s Natural Beauties. (franceleclerc.com)
- About the Woodabe: Los Bororo (kysevenkuroi.wordpress.com)
- Is a painted body naked?
- Tribal Facepainting Concept
- Traditional Bodyart – Nuba; Sudan; Africa – 1: changing my perceptions
I am a great admirer of Beckwith and Fisher’s work. They have captured the beauty of the African continent like no one else.