In the hut, a photo from Kunene, North

Photographer's Note

Once I have found the disk with the pictures from my African trip, I can show a few more, let's see if you would be interested.

Maybe the dream of every photographer going to Namibia is to see the Himba village. At least, it was my dream. I posted one photo many years ago, so you would not be bored.

The first settlements of the Himba people can be traced back to the early 16th century when they crossed the Angolan border and chose Kaokoland (nowadays called Kunene region) as their new homeland. The red ochre cream that the Himba are famous for is made by pounding the ochre stone (Hematite) into small pieces. After that, the fragments are mixed with butter, slightly heated using smoke and applied on the skin. the red layer seems to help against the scorching sun radiation while keeping the skin clean and moist, and to some extent, it blocks hair growth on the body.

One of the most remarkable Himba traits is that women are not allowed to use water for washing. This implies themselves and also their clothes. This dates back to the great droughts where water was scarce, and only men were allowed access to water for washing purposes. Apart from applying red ochre on their skin, Himba women do take a daily smoke bath to maintain personal hygiene. They will put some smouldering charcoal into a little bowl of herbs (mostly leaves and little branches of Commiphora trees) and wait for the smoke to ascend. After that, they will bow over the smoking bowl, and due to the heat, they will start perspiring. For a full-body wash, they cover themselves with a blanket so that the smoke gets trapped underneath the fabric. (africageographic.com)

Here the view of the small hut and the boy preparing this red ochre. In this small house lived mother with five children (and a goat).

See in the large format here:
https://i1.trekearth.com/photos/76332/zdsc08980.jpg

Another view of two boys preparing red ochre:

https://i1.trekearth.com/photos/76332/zdsc08969.jpg

The mother with the youngest kid:

https://i1.trekearth.com/photos/76332/zdsc08973.jpg

holmertz, ikeharel, Royaldevon, pierrefonds, tyro, tyro, jhm, jean113, COSTANTINO, papagolf21, Fis2, PaulVDV, PiotrF heeft deze opmerking als nuttig gemarkeerd

Critiques | Translate

holmertz (103540) 2020-06-06 1:04

Hello Malgo,
Cute children and interesting photo. They are well taken, but to me they raise questions about privacy and integrity and tourist groups coming into people's homes.
Kind regards,
Gert

Royaldevon (86364) 2020-06-06 4:36

Hello Malgo,

This is a photograph that I have enjoyed studying.
The view into the hut creates a beautiful context of soft shadows and bright, sunlit spots.
Having gathered that, the young boy is just so engaging; his sparkling eyes are captivating. The whole photograph is really well composed with interesting, thought provoking details.
The goat seems to take the place of a pet and the sticks become toys for the toddler.

I take Gert's point about privacy; maybe you were invited to photograph!

Thank you for the interesting notes and the extra information from the w/s.
I cannot imagine why this photograph has been hidden for so long!
Maybe our preferences change over time but, I love this and will pop it into my favourites for perusing later,
Bev :-)

pierrefonds (115436) 2020-06-06 5:20

Hi Malgo,

You have captured well the eye expression of the child. The point of view is showing the details of his physionomy. The surrounding light light has a good effect on the colours. Have a nice day.

Pierre

Silvio1953 (222779) 2020-06-06 5:52

Ciao cara Malgo, great portrait of cute boy, intense expression, excellent clarity, wonderful colors, fine details and splendid light, very well done, my friend. have a good week end, ciao Silvio

GyurMaster (25000) 2020-06-06 6:13

Dear Malgo,

That's what I call an excellent daily life scene for sure! Of course is the boys eyes, which stole the show, but the lot of details to be observed too are very important!

Best Wishes,
Gy.

tyro (30513) 2020-06-06 7:58

Hello dear Malgo,

Another three fine photographs and, as always, a fascinating and most informative note to accompany them.

Your photographs actually remind me of the splendid images of the Himba people we used to see from Rosemary Walden (SnapRJW) who actually lives in Windhoek: sadly, she hasn't been on TE now for almost five years.

But unfortunately I am also reminded of a television programme which appeared last year - I only watched a part of it before turning it off - it was called "The British Tribe Next Door" - you can read a rather scathing report about it here:

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/the-new-show-which-sees-reality-star-scarlett-moffat-live-with-a-namibian-tribe-is-gimmicky-and-a9169146.html

The short bit I saw of the programme only served to show us how ridiculous so-called "civilised" British people could be while the Himba family retained their dignity perfectly in this rather pathetic example of "reality T.V.".

Anyway, Malgo, your three photographs are delightful. Your main one shows this boy with wonderful eye contact with the photographer while he grinds the hematite for his mother - and, similarly, we see two boys doing the same thing in workshop #1. Your second workshop picture, taken in the same dwelling, is very pleasant, the young woman and her child at mealtime - and an interesting note there too about the largely cereal diet which these people eat.

Wonderful!

Take care and stay safe.

Kind Regards,

John. xx

rychem (72187) 2020-06-06 8:00

Dzieci sa zawsze wdziecznym tematem, a ten chlopak ma bardzo wyraziste oczy i taki spokojny wyraz twarzy
pozdrawiam Ryszard

jhm (211738) 2020-06-06 9:14

Hello Malgo,

You make a world picture, perfect for presentation in a book
A wonderful picture, you did very well.
Excellent presentation too.
Perfect done, TFS.

Have a nice weekend,
John.

jmdias (116341) 2020-06-06 11:58

malgo

we didn't enter inside the huts while there, some of the women were something bored with us, maybe because we didn't buy the things they were selling or some attitude. in some aspects this visit looks like watching animals in a zoo.
excellent view of the child and details around.
take care

jorge

lousat (139914) 2020-06-06 14:37

Ciao Malgo,3 beautiful pics showing the real Africa as i like,top quality despite the difficult light to show us what the guys do in their huts,lovely report from this remote village,i like it! Have a nice Sunday and thanks,Luciano

COSTANTINO (117672) 2020-06-06 23:16

Hello dear Malgorzata and have a nice day
no comments here...
only....too impressive.....
excellent photo with the best
quality...
regards
Costantino

jemaflor (148124) 2020-06-06 23:56

Hi Malgo,
Interesting composition with this boy and the view of the traditional wooden house, perfect sharpness and warm colors, interesting attitude and look, well made, tfs.

ikeharel (114477) 2020-06-07 0:31

The eyes...
Immediately I saw the Himba boy's eyes, Malgo, and yet all posted pictures about this place are interesting, telling something about their daily-life (though I heard an opinion that they do this for tourists).
Well used the light inside the hut, rendered a fine photos.
Best regards,
Ike

papagolf21 (152607) 2020-06-07 0:46

Bonjour, chère Malgo,
les images et le texte sont édifiants et parlent d'eux-mêmes.
Voilà des voyages éducatifs, réalistes et saisissants
Merci de nous faire profiter de vos périples à travers le monde.
Très bonne journée.
Amitiés.
Philippe

Fis2 (171823) 2020-06-07 0:53

Czesc Malgosiu!
Znakomita scena.
Zycie codzienne wyglada tutaj troche inaczej.
Super kadr i kolorki.
Mysle, ze okkres kwarantanny juz minal i bedziedobrze.
Nie bedziesz juz politykowac i narzekac na moje zdjecia.
Do 6666 to zapewne nie doczekamy :(
TE chyli sie ku upadkowi, aktywnych uczestnikow jest coraz mniej.
Mo¿e bêdzie nam dane dalej trwac, pozyjemy zobaczymy.
Pozdrawiam i zycze milej niedzieli.
Dzieki za odwiedziny :)
Krzysztof

PaulVDV (63440) 2020-06-08 8:46

Hello Malgo,
A fantastic set of three very interesting and high-quality photos of life of the Himba.
A nice detail of your main photo is the light that shines on the child's face.
Your note on the dietary habits of these people makes me wonder if they aren't undernourished and get sick quickly.
I also think that the lack of water to wash themselves is not a favourable situation for their health.
Best regards, Paul

Miguel82 (47110) 2020-06-15 3:40

Hello, this is a value reportage captured inside the hut of the Himba tribe. Their goats can come inside the house too. The child is going to prepare the ochre powder they apply on their skin and hair to be protected against the hard sun. Fine colors, good sharpness, instructive photo note, regards.

PiotrF (55862) 2020-06-17 15:46

Czesc Malgo
Ciekawe masz to archiwum, wiele interesujacych obrazow przechowujesz na tych dyskach.
Ciekawa notatka uzupelniona dobrym reortazem fotograficznym.
pozdrawiam
Piotr