Archives of #documentary

Photo taken at Boa Vista, Roraima

The trip back to South America from Namibia was endless. I got out of my last flight at 1:00am in Boa Vista, Brazil. It was too late to get an hotel and too early to go to the bus station. So I just rested in the small airport for few hours before getting the first bus to Venezuela
6 years ago

Photo taken at Namibia

After visiting the Himba homestead near Opuwo I was supposed to move to another place to attend a traditional Himba funeral, but the ceremony was delayed. So I decided to take some time to visit the desert before heading back to Windhoek and fly back to South America
6 years ago

Photo taken at Kunene Region

Himba women are famous for rubbing their bodies with “otjize”, a mixture of fat and ochre, believed to protect their skins against the harsh climate and dirt. They also mix it with clay to cover their hair in a beautification ritual
6 years ago

Photo taken at Kunene Region

In the Himba community men take care of hunting and political activities, sometimes leaving for extended periods of time. When they are in the homestead, they often spend their time in the men’s house
6 years ago

Photo taken at Kunene Region

Women have a really central role in the Himba culture. They take care of the kids and household but also perform more labor-intensive work than men do, such as carrying water to the village, building homes, milking goats
6 years ago

Photo taken at Kunene Region

After getting the permission of the chief to enter a Himba homestead, I was welcomed by the contagious smile of the youngest members of the community. Both girls and boys have their hair cut short, but the the way it is arranged and the handmade jewels they wear allow to determine their sex and age
6 years ago

Photo taken at Kunene Region

The Himba are a semi-nomadic, pastoral people that lives in Northern Namibia. They survived the German genocide in the 1900s and a near extinction in the 1980s. However today the encroaching modernization of the country is threatening their ancient way of life
6 years ago

Photo taken at Ohandungu, Kunene, Namibia

The Himba homestead I visited was structured in a circle, with the house of the chief followed by the ones of his three wives and their respective children. A smaller circle in the center hosts the cattle, that grazes far away during the day and comes back by itself at dusk
6 years ago

Photo taken at Opuwo

Last week my guide and I have finally arrived in Opuwo, the last town in the Northwest of Namibia before the border with Angola. In town you can already meet Himba people in local bars and shops. Some of them only come here occasionally but an increasing majority is moving here permanently to have a more comfortable life. We spent the following days in an authentic Himba homestead in the desert north of Opuwo to observe local life. I will tell you more in the next posts
6 years ago