Himba woman Photo | TrekEarth

Photographer’s Note

Himba women

The Himba are an ethnic group of about 20,000 to 50,000 people, living in northern Namibia, in the Kunene region (formerly Kaokoland). They are a nomadic, pastoral people, closely related to the Herero, and speak the same language.
The Himba breed cattle and goats. The responsibility of milking the cows lies with the women. Women take care of the children, and one woman will take care of another woman's children. Women tend to perform more labor-intensive work than men do, such as carrying water to the village and building homes.
The Himba wear little clothing, but the women are famous for covering themselves with a mixture of butter fat, ochre, and herbs to protect themselves from the sun. The mixture gives their skins a reddish tinge. The mixture symbolizes earth's rich red color and the blood that symbolizes life. Women braid each others hair and cover it in their ochre mixture.
Modern clothes are scarce, but generally go to the men when available. Boys are generally circumcized before puberty.
after Wikipedia

very interesting article about Himba you can find here

avene, nicol_g, Paul65 has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Fis2 (45152) 2007-10-09 11:40

Witaj Andrzejku!
No to to ju¿ kompletna egzotyka, która robi wra¿enie... Dobry kadr i interesuj±ca kolorystyka.
Pozdrawiam
Krzysztof

cargus (41) 2007-10-09 11:52 [Comment]

Show Comment

jasmis (49589) 2007-10-09 12:07

Dziewczyna jak pos±g. Super zdjêcie pe³ne egzotyki.
Pozdrawiam!

avene (10842) 2007-10-09 12:08

very good portrait, I particularly like how the saturated colour of her skin contrasts with the pale background. this contrast also focuses attention on the main subject, but still provides a context to the story - you can see goats in the background, for example. excellent shot and thanks for sharing.
best,
Kristine

evanrizo (456) 2007-10-09 12:17

Hi Andrzej, she has her own, a different beauty, the lightness and the colors are marvelous.
Cheers
Evan

emka (21131) 2007-10-09 12:33

Niesamowite!

fijiphil (1343) 2007-10-09 12:36

Photo is technically OK but I think you are really lacking both a strong compositional element, and also any real connection with the subject. She is so obviously just posing for someone else's photo. I've seen plenty of photos of Himba women and your one unfortunately brings nothing new or challenging to the subject.

drewniany (1142) 2007-10-09 14:29

Cze¶æ
To¶ nam zaserwowa³ egzotyczn± piêkno¶æ... Niez³a DOF, kolorystyka robi wra¿enie, imho-zacie¶ni³bym kadr, tak ja odcentralni³. Generalnie robi wra¿enie.
Pozdrawiam
M

isabela_sor (41881) 2007-10-10 12:38

She in foreground creates a great contrast with the colors of background...Impressive portrait and for sure she is a beauty in her community
Hugs
Isabela

woladorsky (804) 2007-10-11 3:16

HI Andrzej,

She has got a fantastic expression! Amazing colors and moment!

cheers
Rolando

sayat (2941) 2007-10-17 1:37

An excellent portrait and a very informative, beautiful note Dear Andrzej. It's so sad to read what westerners do to this noble people in the link you provided. That's our so called civilization.

MichaelTrezzi (3132) 2007-10-18 12:05

Hello Andrzej, Interesting people and nice portrait with a good note too. Did you travel with a GPS, would you know, how or where to find these people ? Many Thanks. Best regards,
Michael