Enduring Spirit
Diane Farris Gallery, 1996
|
|
|
|
|
Joseph
age 2, Crow tribe, Arizona
selectively toned silver gelatin print
23 x 27 inches
Joseph
traveled with his parents all the way from Window Rock, Arizona,
to dance in the Crow powwow in Montana. He originally decided
to start dancing in powwows when he was just nine months old.
As the first in his immediate family to participate in the traditional
Navajo dance, Joseph represents a general return to Native American
culture. |
|
|
Echuka
and Eragi
ages 24 and 21 months, Turkana Tribe
selectively toned silver gelatin print
23 x 27 inches
Echuka and Eragai are good friends who had spent all day walking
in 110-degree heat to the market in Baragoi to get salt for
their camels and goats. They called me "the fish"
because of the quantitity of water I was drinking. They didn't
seem to need to drink at all. The four cowry shells on Eragai's
head indicate that she has had a miscarriage. She will wear
the shells for the rest of her life. Turkana Tribe
|
|
|
Buzayan
age 6, Jinka, Ethiopia
selectively toned silver gelatin print
23 x 27 inches
Buzayan lives with
her mother and three older sisters in a small Ethiopian
village. Her father took a job as a policeman in a neighboring
town and later abandoned the family for another woman. Even
though it is very expensive for her, Buzayan's mother is
committed to keeping all the children in school. When I
asked Buzayan about kindergarten, she squealed with delight
and started jumping up and down.
|
|
|
Giniban
age 50
selectively toned silver gelatin print
23 x 27 inches
Although the Dani have all but stopped their ritual warfare,
they continue to stage mock battles with other tribes. Giniban
and some 30 of his warrior tribe members had just smeared
their bodies with pig grease, donned their feathers and picked
up their spears for the afternoon event. The tribes are not
really angry at each other - the battle just gives them a
chance to let off steam. The Dani women fed them lunch and
cheered them on, and it all ended when it started to rain.
|
|
|
Irma
age 9, Tana Toraja, Indonesia
selectively toned silver gelatin print
19.5 x 38 inches
Irma had just arrived
home from school when I saw her. She set down her books, picked
up a scythe and waded into this large rice field. Within minutes
she was joined by some forty men, women and children from her
village. They started from the edge of the field and worked
toward the center. In less than an hour, they had cut and stacked
the entire crop. Most of the farming is done collectively in
Tana Toraja.
|
|
|
Aldo,
Erpie and Rosie
ages 10, 7 and 7, Toraja tribe
selectively toned silver gelatin print
23 x 27 inches
Aldo and his friends had just spent the morning washing
two of his family's water buffalo in the river. When he turned
eight, Aldo was given the responsibility of tending the two
buffalo. Valued at close to $800 each, they represent more than
one-third of his parents' wealth. They will both be slaughtered
at his uncle's funeral in two months. The funeral is being delayed
until the last rice-harvest ceremony is completed, so as not
to mix the rites of life with those of death.
|
|
|
Kalime
and Algo
ages 22 and 3, Ethiopia
selectively toned silver gelatin print
23 x 27 inches
Kalime and her son Algo have just spent the day working in their
cornfield. This year's drought threatens both the growth of
their crops and the survival of the entire Karo tribe -- which
now numbers fewer than 500 people. Kalime says they have enough
to eat this year, but no one knows what the tribe will do if
the rains don't come by next year.
|
|
|
Parsho/Suma
ages 4 and 8, Murile, Ethiopia
selectively toned silver gelatin print
23 x 27 inches
Now that the maize is ripening,
Parsho and Suma have been given the responsibility of guarding
one of the communal fields from birds and baboons. Because of
this year’s drought, the crop is sparse and their job
is critical. Suma said that a group of baboons had tried to
raid the field a short time ago, but he and Parsho screamed
until the warriors came. Baboons have been known to carry off
children Parsho’s age.
|
 |
|
Boy with
Net |
|
|
Woman with
Necklaces
|
|
|
Kinesi
age 6, Mt. Nyiru, Kenya, Samburu
tribe
selectively toned silver gelatin print
23 x 27 inches
Kinesi often helps his older brother
take care of the family goats. He is the only one of seven children
who was selected by his parents to attend school. Since his
Samburu family is semi-nomadic, sometimes he must walk alone
nearly four hours over terrain populated by baboons and leopards
to get to the only school in his district. His mother says that
Kenesi runs most of the way -- not from fear of predators, but
from the excitement of school. |
|
|
|
|
|
