Blog post by Tina Winterlik © 2011
http://tinawinterlik.blogspot.com
How Stunningly Beautiful this is. This is being One with Nature. Absolutely Gorgeous.These peoples future is being threatened by a hydro electric dam. Share this, tell people, let`s STOP this!!
For 6 years, Hans Sylvester photographed the people of the Omo River in Ethiopia. Their bodies are their canvases...
http://hubpages.com/hub/The-amazing-body-art-of-the-Ethiopian-Omo-tribes
Quoting from this website
"A way of life threatened
The tribal people of the Omo Valley keep cattle, sheep and goats but their unique pastoral way of life is sadly threatened by the modern world and the march of development.
A hydroelectric dam, known as Gibe III, is planned to be constructed across the Omo River Valley and according to Survival International this will cause the threatened end to the way of life of some 200,000 Ethiopian tribal people."
http://www.amazon.com/Natural-Fashion-Tribal-Decoration-Africa/dp/0500543585
Quoting Amazon:
In this ambitious work, Hans Silvester turns his photographic eye toward ancient Africa, the birthplace of humanity. Silvester was essentially adopted by his subjects during his travels, and his stunning color photographs present a rare, intimate view of their world.
The first volume of this deluxe two-volume set presents the everyday lives of the Omo people, their rituals, parades, children’s games, and even their battles. In the second volume, each photograph becomes a masterpiece of abstract art, revealing close-ups of the tribes’ traditional body paintings. Silvester’s accompanying text traces his journey to the Horn of Africa, revealing the fascinating beauty of a world now in danger of extinction.
About the Author
Hans Silvester was born in Germany in 1938 and took his first photographs at the age of twelve. He became a master photographer and world traveler. His many books include
Cats in the Sun and
Lavender: Fragrance of Provence (Abrams).
http://www.amazon.com/Natural-Fashion-Tribal-Decoration-Africa/dp/0500288054/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1303696594&sr=1-1
Quoting Amazon :
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. In this stunning collection of photographs, Silvester (
Ethiopia: Peoples of the Omo Valley) celebrates the unique art of the Surma and Mursi tribes of the Omo Valley, on the borders of Ethiopia, Kenya and Sudan. These nomadic people have no architecture or crafts with which to express their innate artistic sense. Instead, they use their bodies as canvases, painting their skin with pigments made from powdered volcanic rock and adorning themselves with materials obtained from the world around them—such as flowers, leaves, grasses, shells and animal horns. The adolescents of the tribes are especially adept at this art, and Silvester's superb photographs show many youths who, imbued with an exquisite sense of color and form, have painted their beautiful bodies with colorful dots, stripes and circles, and encased themselves in elaborate arrangements of vegetation and found objects. This art is endlessly inventive, magical and, above all, fun. In his brief text, Sylvester worries that as civilization encroaches on this largely unexplored region, these people will lose their delightful tradition. 160 color photographs.
(Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Product Description
The scene of tribal conflicts and guerrilla incursions, Ethiopia’s Omo Valley is also home to fascinating rites and traditions that have survived for thousands of years. The nomadic people who inhabit the valley share a gift for body painting and elaborate adornments borrowed from nature, and Hans Silvester has captured the results in a series of photographs made over the course of numerous trips. 160 color photographs
