Sunday, December 29, 2019

More Places Less Visited



Wodaabe young woman at Gerewol Festival

Roadside travelers - Dhaulagiri Zone, Upper Mustang, Nepal

"My ambition and goal is to show extraordinary people doing ordinary things.  In so doing, I wish to show how different people can appear, to provide a glimpse of other cultures, to celebrate the diversity of mankind, and to demonstrate that despite our appearances we are so much alike." - Artist's Statement, Allen A Hale

Eight years ago as part of the submittal process for a gallery exposition, I had thought about my photography to develop the above artist statement.  Since that time, my photography efforts have followed the statement whether intentionally or by happenstance.

My journeys to experience and photograph the "extraordinary people doing ordinary things" have taken me to Bhutan, Cambodia, Chad, Ethiopia, Nepal, and Upper Mustang (Former Kingdom of Lo), Thailand, and Vietnam.


Monks filling butter lamps in Kagbeni, Upper Mustang



The journeys often involved travel along dirt roads to access the isolated locations where the extraordinary people were located.  In the case of Upper Mustang the travel involved travel where roads did not exist in many locations.  The way was often just following tire tracks across the dirt and rock strewn landscape.  Travel in Upper Mustang also included several determining your own crossing points across rivers.

Lo Manthang Street Scene, Upper Mustang (Former Kingdom of Lo)




Preparing firearm to banish "evil" - Tiji Festival in Lo Manthang
These experiences have lead me to appreciate and treasure traveling unimproved roads, dirt roads and even the lack of roads to access "places less visited".  My travels have included traveling along paved roads to access many well-known as well as popular tourist destinations including Angkor Wat, Bangkok, Vientiane, Hanoi, Chiang Mai, Addis Ababa and Kathmandu.  However the ease of access from the outside world to those places has made them popular which results in the dilution of their unique culture and homogenization of them.  International hotel chains, fast food outlets, and bus loads of Chinese, South Korean, and European tour groups can easily be found in these locations.  Great efforts are made to accommodate, appeal, and placate these masses often at the expense of local custom, style, and culture.

Making Coal Briquettes - Quan Lan Island, Vietnam

I have found that the extraordinary people are most likely to be found in the places less visited along with the places that are more difficult to get to.

Bhutan's West- East Main Highway, Trongsa, Bhutan

Some of the places to find extraordinary people do not even have roads.  One of my favorite places to visit is Tonle Sap in Cambodia.  Tonle Sap is a huge fresh water lake, the largest in Southeast Asia, near Angkor Wat.  It is more than just a "Great Lake".  Tonle Sap is a way of life and a unique culture to be experienced. It is one of my favorite places.  While Angkor Wat is overwhelmed (you have been warned) with hundreds of busloads of tourists a day, Tonle Sap gets much fewer visitors - mainly to Chong Kneas (you have been warned) by some of those busloads from Angkor Wat as part of their package tour.  However Tonle Sap is  large lake and there are unique places that get very few visitors where you can observe the unique culture.  Kampong Khleang can be accessed by land during the dry season.
 
There is floating fishing village called Moat Khla (also shown as Meat Khla) on Google Maps.  Moat Khla is 24 Km south of Kampong Khleang and accessible only by boat.  It is located 24 km south of Kampong Khleang - a 2 hour boat ride.  The entire village of fishermen and their families live on floating house boats. The school is also a floating structure.  The Buddhist temple is also  floating Wat.  There are also some floating gardens - small barges with dirt beds on top of them to supplement the inhabitant's diet with greens and vegetables.

Preparing dinner in Moat Khla, floating village, on Tonle Sap, Cambodia

Moat Khla, Tonle Sap, Cambodia
 
In May 2018, Duang and I returned from our second trip within a year to the Himalayan nation of Bhutan.

It was amazing at how much change in one year that we observed .  The change is driven by the widening and paving of the West to East road across the nation.  I was carrying some photographs to give to people that I had photographed the previous Spring.  I found just about everyone, a benefit of traveling to remote and sparsely populated locations.  However I missed one little boy and his father whom we had visited before.  I missed them because their home is now much closer to where we had spent the night before.  No, they had not moved, but the improvement of the main road has cut hours from the journey between the two locations.  I started looking for the four house village long after we had passed it   Fortunately our drivers and guides were going to pass the place on their drive back at the end of our eastern leg of the tour.  They agreed to give the photos and clothing gifts to the family on their return.

Rice Planting - Sapa, Vietnam

In 2019, besides returning to Upper Mustang for a third time, I traveled to Chad to attend the Gerewol Festival and later to the Omo Valley in Ethiopia to photograph some of the unique tribes that live there.

The Gerewol Festival was definitely a place less visited.  The festival is held somewhere on the Sahel, a vast semi-arid savannah on which the Wodaabe people lead their nomadic life tending their herds of cattle and goats.  There were often not even tire tracks let alone roads to travel on in order to get to the designated location of this year's festival.

Wodaabe men imitate birds to attract the attention and interest of women

Wodaabe men chanting and dancing at Gerewol Festival, Chad, Africa

No matter how far the distance, how less visited the culture, or how different the culture, life is basically the same ...




My interaction with the different cultures, various peoples, and witnessing some of their life style reinforces my conviction that, although we appear different, we are all alike.  I feel privileged and honored to be able to share the diversity of mankind as well as to celebrate the adaptability of mankind.
 
The Omo Valley of Ethiopia is part of the Rift Valley, the birthplace of man.  Many unique tribes inhabit the Omo Valley.  To visit some of the tribes is is necessary to have a 4WD vehicle and to camp out.

Suri people of the Omo Valley



The Buddhist philosophy is that life is change.  Most people have the attitude that most change is progress and progress is considered to be good.  I sometimes feel somewhat guilty when I reflect upon progress being a threat and disruptive to people.  Improving highways and other means to ease the access of people to the outside world benefits people through opening up markets for their goods as well as giving them greater access to conveniences and ideas not readily available to them.  This can be destructive for unique cultures, and lifestyles.  Access to the outside world often leads to the erosion of unique people's culture in that they make compromises for the sensitivities and comforts of their visitors.

Hamar young woman of the Omo Valley, Ethiopia

I hope that the people of those places, less visited, make decisions regarding "progress" that fully take into consideration the value of their traditions and culture rather than acquiescing to the false siren of becoming "modern" and emulating the dominant "advanced" cultures.

It is not for me to say what is best for others.  I can not stop "progress" no more than I can control the changes in my own life.  I do not have to like or approve the changes in this world.  I need only to recognize and adapt to all the changes in this world.

Until that day when changes will no longer happen in my life, a day that I am certain will arrive long before all the roads are paved, I will strive to seek out those places less visited.

I will cherish those places less visited.

I will enjoy those places less visited.

I will share with others those special places less visited through my photographs and writing so that they too may know of what is and may not long be - places less visited.

As this year draws to a close, the upcoming year offers new opportunities to visit the people of "places less visited".

For me, 2020, will bring a journey to PNG, Papua New Guinea, to document the people and culture.

Monday, December 2, 2019

Tiji Festival Gallery Is Now Available






I am getting caught up on my photography website.  Today I got around to selecting and uploading 45 photographs from my May/June 2019 journey to Upper Mustang, The Former Kingdom of Lo, in Northern Nepal to attend the Tiji Festival.

The Tiji Festival is an annual event which commemorates the forces of good vanquishing evil.  It is a ritual which has deep roots in Tibetan Buddhism - Vajrayana practice.  It has been conducted in Lo Manthang since the 17th century.


Mobile App Link:








Thursday, November 14, 2019

Hamer Tribe - Omo Valley, Ethiopia October 2019 - Photo Gallery Available





A gallery of 24 selected photographs from my recently completed journey to the Omo Valley in Ethiopia is now available for viewing on my personal photography website.

Gallery Link:
 
https://www.hale-worldphotography.com/Hamer-Tribe-of-Omo-Valley-Ethiopia-October-2019

Mobile App Link:

https://www.hale-worldphotography.com/Hamer-Tribe-of-Omo-Valley-Ethiopia-October-2019?mobile=true


The fourth tribe on my journey through the Omo Valley were the "Hamer", also known as the "Hamar".




The Hamer is a tribe of approximately 70,000 people in the Omo Valley. They grow corn, and sorghum as well as tend cattle and goats..

Hamer women are world renowned for their appearance.  Their hairstyle is particularly unique - fringes of tightly braided hair smeared with ochre and butter.  They wear a goatskin garment called a "kasha" which hangs around their neck and covers their breasts.  The kasha is decorated with rows of cowrie shells.



I was very fortunate to spend some quality and very productive time interacting with as well as photographing some Hamer people inside of their home located in a very small village.

I am very pleased with the photographs from that visit.

Karo Tribe - Omo Valley, Ethiopia October 2019 - Photo Gallery Available






A gallery of 33 selected photographs from my recently completed journey to the Omo Valley in Ethiopia is now available for viewing on my personal photography website.

Gallery Link:
 
https://www.hale-worldphotography.com/Karo-Tribe-of-Ethiopia-October-2019

Mobile App Link:


https://www.hale-worldphotography.com/Karo-Tribe-of-Ethiopia-October-2019?mobile=true

The third tribe on my journey through the Omo Valley were the "Karo", also known as the "Kara".



The Karo are a small tribe of less than 3,000 in the Omo Valley. They grow corn, beans, and sorghum.

I visited the tribe late in the afternoon.  Although suffering from giardiasis, I managed to get some memorable photos of the people, and their homes.  Realizing that I was feeling ill, one of the elders ensured that the people gave me some personal space.  Many of the visits to the Omo Valley can be somewhat daunting, with people pressing to have their photos taken and to view thier photos on the back of your camera.

I was very impressed with the openness and friendliness of the Omo Valley tribes.  The people were very interesting and a pleasure to interact with.

Monday, November 11, 2019

Nyangatom Tribe - Omo Valley, Ethiopia October 2019 - Photo Gallery Available





A gallery of 32 selected photographs from my recently completed journey to the Omo Valley in Ethiopia is now available for viewing on my personal photography website.

Gallery Link:
 
https://www.hale-worldphotography.com/Nyangatom-Tribe-of-Ethiopia-October-2019

Mobile App Link:

https://www.hale-worldphotography.com/Nyangatom-Tribe-of-Ethiopia-October-2019?mobile=true

The second tribe on my journey through the Omo Valley were the "Nyangatom".



The Nyangatom, also known as the Bome (Bume), are a tribe of approximately 20,000 in the Omo Valley. They are pastoralists - tending their herds and growing some crops as the availability of water allows.   They are known for being fearsome warriors. Even these days there are fatal encounter with the neighbors - Hamer, Suri, and Karo tribes.

I was able to witness and photograph an early morning ritual where a family extracted fresh blood from their cattle to drink.  It was unlike anything that I have ever experienced to date.

NOTE:  This gallery contains photographs of naked men, blood., and the drawing blood from live cattle.

The linked gallery provides a glimpse of a people and their culture in a land far away and living in a long ago time in today's world.

Long may they continue and thrive as they choose. 


Suri Tribe - Omo Valley, Ethiopia October 2019 - Photo Gallery Available






Another day, another photo gallery is now available for viewing.


A gallery of 31 selected photographs from my recently completed journey to the Omo Valley in Ethiopia is now available for viewing on my personal photography website.

Gallery Link:
 
https://www.hale-worldphotography.com/Suri-Tribe-of-Omo-Valley-Ethiopia-Oct-2019

Mobile App Link:

https://www.hale-worldphotography.com/Suri-Tribe-of-Omo-Valley-Ethiopia-Oct-2019?mobile=true

After my journey to the Gerewol Festival in Chad and having to pass through Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in order to return home in Thailand, I took a detour to explore, photograph, and experience the truly amazing tribes of the Omo Valley near the borders of Kenya and the South Sudan.

The first tribe on my journey through the Omo Valley were the "Suri".



The Suri, also known as the Surma, are one of the less visited tribes of the Omo Valley due to their remoteness and inaccessibility.  They are known for their ornate decoration of their bodies.  The Suri paint their bodies with mud or paints.  Bodies are also decorated through scarification - causing keloid scars by cutting with razor blades.  In addition the Suri people extensively use local plants and flowers to adorn their bodies.

Like the Mursi tribe, Suri women pierce their lips and insert clay plates.

Soon I will write a blog sharing my experiences as well as observations that I had during my two days with the Suri people.



Sunday, November 10, 2019

Gerewol Festival 2019 Chad - Gallery Is Now Available





A gallery of 33 selected photographs from my recently completed journey to Chad (Tchad) is now available for viewing on my personal photography website.

Gallery Link:
 
https://www.hale-worldphotography.com/Gerewol-Festival-Chad-2019

Mobile App Link:

https://www.hale-worldphotography.com/Gerewol-Festival-Chad-2019?mobile=true

I had gone to Chad to witness, document as well as experience the Gerewol Festival.

The Gerewol Festival is the annual gathering of the nomadic people of the Wodaabe Tribe of the Sahel region of Africa.  At the gathering, the males compete for the attention and "favors (favours) of the young females.  The Wodaabe people consider themselves to be the most beautiful people in the world.



For the festival which provides the opportunity to comingle the bloodlines of the various clans, the males dress and make-up to emulate birds while accentuating their features that are considered beautiful and desirable.


Starting a little before sunset each day, the young men will dance and chant all night long before stopping just after sunrise.

Attending this festival was a great opportunity for me to: "show extraordinary people doing ordinary things.  In so doing, I wish to show how different people can appear, to provide a glimpse of other cultures, to celebrate the diversity of mankind, and to demonstrate that despite our appearances we are so much alike."

Chad was definitely one of the places that I now seek and treasure  - "a place less visited"