utanaka: himba transcend or transform
DESCRIPTION
For the past decade Lambro’s images also been portraying the inevitable transformative effects of modernization upon this tribe creating a photographic memory bank of the residues of tradition and the changing elements creeping into one of the most fascinating communities living inthe world today. “I know first-hand how much there is to learn from these unique people. The images serve as an attempt to chronicle their presence and depict their integrity against overwhelming modern day forces. In the process it sparked my own discovery and awareness of what it takes to survive; to thrive.TRANSCRIPT
Utanaka: The Himba People
Born and raised in Cape Town, Lambro Tsiliyiannis’ photographic journey
has taken him to the tribal villages of Nigeria and Gabon to the thrumming
markets of India and the Monastries of Athos in Greece. From
documenting the tranquil passage of Chinese junk ships to seeking the
Azorean whales and other denizens of the deep, his quest inevitably led
him to the banks of the Kunene River in Northern Namibia where he
began, in 2006, to document the traditional culture, the lives and the
physical beauty of the Himba people.
For the past decade Lambro’s images also been portraying the inevitable
transformative e�ects of modernization upon this tribe creating a
photographic memory bank of the residues of tradition and the changing
elements creeping into one of the most fascinating communities living in
the world today. “I know first-hand how much there is to learn from these
unique people. The images serve as an attempt to chronicle their presence
and depict their integrity against overwhelming modern day forces. In the
process it sparked my own discovery and awareness of what it takes to
survive; to thrive.
Lambro has been striving for this visual record - what was and what is
becoming – to be contained for posterity. “I am fascinated by creating a
visual record of both the changes that the Himba are undergoing,the
innate power of the Himba , with insight from Suzan Levine an
anthropologist from the university of Cape Town,who brings in a di�erent
concept from the Utopia we wonder at as outsiders, being in an unfamiliar
place enables us to other in quite specific ways, and at times, the
appearance of things and people often overshadow the more mundane
aspects of being,so we more interested in human relationships, the things
that connect us and the politics that keep us apart.
Thought to number between 25,000 and 30,000 the Himba are known for
their extraordinary physical beauty and fierce independence in the face of
challenges that draw other nomadic communities to the city. Despite this
relative isolation, living semi-nomadic lives hundreds of kilometers from
any large city, the Himba have become somewhat of a tourist draw. Over
the past many years and still now in the present day, foreigners have
journeyed to the Kaokoveld, as much to catch sight of the Himba as of the
starkly arid and textured landscape in which they survive.
Lambro’s introduction to the Himba was made possible by Craig Mathew
renown Cinematographer who made the quintessential Film Ochre and
Water of the Himba with Joelle Chesselet. He was invited to take
Panoramic photographs as part of Doxa Productions and the University of
Cologne’s Project Acacia ( Arid Climate Adaptation and Cultural Innovation
in Africa. “Witnessing the vitality of a knowledge system based on its oral
transmission. We have also witnessed the erosion of this knowledge as
elders die and younger generations wrestle with issues of identity due to
the changing economic and social fabric of the community. By developing
a project in collaboration with the community that makes memory
accessible, we hope to assist in triggering a revitalization and validation of
survival strategies, beliefs and their cultural expressions”.
The Himba philosophy and their ecological intelligence, their astute
observations about human/environment relations should be shared by
many.
Yet the Himba have remained resistant to Western influence, as evidenced
in their strongly maintained traditional dress and physical adornment, and
retained immense dignity and presence in the face of continuous tourist
visitors and commercially interested photographers.
However, change is inevitable. Over his more recent photographic
expeditions, Lambro has noticed the slow erosion of certain Himba
traditions, while confirming the continued character and quality of the
people that he has come to know well, their mannerisms, their presence
and innate sense of style. The utanaka (Himba for transformation) stays
strongly ‘Himba’ despite the changes in visual code.
In this visual record – as much a record of the process of change as of the
steadfast and traditional characteristics - a sense of loss is balanced by a
sense of strength and perseverance that seems to be contained for
posterity. “I am fascinated with creating this record of the combination of
the changes that the Himba are undergoing, and their transcendent
resilience of spirit and style throughout.” The images serve as an attempt
to chronicle their presence and depict their integrity against overwhelming
modern day forces.
“I am interested in the anthropological significance of this record as well as
its exposé of and possible influence upon urban fashions as well as in
relation to urban lifestyle and life views. The Himba intrigue me as does the
ecological intelligence and astute observations about human/environmental
relations, which should be shared by many.”
If you ask a Himba what the distance is to a destination, he will reply ‘How
much time do you have?’ And so the Journey begins.
Utanaka: The Himba People
Born and raised in Cape Town, Lambro Tsiliyiannis’ photographic journey
has taken him to the tribal villages of Nigeria and Gabon to the thrumming
markets of India and the Monastries of Athos in Greece. From
documenting the tranquil passage of Chinese junk ships to seeking the
Azorean whales and other denizens of the deep, his quest inevitably led
him to the banks of the Kunene River in Northern Namibia where he
began, in 2006, to document the traditional culture, the lives and the
physical beauty of the Himba people.
For the past decade Lambro’s images also been portraying the inevitable
transformative e�ects of modernization upon this tribe creating a
photographic memory bank of the residues of tradition and the changing
elements creeping into one of the most fascinating communities living in
the world today. “I know first-hand how much there is to learn from these
unique people. The images serve as an attempt to chronicle their presence
and depict their integrity against overwhelming modern day forces. In the
process it sparked my own discovery and awareness of what it takes to
survive; to thrive.
Lambro has been striving for this visual record - what was and what is
becoming – to be contained for posterity. “I am fascinated by creating a
visual record of both the changes that the Himba are undergoing,the
innate power of the Himba , with insight from Suzan Levine an
anthropologist from the university of Cape Town,who brings in a di�erent
concept from the Utopia we wonder at as outsiders, being in an unfamiliar
place enables us to other in quite specific ways, and at times, the
appearance of things and people often overshadow the more mundane
aspects of being,so we more interested in human relationships, the things
that connect us and the politics that keep us apart.
Thought to number between 25,000 and 30,000 the Himba are known for
their extraordinary physical beauty and fierce independence in the face of
challenges that draw other nomadic communities to the city. Despite this
relative isolation, living semi-nomadic lives hundreds of kilometers from
any large city, the Himba have become somewhat of a tourist draw. Over
the past many years and still now in the present day, foreigners have
journeyed to the Kaokoveld, as much to catch sight of the Himba as of the
starkly arid and textured landscape in which they survive.
Lambro’s introduction to the Himba was made possible by Craig Mathew
renown Cinematographer who made the quintessential Film Ochre and
Water of the Himba with Joelle Chesselet. He was invited to take
Panoramic photographs as part of Doxa Productions and the University of
Cologne’s Project Acacia ( Arid Climate Adaptation and Cultural Innovation
in Africa. “Witnessing the vitality of a knowledge system based on its oral
transmission. We have also witnessed the erosion of this knowledge as
elders die and younger generations wrestle with issues of identity due to
the changing economic and social fabric of the community. By developing
a project in collaboration with the community that makes memory
accessible, we hope to assist in triggering a revitalization and validation of
survival strategies, beliefs and their cultural expressions”.
The Himba philosophy and their ecological intelligence, their astute
observations about human/environment relations should be shared by
many.
Yet the Himba have remained resistant to Western influence, as evidenced
in their strongly maintained traditional dress and physical adornment, and
retained immense dignity and presence in the face of continuous tourist
visitors and commercially interested photographers.
However, change is inevitable. Over his more recent photographic
expeditions, Lambro has noticed the slow erosion of certain Himba
traditions, while confirming the continued character and quality of the
people that he has come to know well, their mannerisms, their presence
and innate sense of style. The utanaka (Himba for transformation) stays
strongly ‘Himba’ despite the changes in visual code.
In this visual record – as much a record of the process of change as of the
steadfast and traditional characteristics - a sense of loss is balanced by a
sense of strength and perseverance that seems to be contained for
posterity. “I am fascinated with creating this record of the combination of
the changes that the Himba are undergoing, and their transcendent
resilience of spirit and style throughout.” The images serve as an attempt
to chronicle their presence and depict their integrity against overwhelming
modern day forces.
“I am interested in the anthropological significance of this record as well as
its exposé of and possible influence upon urban fashions as well as in
relation to urban lifestyle and life views. The Himba intrigue me as does the
ecological intelligence and astute observations about human/environmental
relations, which should be shared by many.”
If you ask a Himba what the distance is to a destination, he will reply ‘How
much time do you have?’ And so the Journey begins.
The Himba Journey
We may find ourselves on a road that we are not familiar with, the
awakening in the dream state that brings us to a place we couldn’t imagine
the land of Kaoko of the Himba, the Zemba and the Ovatjimba. Situated on
either sides of the Kunene River near the powerful falls at Epupa between
Angola and Namibia that flows into the Atlantic Ocean.
This is not only a distant place on a map this is like a visceral reading of the
intestines from the sacrificial killing of the bull that represents and
corresponds to the contours of the land and the ancestral voices that point
to the future.
Sometimes we are accidental tourists led to discover the nature of a path
that takes us into another dimension that exists in their infinite form and
like the rains create the natural order of change, life, and death joining our
internal beliefs to the physical world.
This in part is the journey of my own discovery and realization of this spirit
world and to create an awareness of unique people who possess the
a�nity of the natural order in its most intrinsic form. The journey is a never
ending story, spanning six years, where the threads create a single
powerful living experience how everything is connected. It is possible that this
unique form of life will disappear before most people ever know it exists.
In the occidental premise it is easier to embrace stories that give meaning
to our own existence the quest for what is lost and surrendered what we
experience in our own cultures,alienation, isolation the lack of communal
spirit, we can learn much from the Himba people. Do we still hear the
ancestral voices and the Blood songs?
Lambro.