Symbiosis in South Sudan 2021
This trip involved visits to the Topossa, Laarim and Mundari. The are all pastoralists living in harmony with their environments. The Laarim and Topossa are found in Eastern Equatoria and the Mundari in Central Equatoria. These images have a great focus on the Mundari cattle camps. There are two clans in Tochmanga - Kworonit and Ukara. The Mundari have a unique, symbiotic even, bond with their cattle. Each Ankole Watusi cow is known to its owners. They have their own stake which they are tethered to at night and are massaged with ash to keep insects at bay. The fresh dung is collected by the children in the morning, dried and then burned. An endless sustainable cycle. The men and boys veneer themselves with ash to mitigate against insects in the same way as they do with the cattle. They are devoted to their cattle and herding is their culture and life. The men immerse themselves in a shower of fresh urine in the mornings which acts as an antiseptic and colours their hair orange. They also have flocks of sheep, all part of camp life. They also blow into the vagina of the cows to encourage them to produce milk. Milk is an integral part of their diet.
The Mundari are very well armed with PKM’s (Pulemot Kalashnikova Modernizirovannyi) AK47’s and when they arrive or depart from a camp they fire a few rounds in the air which is very unsettling. The PKM is a machine gun and those in possession of them walk around with the rounds of bullets draped over their shoulders.
Cattle are very valuable with the largest bulls fetching in excess of $500. Rustling or cattle theft is common and so too intertribal conflict. They shoot to kill.
The girls go to the local river to wash and bathe. They were very friendly and easy to photograph.
The light improved in the evening and we watched them fueling the fires with dried dung. These fires burn to create ash which is used for massage and self application. The fires create an intense smoke haze which must be a health hazard for the Mundari. Prior to the cattle returning from grazing it looked like an apocalyptic scenario. The Mundari were silhouetted against the smoke and sunlight and faded in an out of a seemingly ethereal mist as they worked. A sight to see. When the cattle and sheep return to camp the dust and smoke mix and create biblical scenes.
Read MoreThe Mundari are very well armed with PKM’s (Pulemot Kalashnikova Modernizirovannyi) AK47’s and when they arrive or depart from a camp they fire a few rounds in the air which is very unsettling. The PKM is a machine gun and those in possession of them walk around with the rounds of bullets draped over their shoulders.
Cattle are very valuable with the largest bulls fetching in excess of $500. Rustling or cattle theft is common and so too intertribal conflict. They shoot to kill.
The girls go to the local river to wash and bathe. They were very friendly and easy to photograph.
The light improved in the evening and we watched them fueling the fires with dried dung. These fires burn to create ash which is used for massage and self application. The fires create an intense smoke haze which must be a health hazard for the Mundari. Prior to the cattle returning from grazing it looked like an apocalyptic scenario. The Mundari were silhouetted against the smoke and sunlight and faded in an out of a seemingly ethereal mist as they worked. A sight to see. When the cattle and sheep return to camp the dust and smoke mix and create biblical scenes.
