Ben Wilhelmi

B/W portraits, Sonjo tribe, Tanzania

For a change here are some pictures from a lesser known tribe, the Sonjo from the Sonjo valley west of lake Natron. The women are not flamboyant like the Masai women, strange as they are neighbors. The young on the other end tend to copy the Masai warriors. It seems it is not out of awe but out of fear to be spotted in the bush and killed. Pretending can save one skin. These tribes have been enemies with the Masai for centuries...like most tribes which happen to cross paths and cows with the Masai.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bush portraits in Tanzania

One of my jobs in northern Tanzania allowed me to meddle in the very remote areas where foreign visitors or workers were rare, like these pictures around lake Natron or Sonjo valley many eyars ago. I gave my models, usually Maasai but along Sonjo a lesser know tribe, proper prints never money. I didn't want to spoil the game.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

B/W portraits, Tanzanian bush

 

 

Young Masai mother and a traditional cheek scar. She will keep her hair uncut till the baby has officially been named during a proper ceremony.

 

This woman wanted to wait to wait while getting prepped up for the pictures.

 

Sonjo woman using an umbrella to protect from the scorching sun in the Rift valley.

 

 

Some masai women in full regalia.

 

(Picture shot at 12am in natural light but with a +3 stop correction while the model stood under the aircraft wing)

 

 

 

In the bush, portraits, Tanzania

 

A collection of Sonjo and Masai people, historically they were enemies but recently things have somewhat improved.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Portraits in the bush, Tanzania

 

Sonjo woman, Sonjo valley.

 

Recently excised Maasai girl (the head jewel is a give away) taking care of a sibling.

 

Hair fashion seeps in Maasai culture.

 

Circumsized Maasai boy.

 

 

Maasai elder.

 

Old Maasai woman.

Portraits in Tanzania, Sonjo tribe

 

 

As opposed to Maasai people, the traditional clothes have plain colors only.

 

 

 

 

 

The necklace on the left is one the few but typical jewels worn by the Sonjo women, usually representing the Tanzanian flag.

Various portraits, the bush in Tanzania

 

 

 

 

 

Portraits in the bush, Tanzania

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tanzania, Sonjo portraits in the bush

 

The Sonjo tribe is located in the Sonjo Valley, west of lake Natron. Flying Medical Service runs one outreach clinic there.

 

“Sayansi” in swahili? Read it out loud without the last “I”? Yes, science. Guess now what stesheni and baisikeli mean…

 

This kid insisted on posing with the rooster.

 

 

 

 

Tanzania, portraits in B/W

 

 

 

 

 

 

people in the bush, Tanzania

 

A happy freshly circumcised Maasai girl, she is still in the healing process. Black dress and forehead jewels are typical for this brief status.

I know this kind of mutilation horrifies Westerners, me included, I don’t like broken toys , but the fight is not easy nor obvious. Maasai girls are ready for this ceremony like some white girls dream of their virginal wedding dress… how to fight this is open…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Maasai lady bows to an elder who in turn pats her head, a typical Maasai way to show respect.

 

 

Flying Medical Service, NGO in Tanzania

 

Please visit our Facebook page: Flying Medical Service or our website Flying Medical Service 

 

I’ve seen happier babies. BCG vaccine here.

 

A nurse administers a vaccine shot.

 

Taking care of babies, definitely a woman’s job here.

 

A Maasai woman in full regalia.

 

The fascinating active volcano Oldonyo Lengai, potentially seen from 10 different clinics nearby.

 

 

A tetanus shot for a Sonjo pregnant woman.

Tanzania, portraits in the bush

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tanzania, portraits in sepia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

sepia portraits in the bush, Tanzania

 

portraits, Tanzania

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

the bush in Tanzania, photography

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

portraits, Tanzanian bush

 

 

 Masai people are the most famous and apparently numerous in northern Tanzanian.

 

Sonjo people are hardly famous, live in one area off lake Natron, Sonjo Valley. There have been bloody clashes over land issues with the Masai invaders. Lately we have flown a few patients with bullet wounds.

 

 

sepia portraits in the bush, Tanzania

 

 some portraits in the Tanzanian bush over the years...

 

 

 

 

 

portraits, the Tanzanian bush

About 130 tribes and 80 languages in Tanzania. I only got to meet a few so far. Here is a selection of Masai and Sonjo people.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

portraits in sepia, the bush in Tanzania

 Northern Tanzania near the Rift valley...

A Sonjo woman.

 

A Masai woman.

 

Freshly circumcised Masai boys and girl.

Mang'ati woman, that is a cousin sub Masai clan.

 

Another Sonjo woman.

portraits in sepia in the bush, Tanzania

 

while busy with Flying Medical Service, I sometimes take time to take pictures with the people visiting the clinics. I haven’t brought them sepia or even B/W pictures yet, only color ones. Maybe I’ll try one day…

Young Masai girl, who was recently excised, making her officially a woman and ready to be married. She is wearing a black toga and bead jewels on the forehead for the healing period.

 

A Sonjo woman proudly posing with her roster to sell (to us of course) and of course she brought the best one, she is sad to part from it blabla. Real saleswoman!

B/W portraits, Tanzania and the bush

 

sepia portraits in the bush, Tanzania

 

sepia portraits, Tanzanian women

 

I personally find this Sonjo woman particularly pretty! Beautiful eyebrows for instance.

 

recently excised Masai girl. She will be ready for marriage soon. The baby is not hers but she insisted to pose with him.

 

in the bush, Tanzania, B/W portraits

 

 

colorful portraits in the bush, Tanzania

a selection of Masai and Sonjo portraits in Tanzania.

 

Tour of duty with Flying Medical Service, people in the bush

 

I just came back yesterday from a tour of mobile clinics with Flying Medical Service. I flew to Loliondo area, that is northern Serengeti, then lake Natron and the Gol mountains. In Tanzania that is. Weather was mostly bad, we’re in the middle of the rain season, and thus I couldn’t land on 3 airstrips. One was quite flooded, another one was damaged by trenches made by flowing waters, and the 3rd one located on top of a cliff was shrouded in clouds. So badly that even flying alongside the cliff I couldn’t find a hole in the clouds  to crawl up. The cloud ceiling was at 4000 feet against the cliff…and the strip is still 2000 feet higher in the mountain.

In the Sonjo Valley, there is a village I particularly like for various reasons, one being that 3 tribes live together there, more or less peacefully. Women seem to go by much better than men, the latter still tend to fight each other, with Kalashnikovs even sometimes. Every year we get emergencies with bullet wounds…

A Sonjo woman with a typical Tanzanian-flag necklace.

 

 

 

a Mangati woman, with a typical spiraled necklace.

 

an elder Mangati lady, with scarification marks around the eyes. Younger people seem to drop that traditional feat.

 

 

and some Masai women fully equipped.

Anyway, these women like their pictures to be taken and they trust me that I’ll bring prints later. This time one model was a bit shocked that I also wanted a picture of her alone, without her baby. Shocking indeed! Many women would rather have their babies pictured rather than themselves. It must be said that in remote areas women have only one right: produce and raise children (preferably males). So being childless is a social stigma, disaster. And so denying that role by requesting a picture without the baby must be seen as slightly insulting?

I also got some nice shooting with the Sonjo kids playing with an old bicycle rim. Sonjo kids still dress very often in these bright colorful pieces of cloth, the same 4 colors for the 13 years I have been flying out there. No red, no purple, no black, no white… nope just these yellow, light blue and orange colors. And green but not on this picture.

some colorful portraits, Tanzania

 

people in the bush, Tanzania

 

even in Masai territories, soccer is the game.

 

2 Sonjo ladies getting prepared for a photo.

 

B/W portraits in the bush, Tanzania

 

Pininyi village on the lake Natron western shoreline.

a proud Masai lady. Round scars on the face are not rare but scarification such as on the arm is rare.

 

this girl is Masai nevertheless her ears are not extended. Her father used to be the village leader, is educated and might have decided she would have an easier future outside Masai life with untouched ears. His 2nd wife is Sonjo, which could explain the more common ear rings and the typical haircut drawn by a razor blade.

 

this woman seems to have some mental problems. She was talking to me but women behind her back were talking mute and gesturing to explain she was living in her own world. Still she looked so pleased that I did ask her to pose for me. I could see she was hanging around but too shy to ask. I hope she’ll like the print I’ll give her on the next meeting there.

 

a really unusual thick mop of hair for this Sonjo girl. I can’t remember having seen one before, even in cities. Hair extensions are thus very common because African hair don’t grow so easily.

 

B/W photography, Tanzania

 

one of my favorite place for portraits (though I’d need to be there at other times than midday for better lighting), that is Pininyi on the western shore of lake Natron. Here there is a peaceful mix of Sonjo and Masai tribe, oops sorry people. I heard one photographer has been pressed to change his book project title. The word 'tribe' was indeed deemed offensive so 'people' it should be. I had no idea 'tribe' had joined 'negro' ranking. The politically correct tribe should be declared offensive to the human race if you ask me...if I were to burn a fuse everytime a Frenchie has fun on Belgians, everytime a woman mocks men because we are variously 'challenged'...in turn many humorists feel they have to walk on eggs in fear of losing jobs or face a law suit.

 

talking about challenge, I was clearly shown and explained that this woman was 'mentally challenged'. Well to all the PC's I might piss off, I don't have to apologize since I'm socially challenged and can't suffer morons. How about that?

B/W portraits in the bush, Tanzania

 below is a mix of Sonjo and maasai people. The easiest hints to recognize them is to look at the ears. Extension means Maasai features. Tiny scars on the face will belong to a Sonjo woman.

portraits in B/W, Tanzanian bush

 

a rare occurrence, an old Masai lady accepting to pose.

 

the ear is pretty damaged but she chose that profile whereas the other ear is much better (to what standard, true)

 

middle-aged woman who was shy but keen to pose.

 

 

below are Sonjo women. Ears are un touched, scarves or bandannas are quite common, tiny tattoos are seen on face

 

and some kind of other portraits, 2 of my drawings done in the same place.

a friend of mine, a real artist, told me to persevere, mostly on perspective and proportions.

Sonjo portraits, Tanzania

 

another quick series of portraits in Habere, Sonjo Valley, in the remote bush. Not the perfect time of day for good light but then I would hardly shoot anything if I were to wait for it. And clinic schedules can’t be avoided. As said before, I’ve developed a good relationship with some villagers where Flying Medical Service operates. Every model will receive for free at least one print. But no money is give to them. Funny enough I had a first this time, one shy lady was willing to pose but asked first how much would a print cost, she thought I was doing business! Those prints have been circulating for more than a year now, not to mention the ones between 1999 and 2002. In turn I have more and more women, few men, coming to pose. I have to say yes to everyone even if I don’t fancy the model. It would be to difficult to explain photogenic reasons, and it would hurt feelings I guess. Of course it costs me more in printing and it’s time consuming.

I hate those ugly woolen hats, usually I have them removed. Poor kids it’s so hot out there but every single mother seems convinced the baby’s life is at stake. This mom wouldn’t remove it.

 

things change, 10 years ago in this Sonjo valley, these kinds of haircut didn’t exist.

 

this woman insisted to pose with her vegetables she was selling nearby.

this is a typical Sonjo haircut, with razor finish to define the hairline.

an exception to the formal kind of bush studio shooting: this woman came running and yelling, took this unusual pose for a second and disappeared the way she arrived. The crowd was just laughing.

 

the printing will be handed out in colors, they wouldn’t happily receive b/w copies.

B/W portraits, Sonjo and Maasai people, Tanzania

 

I just came back from a tour of flying medical clinics. Here a few portraits of Sonjo girls on lake Natron, Rift valley.

nevertheless this model has an imperfection in the eyes, I find her quite photogenic. Or maybe that feat makes her photogenic…

 

 

 

and some Maasai girls. Those 2 tribes used to be at war for centuries, some clashes still happen over land issues but these women seem to live in peace. Women know better usually, right?

Tanzanian bush, people asking for pictures

 

sometimes while on Flying Medical Service clinics I’m not especially in a shooting mood, either because the light is not exciting or I’m busy on other things, like helping the medical staff or sketching. But over the years in some remote villages people have come to know me a bit and they trust me when it comes to hand over their pictures later on. And so once in a while I’m asked to snap a few family portraits. Remember this is bush country and there is absolutely no facility, let alone a photo booth or shop. So I don't usually have the heart to say no. Below are Sonjo women, from the Sonjo Valley west of lake Natron.

Some women have their own ideas on how to pose but I try to squeeze in some of my ideas between the family stuff. Usually they’re a bit surprised but always end up positively surprised with the results.

profiles are pretty unheard of out there.

portraits in the bush, Tanzania

 

here is a gallery of Sonjo women, from a tribe located in the Sonjo valley, between lake Natron and Loliondo.

2 interesting shirts. The poor kid was proud I was shooting his shirt but had no idea what a Harley is.

 

some more traditional Masai women and children below.