https://www.20shots.com/munzur-in-winter daily 0.75 2026-04-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503232088-4SRU8J9THSVONOSI5O7U/MunzurWinterBanner-2.jpg Munzur In Winter https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503232380-1DT0YYU9QA5WIA2BLNVI/image-asset.jpeg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503232380-1DT0YYU9QA5WIA2BLNVI/image-asset.jpeg Munzur In Winter https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503232235-OQVRCQP3V5DG7JIWH8NY/MunzurWinter-20Shots-1.jpg Munzur In Winter The Zeynal Dede, a highly respected Alevi religious leader, performs a prayer ceremony on a sacred hill in the Munzur Valley. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503232211-H03UI48FHCWI27IMQ6HX/MunzurWinter-20Shots-2.jpg Munzur In Winter Many people in the Munzur Valley are sheep and goat herders. In winter, livestock spend most of the day in the their stables, which are usually the ground floor of people's homes. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503232347-QQ38651GEGL3JOEO0TUM/MunzurWinter-20Shots-3.jpg Munzur In Winter Here, sheep are being led to drink at the springs in a small village in the Munzur Valley. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503232173-BPDHMACQAJGPF8RU3XDL/MunzurWinter-20Shots-4.jpg Munzur In Winter https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503232185-8BZDDQ3RIILAKB232S88/MunzurWinter-20Shots-5.jpg Munzur In Winter Baking traditional bread over a fire in a home in the Munzur Valley. This batch of bread will be sent to family members living in Istanbul. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503232124-YLSNSTWNITSSJCELF31S/MunzurWinter-20Shots-6.jpg Munzur In Winter Men keep busy during winter, in the town of Ovacik. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503232246-LS3UADPA9CF6C5HYYSSO/MunzurWinter-20Shots-7.jpg Munzur In Winter Ovacik, beneath the Munzur Mountains, with the Munzur River in the foreground. The early part of the winter of 2014-15 was very dry, making locals nervous about how much water would be available in the summer. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503232270-QF7PMST7ACOTVSW3FNTB/MunzurWinter-20Shots-8.jpg Munzur In Winter A doorway of a typical village home in the Munzur Valley. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503232316-UTCN7D8PH9V8907QAEUN/MunzurWinter-20Shots-9.jpg Munzur In Winter During the traditional Gaxan ritual, performed just before New Years, people dress up and go around town, collecting money and food for the poor. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503232360-KGZ92ZG089KJU8LQI8Z5/MunzurWinter-20Shots-10.jpg Munzur In Winter After a snow, a traditional packed-earth roof must be compressed by rolling a heavy stone over it, to prevent leaking. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503232293-OL57RIXXRK1HXJH92V5Y/MunzurWinter-20Shots-11.jpg Munzur In Winter Bringing a horse to water, in Sorsvenk village. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503232282-8NZ9FG2NNSVSMNIKLDMW/MunzurWinter-20Shots-12.jpg Munzur In Winter Basking in a the sun on a chilly winter day. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503232137-BNC94ZY14DFJS1JQYDBM/MunzurWinter-20Shots-13.jpg Munzur In Winter Emre Kaç, the leader of a local cultural performance troupe in Ovacik, dresses in drag as a shepherdess in a comedic skit at a celebration of the Gaxan festival. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503232222-BJHXZ8YSW5U8WMMB6REJ/MunzurWinter-20Shots-14.jpg Munzur In Winter People from Munzur watch a performance at a Gaxan celebration. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503232336-5YOTOM45B98IA06V12D1/MunzurWinter-20Shots-15.jpg Munzur In Winter As in many herding communities, dogs are a big part of life; those in Munzur tend to be big, beautiful and surprisingly mellow. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503232198-GPTPLFVNKGUJ5UKNG07F/MunzurWinter-20Shots-16.jpg Munzur In Winter Zeynur Eroglu, with his horse, in Sorsvenk village. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503232305-WSJ1T5AV88VOACBJAMBR/MunzurWinter-20Shots-17.jpg Munzur In Winter Though the once-oppressive military presence in Munzur has eased up since the Turkish government's truce with the PKK, it's not unusual to see military vehicles on the street. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503232258-HFWFEN1H44YHIMRMWK46/MunzurWinter-20Shots-18.jpg Munzur In Winter The symbol of a number of political parties in the region, Ibrahim Kaypakkaya was a militant Communist leader who was tortured and killed by the Turkish military in 1973, turning him into a martyr. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503232148-3ABTXIQ84O077CQKDUF9/MunzurWinter-20Shots-19.jpg Munzur In Winter Dancing in the street in Ovacik at midnight on New Years Eve, welcoming 2015. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503232161-DETJX7XE89OBVF0JATS3/MunzurWinter-20Shots-20.jpg Munzur In Winter The Zeynal dede, finishing a prayer ceremony on a sacred hill in the Munzur Valley. https://www.20shots.com/van-gujjar-migration daily 0.75 2026-04-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503235624-AB0E381838BNJNNNYJQE/VanGujjarBanner-1.jpg Van Gujjar Migration https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503235888-GKB4RQEVF4OLXOLD4RY0/image-asset.jpeg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503235888-GKB4RQEVF4OLXOLD4RY0/image-asset.jpeg Van Gujjar Migration https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503235868-2B526JLBTYAB09EMI7F3/VanGujjar-20Shots-4.jpg Van Gujjar Migration Traditionally, all Van Gujjars are buffalo herders, men and women alike. Buffalo milk is their main source of income - and protein. Thus, keeping their herd well-fed and healthy is every family's top priority. "If our buffaloes die, we die," is a common Van Gujjar saying. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503235690-VO7K56P3JUT7GTUH0SWD/VanGujjar-20Shots-15.jpg Van Gujjar Migration But Van Gujjars do not just see their buffaloes as economic resources. They have deep emotional bonds with them: they think of them as family members; they name them and mourn for them when they die and would never dream of using them or selling them for meat. In fact, while Muslim, Van Gujjars are also traditionally vegetarian. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503235779-KFUW1B1N7UU4LPRTXSN3/VanGujjar-20Shots-7.jpg Van Gujjar Migration Four-year-old Karim gets his milk straight from the source. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503235768-EOGM5O6YVFIQCQYJQSN4/VanGujjar-20Shots-12.jpg Van Gujjar Migration Seventeen-year-old Mariam lops leaves from a tree in the Shivalik Hills, to feed to her family's buffaloes. Van Gujjars know that they need to leave enough foliage on the branches for the tree to regenerate during the summer monsoon, so it will provide buffalo fodder year after year; acutely aware that their own well-being depends on the well-being of the forest, they use it sustainably. The Forest Department in the state of Uttarakhand, however, sees the nomads as a threat to the environment and wants to remove them from the forests, especially in areas that are now national parks. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503235656-J47LWMM5Q88274RFOO25/VanGujjar-20Shots-19.jpg Van Gujjar Migration 5-year-old Salma leads her family out of the forests of the Shivalik Hills, in April, 2009. Though Van Gujjars have migrated from the Shivaliks to the Himalayas for centuries, Salma's family feared that the government would make good on their threats to block the nomads from entering their ancestral summer meadows, which are now part of a national park. Salma's family didn't know where they would ultimately go with their animals, but they knew they had to head for the high mountains to find food and water for their buffaloes. They hoped that they would receive permission to enter their meadow while they were on the way to it. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503235790-F6735RJPT89RNOQ23YT4/VanGujjar-20Shots-1.jpg Van Gujjar Migration Twelve-year-old Bashi watches her family's herd as the sun rises over the Asan River. The family camped there for a week, hoping that, during this time, the government would relent and grant them access to their ancestral HImalayan meadows, which are now part of a national park. But government officials refused. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503235822-SG4VPHKJY05B36H1Q93U/VanGujjar-20Shots-2.jpg Van Gujjar Migration Traveling along roads is the most dangerous part of the migration, due to the threat of speeding automobiles. The family tries to reach each camp, and get their animals and themselves off the road, very early in the morning. Here, they move up the Yamuna River gorge, under a cloud of uncertainty, as they do not yet know where they can take their herd for the summer. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503235812-JHIGICT14IMYOZFIZ2F1/VanGujjar-20Shots-23.jpg Van Gujjar Migration While traveling outside the forest on the migration, Van Gujjar families need to buy fodder for their herds. Here, Apa, the eldest daughter, carries a towering load of grass for the buffaloes' evening meal. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503235701-DVD5FLRA213G6NNHO9GW/VanGujjar-20Shots-21.jpg Van Gujjar Migration Children are expected to help with chores, to the extent of their ability. Here, Rustem and his sister Djennam Khatoon, fetch water from a roadside pump during the migration. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503235668-O316DWJQZKSC3JDAFCSV/VanGujjar-20Shots-6.jpg Van Gujjar Migration In general, the migration is an incredibly strenuous undertaking. Here, 16-year-old Sharafat takes a moment to rest while watching the herd, after a refreshing swim in the Yamuna River. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503235680-C7QL2BUPDPC596VMO9JW/VanGujjar-20Shots-20.jpg Van Gujjar Migration Women often lead the pack animals while men drive the buffaloes, but these gender roles are very flexible. Many jobs in Van Gujjar society are performed by men and women together. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503235724-NK0AVJNHB673AHIXAMW6/VanGujjar-20Shots-8.jpg Van Gujjar Migration Though they are Muslim, Van Gujjar women only veil their faces once in their lives - for their marriage ceremony. Well aware of the symbology of the veil, they have a saying: "Just because you wear the veil on your wedding day doesn't mean your husband can tie it around your neck!" Here, Apa makes chai with some help from her little sister, Salma. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503235802-ARKW6D1SGKDY73O9BRMB/VanGujjar-20Shots-9.jpg Van Gujjar Migration At a forest camp in the Himalayan foothills, Van Gujjar men discuss their plan for moving higher into the mountains, to the alpine meadows where they will spend the summer. They decided - for this one year - to abandon their ancestral meadows and seek other meadows that were higher and more remote. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503235844-YEVHWFLV04QPBSCL9UBD/VanGujjar-20Shots-5.jpg Van Gujjar Migration Seventeen-year-old Mariam leads her family's caravan through the foothills of the Himalayas, on the route to the alternate meadow. She's carrying her 2-year-old niece in the plaid shawl slung over her shoulders. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503235735-78QTHH98A948547JKUN2/VanGujjar-20Shots-22.jpg Van Gujjar Migration Dhumman, the father of the family, with his favorite buffalo. This was the first summer in his entire life that he would not spend at his family's ancestral meadows. He was at once accepting and resentful, and had deep concerns about what this meant for the fate of the migration in future years. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503235746-9BBFCEVRTCM4PKXCCF0B/VanGujjar-20Shots-10.jpg Van Gujjar Migration Jamila, Dhumman's wife, loves her life in the wilderness and wouldn't choose to leave it, but because of government threats to block their migration, she has deep anxieties about the future. For her children's sake, settled village life seems like it might offer more stability and economic security, and she's open to the idea. But she's not planning on moving out of the forest quite yet. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503235757-9IVH182WHTWSXYRZKFQ4/VanGujjar-20Shots-3.jpg Van Gujjar Migration Most Van Gujjars think of themselves as people who belong to, and in, the forest, and they don't want to leave it. (One man I met who had been evicted from the forest and forced to settle in a village said, "To be Van Gujjar, you must live in the forest, and have buffaloes, and move to the mountains. I do none of these things. I am no longer Van Gujjar.") Here, three-month-old Halima rests on the forest floor as her parents load up their pack animals, while migrating through the foothills of the Himalayas. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503235856-2TTMMJF1BDK17RRQFH22/VanGujjar-20Shots-26.jpg Van Gujjar Migration Traveling to alpine meadows higher and more remote than their traditional summer pastures, the family endures days of freezing rain. At one point, a huge storm washes a tree over a cliff; it lands on a buffalo yearling, shattering its leg. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503235834-PJO6KWJRX8DIILN8BKJK/VanGujjar-20Shots-11.jpg Van Gujjar Migration Though they still had to climb 2500 feet up a steep Himalayan pass, the family would not leave their injured buffalo behind. The broken leg was splinted and the animal was carried over the pass, to the meadow where they would spent the summer. They hoped the leg would heal before they had to descend from the mountains in the fall. For the past few years, the family has been able to return to its ancestral meadows, but still has deep insecurities about what the future holds. Their best hope is India's Forest Rights Act - which should protect their access to their traditional lands. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503235712-4649GTRMXFLBY9CM4P8A/VanGujjar-20Shots-13.jpg Van Gujjar Migration For the past few years, the family has been able to return to its ancestral meadows, but still has deep insecurities about what the future holds. Their best hope is India's Forest Rights Act - which should protect their access to their traditional lands, but is unevenly implemented. Here, Dhumman's daughters Bashi and Salma, with his nephew, Mustooq.. https://www.20shots.com/maasai daily 0.75 2026-04-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503242732-R9BI6ZKFOS64P70ZICDT/Stuart-Maasai-cover-2.jpg Once We Were Lions https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503243028-NX4Z0XXPRAP7H5MEESP9/image-asset.jpeg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503243028-NX4Z0XXPRAP7H5MEESP9/image-asset.jpeg Once We Were Lions https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503242821-IR4NJE5VWW2XHQBZGJFG/Stuart-Maasai-2.jpg Once We Were Lions The heartlands of the Maasai people are the savannahs of southern Kenya and northern Tanzania (but they also call parts of the central Kenyan plateau home). It’s commonly assumed that the Maasai have stridden over the Serengeti plains and other parts of this region since time immemorial but in fact they’re a relatively recent arrival to East Africa, and southern Kenya and northern Tanzania in particular. Alongside their very close cousins, the Samburu, the Maasai are a Nilotic people who originated along the banks of the White Nile in what is today South Sudan. Other Nilotic peoples include the Luo, Dinker, Nuer and Kalenjin. At first there was little difference between any of these groups, but slowly, over time, they spread out of their homeland areas and moved south (its been suggested that this was due to a growing Islamisation in Sudan). By about the 15th Century, the Maasai were based around Lake Turkana in the searing deserts of north Kenya; it wasn’t until about 1850 that the Maasai reached the Ngorongoro (in northern Tanzania and today a Maasai heartland). Indeed, when the first European explorers and settlers arrived in the region starting in the mid-19th Century, the Maasai still rarely ventured deep into the Serengeti-Mara grasslands. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503242993-FBMHEGY4Y61PTW10ZBKV/Stuart-Maasai-3.jpg Once We Were Lions For most of their history, the Maasai have been feared by neighbouring peoples on account of the skill and ferocity of their warriors (or moran). But the Maasai didn’t have it all their own way. In the late 1800’s the Maasai were nearly wiped out by the combination of a rinderpest outbreak - which killed nearly all of their cattle - a very serious drought, and a major smallpox outbreak. According to some estimates, nearly two-thirds of the Maasai died between 1883 and 1902. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503242857-S3BD8BL9U007ST6813VD/Stuart-Maasai-4.jpg Once We Were Lions The Maasai are traditionally a pastoralist people. Cattle are the cornerstone of their culture and the basis of their wealth, so central to their lives that the Maasai once believed that all the cows in the world belonged to them. This belief led to the once-common practice of raiding cattle from neighbouring tribes, with the justification being that the Maasai were just ‘reclaiming stolen property.’ Today the Maasai understand that they don’t in fact own all the cows on earth, but they regard them no less highly. Even successful Maasai businessmen who live in Nairobi tend to have a herd of cattle they keep back in their village, watched over by a hired herd boy (and by themselves when they return to the village during holidays). I know Maasai who live in America and live a largely typical American lifestyle, but every summer when they return to East Africa they put away the baseball shirts, put on the red shuka and head off into the hills with the cows. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503243006-Y1K6E2AXPY5W0XZAYSXM/Stuart-Maasai-5.jpg Once We Were Lions One of the central figured in traditional Maasai culture is the laibon - a person gifted with the power to see the future. They’re not really fortune tellers and they’re certainly not witch doctors. They’re more like seers, but some also have the power to cure illnesses. Laibons advise their communities about the best course of action to take in a given situation. They might say where cattle should be taken in order to find better grazing when there’s a drought, and they pronounce when the time is right for important ceremonies, such as the initiation of a new set of moran (Maasai warriors), to be held. They also advise individuals on personal matters. Historically, there is no more respected member of the Maasai community. Today, though, as Maasai culture changes, the role of the Laibon is becoming reduced and in some areas no more laibon remain. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503242955-N8F4QU9A8B0GCH5HZ0U9/Stuart-Maasai-6.jpg Once We Were Lions The laibon is considered to be a direct descendent of Enkai (God). It is told that, long ago, two Maasai warriors were walking in the forest when they came across a small child. One of the warriors wanted to leave the child, for it was just a small boy who would likely be a hindrance to them. The other warrior, though, picked up the boy and took him home to bring up as his own. The warrior named the boy Kidongoi. As the years paased, it became clear that this boy had special powers. The cattle he tended were always plump and healthy, even during times of drought, when everyone else’s cattle were starving and dying. Some Maasai had even observed him calling into the Heavens, and in response, rain immediately poured onto the ground around him, turning the grass lush and green. Acknowledging his unusual powers, the people made him their spiritual leader, or laibon. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503242908-SUO42UCBJGCPYQTDBCPG/Stuart-Maasai-7.jpg Once We Were Lions Every laibon has his own oracle consisting of the right horn and hide of an ox, along with magical pebbles. The pebbles are kept inside the ox horn and when they are poured out onto the ox hide, the laibon “reads” them and makes a divination. Not all pebbles, however, can be trusted and if a laibon notices that there are one or two pebbles that cause mischief or produce false divinations, he will discard them and find others that behave correctly. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503242896-1J2X593LRJCRHUFAQQLB/Stuart-Maasai-8.jpg Once We Were Lions Before the pebbles are poured out, whoever is requesting help from the laibon must spit into the end of the ox horn, then place a small sum of money and a personal object inside it. Thus the pebbles will know the identity of the person who wants their help. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503242832-1PSBG3FO2YUR9XIF15XV/Stuart-Maasai-9.jpg Once We Were Lions This is Mokompo, arguably the most powerful remaining laibon. He lives in a remote part of Kenya in a green dale several hours drive east of the Masai Mara National Reserve. Like almost all older Maasai he doesn’t know his age, but he’s probably about seventy. He wears a ceremonial cloak made of colobus monkey and hyrax fur, has big ear rings, and a ring made of cow hide that stands fifteen centimetres off his finger. Mokombo is the great-grandson of Mbatiany, who famously foresaw the arrival of the British in the days before Kenya was a British colony; he had dreams featuring white butterflies and an iron snake, and feared that the butterflies and snake would bring great change for the Maasai. A few years, later the British (white butterflies) landed on the coast of East Africa and built a railway line (iron snake) through the interior. Soon, the Maasai lost their best grazing lands to white farmers and were pushed into negligible parts of the region such as the Masai Mara and the Serengeti. Mokompo’s uncle worked with the British whereas Mokompo’s father refused and instead moved his people into the remote Loita Hills. This caused a split among the Kenyan Maasai that has lasted until today. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503242845-RS6YQQ8B2H9462ANR8UR/Stuart-Maasai-10.jpg Once We Were Lions A laibon isn’t the only one in Maasai society with magical or spiritual powers. This is Kureti, a traditional healer and midwife. She focuses exclusively on curing those who are sick and, of course, helps deliver babies. She explains: “Let’s say a mother brings a young child who is sick to me. The mother doesn’t have to tell me what is wrong. I just hold the child and look at the face, the hands, the legs and the feet. From that I can tell what sickness the child has. I will hand the child back to the mother and go to the bush to find the plants and the herbs that I need to cure that sickness.” As health centres, hospitals and ‘western’ medical practises reach ever remoter corners of East Africa the traditional healer is finding her role in society starting to reduce, but Kureti said, “Sometimes a hospital cannot cure someone but I am able to do so and so I know that my services will always be required.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503242786-ZEU0TMYT94EDARXFVBKN/Stuart-Maasai-11.jpg Once We Were Lions The Maasai moran (warriors) were effectively the Maasai army, tasked with protecting villages and livestock - and raiding cattle from other tribes. Traditionally, a man becomes a moran after his circumcision in his late-teens. He then spends about ten years living in the bush with others in his age-set (peer group), drifting from village to village and herding his family’s cattle. The moran grow their hair long and often dye it red using natural materials. When this stage of life nears its end, the moran gather for a ceremony known as Eunoto, marking their transition from warriorhood to junior elder. Arguably the most important event in a man’s life, it culminates in a moran having his long hair shaved off by his mother. This symbolises moving onto a new stage of life: one of marriage, children and responsibility. Over the past decade or two, however, changing lifestyles, increased school attendance and the growing influence of a global economy means that few Maasai men are now able to afford the time, or have the inclination, to spend years living a traditional moran lifestyle in the bush. Thus, relatively few young men are, in fact, moran in the classic sense of the meaning (despite what many in the tourist industry may want you to believe!). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503242980-GPNXEA6ZSMJN9O2NL4EJ/Stuart-Maasai-12.jpg Once We Were Lions You don’t have to be in East Africa long to hear about how every Maasai Moran is supposed to kill a lion with his spear. This was traditionally done in order to prove that the moran was a ‘real’ man, afraid of nothing. In reality there have never been enough lions for every male Maasai to kill one, so the moran would work in small groups to catch one, but the man who first threw the spear and killed the lion would claim the lions mane – and the most glory. Today, conservation rules and a fast shrinking lion population means that the Maasai lion hunt is now illegal. However, in some remote areas (particularly in Tanzania), it does still happen, and throughout the region Maasai sometimes kill lions (and other predators) if they attack livestock. This is often done with poisoned bait, which results in the deaths of other animals, especially scavengers. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503242797-QPFNBB530V08Y7JPWO6G/Stuart-Maasai-13.jpg Once We Were Lions This man is from the Kuria tribe, who have traditionally borne the brunt of Maasai cattle raids. One eighty-four-year-old Kuria man recalled a night from his childhood, when about eighteen Maasai moran raided his boma, killing several members of his extended family and stealing one hundred cattle. But the Kuria raided the Maasai, too: “Several times we men here went on raids in Kenya,” a Kuria in Tanzania bragged. “One time we took many Maasai cows, but rather than fight, the Maasai told the police and the Kenyan police took the cows back off us. But we waited a year or two and then went back to Kenya and took the cows again.” Another claimed to have killed many Maasai: “These Maasai moran think they are very strong. But they’re not very clever. They come with spears, but we had guns!” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503242919-F11LYX4UNMYSC7AGGP51/Stuart-Maasai-14.jpg Once We Were Lions As Maasai culture changes and they find themselves ever more a part of the global money economy, alcohol abuse is becoming a problem among underemployed Maasai men. Very cheap and strong whisky can be bought in most village shops. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503242943-X8GZAHK3Z0VP4OSXAHSM/Stuart-Maasai-15.jpg Once We Were Lions The introduction of the mobile phone has been revolutionary for the Maasai. These once-isolated people can now easily communicate with others in neighbouring communities as well as in towns and cities across Kenya and Tanzania and beyond. They have instant access to the market price in other parts of the country for livestock; in a flash they can call a doctor if they fall ill, and they can keep in touch with family when they were far away from home grazing the cows. With the rise of the smartphone, a whole world of opportunity is opening up for the Maasai. Internet businesses are being established, phone banking and money transfers are the norm, political opinions are being discussed on a wider scale and social media sites such as Facebook have become an obsession among younger Maasai. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503242809-6KX4KT4Y8JLXZV99JPAU/Stuart-Maasai-16.jpg Once We Were Lions It was only a generation or so ago that schools and formal education were looked upon with scorn by adult Maasai, who viewed every student as a lost pair of hands that would be put to better use tending livestock. Today that attitude has almost totally reversed, and parents will scrimp and save in order to try and give their children the best education possible. However, schooling facilities in many rural parts of East Africa remain below those of urban areas, and even with an education many young Maasai struggle to get decent jobs. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503242884-516BZWEGHLDK3N7O4CII/Stuart-Maasai-17.jpg Once We Were Lions This young girl lives in a centre for girls rescued from situations such as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), arranged and underage marriages to men who are often many times older than the girl and, in the case of the youngest girls, being ‘given’ to another family as a part of a marriage dowry for an older sibling. All of these activities are illegal in Kenya and Tanzania, but in remote villages the rules are often ignored in favour of cultural traditions and financial considerations. Change is happening, though, as more women and girls resist FGM and arranged marriages; encouragingly, they’re increasingly supported in this stance by older brothers and male cousins. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503242773-ZIA1WCA0Y8PU4ZPR3I2G/Stuart-Maasai-18.jpg Once We Were Lions The Maasai first encountered Christianity around the year 1900, but it wasn’t until approximately twenty years ago that they really started to be converted in large numbers. Today, in much of Kenya, more than three-quarters of Maasai are likely to be nominally Christian (in Tanzania which is less developed and more traditional the figure is lower). Not surprisingly, as younger Maasai have turned to the Church they’ve lost an important keystone of their traditional culture, in which their god Enkai, is both the creator and a living part of the natural world. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503242931-QC3CIPJDUTAKWZ4UC06E/Stuart-Maasai-18-A-1.jpg Once We Were Lions Praying at an evangelical church. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503242871-R3COGFXX191F2OIWQPU8/Stuart-Maasai-19.jpg Once We Were Lions One area of work in which Maasai, with or without a formal education, are highly in-demand is within the safari industry. The Maasai’s intimate knowledge of the wildlife and landscapes means that those of them who speak English well are often employed as wildlife guides. Those with less English work as security guards, cleaners and waiters at the hundreds of safari camps and lodges found in southern Kenya and northern Tanzania. For some Maasai, though, there are still cultural barriers to achieving success in the safari industry: this Maasai woman had to defy her parents, run away from home and beg for help from her uncle in order to go to school and fulfil her dreams of becoming a wildlife guide. She is now one of the top-rated female wildlife guides in Kenya. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503242967-XFML9Z8Y3JWGHPASJBLR/Stuart-Maasai-20.jpg Once We Were Lions As beneficial as the safari industry has been for many Maasai, not everyone is happy about wildlife tourism. There are at least fifteen national parks and reserves as well as numerous other conservation zones within the parts of Kenya and Tanzania in which the Maasai live, and in some cases the Maasai have been evicted from ‘their’ land with little or no compensation in order to make way for wildlife conservation. Many also feel that the money generated by wildlife tourism is not being fairly distributed, with the vast majority of it going to local councils or national governments, rather than being invested in local infrastructure and development projects. Again and again, Maasai living on the fringes of conservation areas have said that they feel the central governments of both Kenya and Tanzania value the life of an elephant over the lives of their children. https://www.20shots.com/guests-of-the-sufi-sheikh daily 0.75 2026-04-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503246840-8IMGU985AMPFYO6S459L/0_DSH_3279.jpg Guests of the Sufi Sheikh https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503283172-0FEL84LKLY2SB8X2UM8T/TCP+7.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503247109-JMXDNU6JCNM4DHKPVBIJ/1_DSH_9511.jpg Guests of the Sufi Sheikh After a long journey a pilgrim catches her first glimpse of the shrine of the Sufi saint Sheikh Hussein in eastern Ethiopia.. Tens of thousands of pilgrims, mostly Sufis but also some Christians and followers of Waaqeffannaa, the ancient traditional religion in the region, travel to the remote village of Anajina to pay respects to the saint. Although he died centuries ago, pilgrims continue to venerate him as a mediator between them and God — capable of ensuring their welfare and the wellbeing of their communities. Health, peace, wisdom, fertility, contentment, bountiful harvests — there is nothing the Sheikh will deny to those who come to him with love and a humble heart. Pilgrims call themselves “Gariibaa Sheekanaa Husseenii” — the guests of Sheikh Hussein — and feel that the Sheikh receives them with the generosity and benevolence befitting a great-hearted and magnanimous host https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503246979-NEDJYX4DYNZBUHWJN32R/2_DSH_9683.jpg Guests of the Sufi Sheikh With his belongings in a sack over his shoulder and carrying a forked stick, known as a dhanqee, a pilgrim arrives in the village of Anajina, site of the shrine to a revered Sufi saint. Sufism is a mystic path toward self-perfection and purification and offers a way to enlightenment and knowledge of Ultimate Truth. Followed to its conclusion, the Sufi path leads to a full realization of human potential, to the divine that exists in every human being. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503247013-AXDDFS7RCMJYQEDFJUAY/3_DSH_9742.jpg Guests of the Sufi Sheikh Sufis sing songs in praise of the saint Sheikh Hussein. Nur Hussein Sheik Ibrahim al-Malakai was born eight or nine hundred years ago in the village where his shrine now stands. Oral tradition holds him to be a descendent of the Prophet Muhammad — an understanding that emphasizes the Sheikh's spiritual, if not literal, kinship with the Prophet. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503246940-YK5M6IPW0OCULG5DI3I7/4_DSH_Diptych1.jpg Guests of the Sufi Sheikh Sufi pilgrims. During his life Sheikh Hussein was known as a worker of miracles, a seer, and an interpreter of dreams. He was also a venerated spiritual preceptor and teacher and left behind numerous disciples who continute to be venerated as saints in their own right — Sof Omar, Sheikh Ibrahim, Abu Nassir, Abu Koyi, Sheik Logomo and Ali Bahrey. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503246883-1KT4X6X90SN48C8U4Q96/5_DSH_2420.jpg Guests of the Sufi Sheikh Two women greet each other during the pilgrimage to the shrine of Sheikh Hussein. The central metaphor of Sufism is love. This is the attitude with which Sufis approach God and each other. The greatest Sufi poets have written verses comparing the mystic traveler towards God to a lover seeking union with his beloved. The metaphor of lover and beloved also echoes the Sufi's feeling of separation from God, of as sense of incompleteness and a longing for wholeness. Like the lover, the Sufi traveler is prepared to endure discomfort and privation to reach his Beloved, for whatever pain he or she may endure on the journey, it does not compare with the suffering of separation. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503246906-H0UCY15H2F5AI1NSMJT4/6_DSH_0744.jpg Guests of the Sufi Sheikh A pilgrim inside the shrine, a mausoleum where the Sufi saint Sheikh Hussein lies buried. Pilgrims visit Sheikh Hussein's mausoleum to bring offerings of incense and perfume, to pray, to sit meditatively or to circumambulate the tomb. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503247037-1VUCPFRMPGMA2LNUTDSH/7_DSH_Diptych2.jpg Guests of the Sufi Sheikh Sufi pilgrims. It is the pilgrims' reverence and devotion to the saint as well as a firm belief in his miracle working powers that brings tens of thousands of people to Anajina from the farthest corners of Oromia as well as from Kenya, Somalia and Djibouti. These days most pilgrims travel to the shrine by bus, but some still walk; and for those from the most distant parts of the country the journey may take several months. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503247048-DCJ69V0Y6WT22YVCUYOH/8_DSH_3896.jpg Guests of the Sufi Sheikh Pilgrims near the shrine of the Sufi saint Sheikh Hussein. Sufis see saints as intermediaries between themselves and God. The saints are known as awliya — friends of God. They are simultaneously of the world and beyond it — in especially close proximity to the deity. As such, they constitute conduits of divine power into the world. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503247073-P67T5LRB5ELIX5CDFOJO/9_DSH_2400.jpg Guests of the Sufi Sheikh A pilgrim sings baahroo — songs of praise to the Sheikh. The name baahroo, the songs of praise and devotion that pilgrims sing to Sheikh Hussein, derives from the Arabic word bahar, which means sea. Pilgrims understand baahroo to refer to the saint's love, wisdom, benevolence, compassion and generosity, which are all boundless as the sea. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503247025-RDB5JUBWKT6IZY63EIF1/10_DSH_1819.jpg Guests of the Sufi Sheikh A pilgrim looks at inscriptions praising Sheikh Hussein that decorate the mausoleum where he is buried. Ethiopia holds a special place in the history of Islam. The first hijira, or flight, by the followers of Muhammad to escape persecution by his enemies, the Quraysh, took them to Ethiopia's Aksumite kingdom, where they were received hospitably and given refuge. Since then there have been Muslims in Ethiopia, and on command of the Prophet, Ethiopia was never to be a target of jihad. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503246929-VY0VGNFBIHV3Z69HC1JJ/11_DSH_Diptych7.jpg Guests of the Sufi Sheikh Pilgrims — their faces smothered in the holy dust known as jawara. A Sufi saint is one who has annihilated his ego and experienced his unity and essential identity with God. The saint then becomes a channel for baraka — blessedness or divine influence. This power which pours through the saint while he lives, continues to flow through the saint's remains after his death. For this reason, pilgrims to Anajina hold the earth around Sheikh Hussein's tomb to be infused with baraka and to have healing powers. Inside the tomb pilgrims dig patiently for this dust, known as jawara. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503246918-6O2MKASI6MXZEVNAOMIP/12_DSH_1454.jpg Guests of the Sufi Sheikh A pilgrim kisses the palm of a sheikh and receives a gift of chaat leaves. Chaat is an amphetamine widely used in the region. Chewing the leaves produces feelings of intoxication, happiness and euphoria. Chewing chaat has social, cultural and religious significance on the Horn of Africa and in the southern Arabian peninsula. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503247060-O98ILEOSB28SK5B0O2K0/13_DSH_3917.jpg Guests of the Sufi Sheikh Two women perform evening prayers near a memorial shrine of the Sufi saint Abd al-Qadir al-Jalani. Abd al-Qadir al-Jalani was a 11th and 12th century Sufi mystic, the founder of the Qadiriyya order of Sufi Islam and a spiritual ancestor of Sheikh Hussein. He is buried in Baghdad, but his followers have dedicated shrines to him throughout the Islamic world. He popularized the Sufi ideal of jihad, or holy war, as an inner struggle against egotism and one's own base qualities in order to destroy them and realize one's own divine nature. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503246951-8Z8G2UA6T2Z7YA5TMDWD/14_DSH_9884.jpg Guests of the Sufi Sheikh Pilgrims having a midday rest. Most pilgrims are accommodated by local residents in their homes. Locals provide the pilgrims alms in the form of lodging, food and water without any expectation of receiving anything in return except the pilgrims' blessings and good will. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503246990-L39QS4GE0FMK1FF8RXT7/15_DSH_Diptych4.jpg Guests of the Sufi Sheikh Sufi pilgrims. Those who have most rigorously dedicated themselves to the Sufi path and whom other Sufis recognize as having advanced far along it are known by pilgrims as awliya — friends of God. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503246895-SF3R0KBFP9AT1CEXA7OG/16_DSH_2643.jpg Guests of the Sufi Sheikh Under a full moon and starry sky, a man sings baahroo during an all night session of singing in praise of the Sheikh. Throughout the pilgrimage, devotees sing baahroo at their encampments, in private houses as well as in large public assemblies, known as waare, where baahroo singing begins at sundown and lasts through the night. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503247095-L0R43KZ89YQS559269CT/17_DSH_2859.jpg Guests of the Sufi Sheikh Sufis gathered to listen to baahroo, songs praising the saint Sheikh Hussein. The singer moves among the crowd, not just singing to the audience, but engaging it in a dialog of call-and response. The audience emphasizes especially moving phrases sung by the singer by repeating them, they vocalize their affirmation of his assertions and chant their response to questions posed to them by the singer. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503247003-H0C0TCOOWNWU0S1LOBZW/18_DSH_1256.jpg Guests of the Sufi Sheikh A pilgrim wails at one of the walls of the mausoleum of Sheikh Hussein. For the traveler on the Sufi path, selflessness and love reciprocally reinforce each other in a virtuous cycle leading to self-transcendence and purification. At the end of the path the traveler arrives at a higher plane of consciousness, what the Sufis call marifat or gnosis, and experiences the Real. The traveler realizes then that knowledge, knower and known are one. “In that glory is no 'I' or 'We' or 'Thou' // 'I,' 'We,' 'Thou,' and He' are all one thing,” wrote the mystic poet Al-Hallaj. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503247083-RSLTLRDT0QY2VMQR5S5X/19_DSH_3355.jpg Guests of the Sufi Sheikh Near the Bab al Salaam — the Gate of Peace — pilgrims gather to hear baahroo. His devotees refer to Sheikh Hussein as the Light — emphasizing his power to illuminate the human mind and heart and rescue people from spiritual darkness. Addressing the saint, the pilgrims sing: “Peace be up on you father // You are the Light // Whose birth lights Anajina // The temple of culture // Of the descendants of the Oromo // We returned back again to your shrine // Please come to us in our vision. . . .” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503246968-2ZOMZDUYZ2XDPD18J4IP/20_DSH_2406.jpg Guests of the Sufi Sheikh Sufi pilgrims. Sufis perceive the entire world as divine, and the true mystic recognizes all the exoteric sects and creeds of the world as nothing more than masks that hide a single Reality. Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi, the great 13th century Sufi philosopher and poet, counseled like this: “Do not attach yourself to any particular creed exclusively, so that you disbelieve in all the rest; otherwise, you will lose much good, nay, you will fail to recognize the real truth of the matter. God, the omnipresent and omnipotent, is not limited by any one creed, for He says . . . 'Wheresoever ye turn, there is the face of Allah.' Everyone praises what he believes; his god is his own creature, and in praising it he praises himself. Consequently he blames the beliefs of others, which he would not do if he were just, but his dislike is based on ignorance. If he knew Junayd's saying, 'The water takes its color from the vessel containing it,' he would not interfere with other men's beliefs, but would perceive God in every form of belief.” https://www.20shots.com/index daily 0.75 2026-03-26 https://www.20shots.com/new-page-1 daily 0.75 2026-03-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503249600-FCHB8D896MBTDPDBC6US/lalji-1.jpg New Page https://www.20shots.com/new-page-3 daily 0.75 2026-03-26 https://www.20shots.com/spirit-worship-in-myanmar daily 0.75 2026-04-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503251059-Z7KVWHDHAA5IJHYNU6HU/NatMyanmar17.jpg Spirit Worship in Myanmar https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503283172-0FEL84LKLY2SB8X2UM8T/TCP+7.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503251126-0F05A2MBTH37SAD9CWJ0/NatMyanmar01.jpg Spirit Worship in Myanmar Spirit medium U Win Hlaing takes an afternoon rest during Taungbyone spirit Nat festival near Mandalay, a week-long celebration around the full moon in August every year. U Win Hlaing inherited his spirit medium gifts from his uncle, U Swam, and under his tutelage he refined his craft and has become one of the most famous spirit mediums in Myanmar. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503251315-A03G6VY5DOEEXG4CWLYP/NatMyanmar02.jpg Spirit Worship in Myanmar U Win Hlaing, his sister and his personal assistant prepare for a ceremony taking place at his home in Yangon. Clients frequently come to his home to ask for good fortune, protection and fulfilling wishes – he listens, consults the Nats and gives advice. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503251243-QYSUE6DGV4DOHBOFGRPI/NatMyanmar03.jpg Spirit Worship in Myanmar The shrine area in U Win Hlaing’s Yangon home includes Buddhist icons, symbols and offerings. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503251290-IZFB7ZF2HNLF22EN01Z0/NatMyanmar04.jpg Spirit Worship in Myanmar U Win Hlaing and two other performers prepare for the dance of Nankarine Medaw, also known as Pegu Medaw, which tells the story of the Mother buffalo of the city of Pegu. Legend has it that Prince Athakouma, represented by the boy on the right, was abandoned as a baby by his family who in an interfamilial power struggle did not want him to become king. He was left in the forest so that he would be trampled and killed by wild animals. However, a female buffalo saw him, protected him and became his adoptive mother. Once an adult, in some versions Athakouma regains the throne and in others he loses a bet with a spirit. The end of the story is always the same: his adoptive mother dies, either Athakouma is forced to sacrifice her by cutting off her head, or in other versions she sacrifices herself for her son’s sake. She becomes a Nat and protects the territory of Pegu, where she is very popular. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503251172-O1EEKNTTE37EPLVS3SIY/NatMyanmar05.jpg Spirit Worship in Myanmar A preparatory moment for the dance of Naga Medaw. Naga Medaw is not a Nat but a “thaik”, a different spirit category. Flowers are an integral part of the offerings made to spirits and jasmine “sable pan” is particularly appreciated in Myanmar due to its aroma and tea drinking custom. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503251137-55FRQ7T0A6WJFC26X6DU/NatMyanmar06.jpg Spirit Worship in Myanmar Boiled duck eggs are an offering for Ma Ma Ne – also known as Shin Nemi, a child Nat connected with the legend of Min Mahagiri, head of the 37 Nats. In Myanmar eggs are given to children by parents as a nutritious food, therefore Ma Ma Ne is also given eggs. Eggs are then redistributed among devotees during the possession dance, when the spirit infiltrates the spectators or mediums. Ma Ma Ne is U Win Hlaing’s personal Nat, with whom he has a privileged sibling-like relationship. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503251092-VYDQM9JQQL1QNCJ7KEWK/NatMyanmar07.jpg Spirit Worship in Myanmar Depicting Nat king Min Mahagiri, known as “Lord of the Great Mountain”, U Win Hlaing dances with representatives of Min Mahagiri’s family around him. According to legend, Min Mahagiri (or Maung Tin De in his given name) was so strong that he could break the tusks of an elephant with his bare hands. Lured into a trap along with his sister by the King of Tagaung, the siblings were burned alive on a Sagawabin tree and became nat spirits, living in the tree. Later King Thinligyaung of Bagan had the tree trunk carried to Mount Popa, divided into two parts - one for each nat - and carved with human characteristics. Thus, Maung Tin De became known as Lord of the Great Mountain. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503251149-4WOB2H9LXIKNTSUUZNDW/NatMyanmar08.jpg Spirit Worship in Myanmar U Win Hlaing’s apprentices bring spirit offerings to a ceremony in his home in Yangon. Money is one of the main offerings given to the Nats. Nat spirits have powers both good and evil and are generally worshipped out of fear but if appeased can also grant health, fame and fortune. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503251184-WDOR2PSNKL6UNATB8NF7/NatMyanmar09.jpg Spirit Worship in Myanmar U Win Hlaing’s apprentices travel to a ceremony in Mandalay region. Spirit mediums conduct ceremonies at festivals across the country as well as in people’s homes when requested. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503251208-I5BM2C3NGH7QEDN73T3U/NatMyanmar10.jpg Spirit Worship in Myanmar Mount Popa spirit festival is one of the most important Nat pilgrimage sites in Myanmar. The revered Nats are honoured in order to bring good merit and fortune for the coming year. In ancient times the annual festival was marked by sacrifices of white buffalos, oxen and goats in honour of the Nats. These have now been banned. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503251254-7JMEXWH4ME6IW74WDD19/NatMyanmar11.jpg Spirit Worship in Myanmar One of U Win Hlaing’s apprentices. They live close to their master, observing and assimilating the practice but also helping out in the house, following a traditional master-pupil model. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503251196-T5GG5ZUK9G296H1MS2LX/NatMyanmar12.jpg Spirit Worship in Myanmar Ko Hlaing prepares for a ceremony at Mount Popa, an extinct volcano covered in forest that rises in the background. He is also a personal assistant to U Win Hlaing, coordinating the dancing group, social media and media relations. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503251220-KZB8IMGV7PZIT65D63SL/NatMyanmar13.jpg Spirit Worship in Myanmar Offerings for the Weikza during the Mount Popa festival. The cult of the Weikza has become very popular in recent years. They are semi-immortal supernatural figures associated with esoteric and occult practices such as recitation of spells and alchemy. The Weikza are tied to Buddhism and therefore depicted close to a Buddhist statue with the regal white umbrella symbol. The Weikza represent a more magical sort of astrological Buddhism because they fly and perform miracles. The brown bananas in front are “Shwe Ngapyo Thi” – golden banana fruit - which are considered a precious offering. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503251278-OCXOOVR2VCJ7MA19MWMF/NatMyanmar14.jpg Spirit Worship in Myanmar U Win Hlaing prepares for one of many ceremonies during Mount Popa Festival. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503251304-KQQWLX3K5MHFA629APIM/NatMyanmar15.jpg Spirit Worship in Myanmar Devotees make offerings and pray to the Nats during Mount Popa Festival. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503251161-R80W8YS4TRDFJMQ6U6U8/NatMyanmar16.jpg Spirit Worship in Myanmar Dance of Popa Medaw, a flower-eating ogress, wife of U Byatta, servant of Anawratha, the first great Burmese king of Bagan, and mother of the two brothers of Taungbyone. The famous festival near Mandalay is dedicated to her. The medium is seen moving peacock feathers, which evoke the forest environment that ogresses love. This scene is from the second part of the dance, when the ogress Nat enters the body of the medium. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503251266-NR4ABB18YZQE9Q5ZCFE0/NatMyanmar17.jpg Spirit Worship in Myanmar Dance of Amay Gyan, the Rude Mother. The dance mixes elements of Burmese theatre (zat pwe) with elements that are more connected to possession (Nat pwe). Rarely performed at his home, during important occasions U Win Hlaing dances as Amay Gyan to impress. Zat Pwe dances include more acrobatics and complex choreographies than Nat dances and are a greater effort for the medium. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503251231-QDSG422KKDZ15J6TO9AP/NatMyanmar18.jpg Spirit Worship in Myanmar Dance for Ko Gyi Kyaw, one of the 37 Nats in the official pantheon of Burmese Nats. According to the legend he loves drinking, women and betting on cock fighting, referenced in this moment called “kyet laung” (“chicken” and “betting”). The medium collects money from devotees in the “hpala” the cup in his right hand together with whisky– while in the other he holds the image of the cock “kyet”. The “bet” consists of rotating the cup without losing money or alcohol from it. These acrobatics are a way to entertain the public and the spirits and if he manages this it means that the spirit “favours” the dancer. Expert mediums recreate more elaborate acrobatic moves to impress the audience and the spirits. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503251103-1PDBRIDDE65U7R4F4FZS/NatMyanmar19.jpg Spirit Worship in Myanmar The family of Min Mahagiri (in the middle), king of the Great Mountain, lord of the 37 Nats. The typical offering for any Nat is called “kadaw pwe” and consists of three banana bunches, green coconut (with the long sprig called “kywe myi” mouse tail” and thabyay (eugenia leaves, also used in various possession dances). Every Nat has its own specialised offerings, but the banana kadaw pwe is the same for everyone. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503251116-5DLPUXRIKAKVVYB5YE6N/NatMyanmar20.jpg Spirit Worship in Myanmar One of the apprentices in between ceremonies at Mount Popa, the abode of the 37 nats. https://www.20shots.com/caravan-of-white-gold daily 0.75 2026-04-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503253702-3RD13YTNZCXZ9304B1UW/CaravanBanner-1.jpg Caravan of White Gold https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503253987-CON0EG7TBVAJJAXBIHC8/image-asset.jpeg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503253987-CON0EG7TBVAJJAXBIHC8/image-asset.jpeg Caravan of White Gold https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503253930-759U5VHM9CDNYKTVG77O/Caravan-20Shots-1.jpg Caravan of White Gold For over 1000 years, camel caravans have traveled deep into the Sahara to bring salt from the desolate heart of the desert to Timbuktu. This ancient trade route, between the fabled, faraway city and the even more remote salt mines at Taoudenni, crosses some of the world’s harshest terrain on its 1000-mile round trip. It’s known as “the caravan of white gold,” and is one of the last working camel caravan routes on earth. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503253890-T4PK7FQKMBJCPUDDDMWO/Caravan-20Shots-2.jpg Caravan of White Gold The solid rock salt, seen here being carried away from the mines, was once worth its weight in gold in Timbuktu – hence the name of the caravan. Until about 175 years ago, salt was the region’s preferred form of currency and could be used to buy anything – from livestock to cloth to slaves. Today, it is worth just pennies per pound, but because Mali is one of the poorest countries in the world, and every caravan returns with tons of it, men still deem it worth risking their lives to bring it back. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503253955-QDZTFBS4XHBQZ5MAV8V1/Caravan-20Shots-3.jpg Caravan of White Gold Much of the caravan route crosses the Tanezrouft region – the oldest and driest part of the Sahara. Local tribes call it “the land of terror” and “the land of death.” Virtually nothing grows there and, in some places, decades pass between rainfalls. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503253734-BSI565R7ZKMYBWC17GXQ/Caravan-20Shots-5.jpg Caravan of White Gold A girl inside her family’s home in isolated Araouane, the last village on the caravan route before it crosses into the Tanezrouft, where there are no more villages. Her older brother was working as a salt miner in Taoudenni, like his father before him. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503253918-AOGIVEHZ1KZSENUR63YD/Caravan-20Shots-4.jpg Caravan of White Gold Caravans travel from well to well. Since the wells are spaced a number of days apart from each other, the caravans carry all the water they need to get from one to the next, and hope they make it there before they run out. In the worst recorded caravan accident, which occurred in the early 19th century, some 2000 men and all their animals perished after reaching a well that had gone dry. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503253902-PQ0296SQ9A6PYK0M6XYV/Caravan-20Shots-6.jpg Caravan of White Gold The best chance that caravans have to survive the crossing is to complete it as quickly as possible. Often, caravans are on the trail from 18 to 20 hours a day. There is only enough time to eat one meal a day, and hardly any time to sleep, though some azalai – as the camel drivers are called – can nap while riding. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503253966-FZ86EMEZ7A2GKJ1IKC1P/Caravan-20Shots-7.jpg Caravan of White Gold Once a caravan breaks camp, it will not pause, not even for a minute, until it reaches the next camp. Here, an azalai brews a pot of green tea on a portable brazier fueled with dried camel dung. When the tea is ready, glasses will be poured and passed around to everyone who is walking or riding – so they can get their caffeine fix without having to slow their pace. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503253783-L0NTS8IU5H05N7GP9T6A/Caravan-20Shots-8.jpg Caravan of White Gold The azalai use neither saddles nor tents, but carry blankets instead, which serve both purposes: they make comfortable camel seats, and they can be rigged up to create a pool of shade during the hottest part of the day, when the caravans usually stop to rest. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503253841-V91PEGUCNIY9NVGME7WT/Caravan-20Shots-9.jpg Caravan of White Gold Supplies for the 5 to 6 week journey are carried in rice sacks; water is sometimes stored in goatskins, other times in truck-tire inner tubes or plastic jugs. Meat – in this case, half of a raw goat carcass – is lashed to the outside of the load. The air is so dry in this part of the Sahara that the meat will not rot. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503253819-G3SZVTFCDIW77TAPSQWI/Caravan-20Shots-10.jpg Caravan of White Gold An azalai scouts from atop a dune . https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503253794-RC217JAMAOVGOUX0TS9O/Caravan-20Shots-11.jpg Caravan of White Gold While maintaining their grueling pace, each camel carries about 400 pounds of salt and will march for two weeks or more without a single sip of water. Here, a camel scratches his neck on a slab of salt. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503253830-4T7AKGQOGMVB0MSYIOK0/Caravan-20Shots-12.jpg Caravan of White Gold The salt mines of Taoudenni are hundreds of miles from the nearest village. There is no electricity, no phone service, no medical services, no vegetation, and no source of fresh water. It is a barren speck in the middle of nowhere, where daytime temperatures regularly spike over 120 degrees. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503253941-JB6X7FVVBO35PBA29G6L/Caravan-20Shots-13.jpg Caravan of White Gold About 200 miners work at Taoudenni for 8 to 9 months a year, hacking salt out of the earth with rudimentary hand tools. Over that entire period, each miner will earn between $150 and $200. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503253863-HJ7TMJCCDTYH7L88TR2K/Caravan-20Shots-14.jpg Caravan of White Gold Miners dig rectangular pits straight into the ground until, about six feet below the surface, they strike a floor of solid salt. It is gleaming white, like an ice skating rink. They carve blocks of salt into tombstone-like slabs, and lift them up. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503253806-27ZKZD3B3OQNYAZ81U7W/Caravan-20Shots-15.jpg Caravan of White Gold Once the salt has been removed from the floor, the miners begin to dig out to the side of the pit, at the level of the salt. As they excavate the salt, they leave behind underground rooms that stretch back forty feet or more. Here, at least, they can work in the shade! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503253876-R15R54KMD0TOVMQRZEGU/Caravan-20Shots-16.jpg Caravan of White Gold A miner carves out a salt block, early in his underground excavation. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503253760-KYXNJSKFI2AD9GKQK9XH/Caravan-20Shots-17.jpg Caravan of White Gold Miners must also hew the thick slabs of salt into thinner bars, for easier transport and handling . https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503253772-SLDG84TZFM1U98L988BW/Caravan-20Shots-18.jpg Caravan of White Gold Despite living and working in such demanding, Spartan conditions, miners make the best of it, often joking, teasing, horsing around and laughing with each other. Here, a group of miners dances together as the sun sets, while one of their friends drums on a metal bowl. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503253852-S8EEJYX5DVZTYNJ9QVDR/Caravan-20Shots-19.jpg Caravan of White Gold A camel at sunset at the salt mines. On the return trip, with the animals fully loaded with salt, most of the traveling will be done at night, when cooler temperatures make it easier on them. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503253746-PH7U4UQCBHAW9VWB8FJN/Caravan-20Shots-20.jpg Caravan of White Gold Over the last twenty years, trucks have at last begun to reach Taoudenni. Predictions that the camel caravans will be driven into obsolescence are premature. A variety of complex factors – from the economic model of the salt trade, to tribal customs, to camel biology – make it unlikely that trucks will completely take over the salt trade any time soon. The bigger threats to the caravans include education and opportunity – if the children of today’s camel drivers are given a chance to do something else, they will. Conflict in northern Mali also impacts the caravans, as the entire area becomes unsafe and many who work with the camels or in the mines flee to neighboring countries. https://www.20shots.com/waria-people-of-indonesia daily 0.75 2026-04-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503257991-HFF7CDLMO4KMPBB00LCO/21.jpg Waria People of Indonesia https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503258276-9DN4VM1B7SEH5XRQ0B32/TCP+7.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503258276-9DN4VM1B7SEH5XRQ0B32/TCP+7.jpg Waria People of Indonesia https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503258255-ZRK46HB73K9Y7OJA2B4W/20.jpg Waria People of Indonesia An estimated 7 million waria people live in Indonesia. Once understood to embody a natural expression of gender, one of the few places where they now find acceptance is on stage, performing traditional songs and dances. Here, a waria performer prepares backstage before a show. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503258216-ARCDOEG0UYDG1AL8IA45/09.jpg Waria People of Indonesia Regarded as spiritual hermaphrodites, the Bissu were said to link the sky — seen as a masculine element — and the realm of the gods — to the ‘feminine’ earth, the realm of the human. They were thus uniquely positioned to play a crucial religious functions, including bestowing blessings upon people and delivering prayers to the heavens. Today, many waria people still perform shamanic rituals with incense and prayers for blessings. They are asked mostly by fellow waria people who are looking for a job, shelter, or love. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503258107-KV4020FZ9IANIR5ENA91/11.jpg Waria People of Indonesia After having received a blessing from a waria shaman, a young waria person takes a ritual bath with flower water. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503258180-RJ2B4ZH46PKWSYS4F3CL/02.jpg Waria People of Indonesia Waria people don’t identify themselves as men but at the same time most do not wish to fully transition to women. Many look to establish life-long relationships and, even though they are not recognised by Indonesian law, call their partners “suami” which means “husband.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503258034-LC8SQ6B0VHRG2VJY1B9M/03.jpg Waria People of Indonesia Very often, a cisgender man who has a waria partner is forced by his family to marry a woman, in order to be socially accepted. From this union, when children are born, they are often taken care of by the waria partner, as if they were her own. In Bugis society, transgender women – called calabai – traditionally play the role of “wedding mothers,” arranging marriage ceremonies, preparing food, and dressing the bride. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503258144-8LA1WZ44KGRAFCIDAT6Q/01.jpg Waria People of Indonesia Waria people regard themselves as “women entrapped in a male body” or “men with women’s souls.” Wearing make-up is one of the ways through which they try to align the body with the soul. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503258084-WF37K8HJ02Z9NUGUAA57/17.jpg Waria People of Indonesia For the same reason, many adore high-heeled shoes. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503258071-IV6KSBTVI5C5A3V1899W/07.jpg Waria People of Indonesia Some waria people undergo hormone treatments and silicone injections “to align” their body with their soul. Relatively few change sex through surgery, mainly because they perceive themselves as neither male nor female, but as belonging to a “third gender.” Since they cannot afford to receive hormones or injections at hospitals or clinics, young waria people usually turn to older waria people for homemade treatments. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503258228-6IXHQ27H1T4I0X9Z7RIO/04.jpg Waria People of Indonesia In big Indonesian cities, like Jakarta, waria people occupy the lowest level of society. They find “home” in cramped rental rooms of old buildings where they live in a mixed community with other waria people and poor families. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503258045-5J9GR4JQ4Y9AG309ABD0/05.jpg Waria People of Indonesia Rental rooms are so small, around 12 square feet, that mattresses are folded up during the day, to be unrolled only at night. Everything they own is kept in these tiny rooms: perhaps a small fridge, a small wardrobe and even aquarium with a pet fish to not feel too lonely. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503258156-XGYKB68XCBJZGU74HDWE/10.jpg Waria People of Indonesia Older waria people usually live together, supporting each other as a family, since most of them were chased out by their own families of origin, who didn’t accept their diversity. Waria elders usually perform traditional medicine such as the preparation of herbal infusions or scratching the skin with a coin until it becomes red to treat stomach ache. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503258023-MQ6C06EZSW9WDYE855K9/06.jpg Waria People of Indonesia Hairdressing is the most common career choice for waria people, and Indonesian woman frequent their salons. Other jobs in which waria people feel safe and comfortable include cooking, sewing and embroidery. Most other jobs are out of their reach due to discrimination, hence many waria people are left without secure employment. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503258168-UCR3EG68U5ZNQKT8KG59/15.jpg Waria People of Indonesia Transgender sons are often rejected by their family, so they move from remote villages to big cities in order to make a living – and many become sex workers as their only means of survival. In Jakarta, waria people in general are stereotyped as being prostitutes. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503258132-WCAPZVI2VFB0WBPYIJHY/14.jpg Waria People of Indonesia Waria people are often harassed when they work on the streets at night and many have been victims of violence. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503258096-T4ILFQW4VKAH97DHED2V/13.jpg Waria People of Indonesia It’s estimated that half of waria sex workers and their clients are HIV positive. The Indonesian government refuses to recognize this as a health emergency, however, so the only help that waria groups receive comes from NGOs. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503258192-F46WMRUJWXKVP74ZSFJ6/16.jpg Waria People of Indonesia A picture of waria sex workers in the 1990s in Jakarta. Almost everyone in this picture has become a “Mami” since leaving street life. Being a “Mami” means taking responsibility for the community of waria people in the district where one lives, serving as a respected elder that offers practical advice and emotional support for younger people. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503258119-OJOB2ZP76QV3WP5AWVE0/08.jpg Waria People of Indonesia In big cities like Jakarta, waria people come from every corner of the Indonesian Archipelago and belong to different ethnicities and religions. They like to gather in groups for informal educational workshops aimed at developing skills in areas such as cooking, sewing, and hair-dressing, so they might find new jobs and quit sex work. Sometimes, Christian ministers come to lead groups in prayer. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503258058-64JAM0BRWPRGR27U1P57/18.jpg Waria People of Indonesia Every year, the national community of waria people holds the beauty contest “Miss Waria” where, from different regions of the Archipelago, young waria people challenge each other in beauty, poise, singing, talk. Winning the contest isn’t just a matter of physical beauty, but especially of personality. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503258204-GBHC1OI1P92PYH3LRJWV/19.jpg Waria People of Indonesia The entrance of Moonlight discotheque, one of the few places in Jakarta for the LGBTQ community to socialize. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503258242-CTFQTRCC56P2PKHGCAF6/12.jpg Waria People of Indonesia Waria people have a culture of taking care of each other. Groups meet regularly to discuss individual problems, including acts of discrimination that they have experienced. This peer support is fundamental because most waria people don’t have any family to rely on. https://www.20shots.com/maldhari-weddings daily 0.75 2026-04-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503262112-L8FU6TUQZUCZF779GNJE/MaldhariWeddingsBanner-2.jpg Maldhari Weddings https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503262395-AZWCE7RZCKTDBKZ7S0TY/image-asset.jpeg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503262395-AZWCE7RZCKTDBKZ7S0TY/image-asset.jpeg Maldhari Weddings https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503262170-18Y7NIDOVA9DGB2XMZBF/MaldhariWeddings-13.jpg Maldhari Weddings For many Maldhari communities in the Kutch region of Gujarat, the Hindu holiday of Janmasthami is the only day of the year when weddings are performed. Aside from being the birthday of the god Krishna - who was raised as a cattle herder - Janmasthami always falls during monsoon season, when fresh grasses bring migrating families, which are scattered across western India, back to their home villages, making it possible for them to gather and celebrate. Here, a groom leads a procession to his bride's home, where they will marry - and meet each other for the first time. He won't see her face, however, until later that night. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503262375-PCAO9K7JO4AFMBP2IX87/MaldhariWeddings-12.jpg Maldhari Weddings Prabhubhai Kalar, said to be 19 years old, sits in a house in the village of his bride's family, just before their wedding. One of the main qualities that Maldhari people look for when they make matches for their children is called "najar," meaning "foresight," or the ability to think and plan for the future. Prabhubhai is believed to embody this, since he is aiming for a career in a medical field - rather than the actual fields where his ancestors grazed their livestock. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503262194-JR0JV883BJGXHMGUKMGY/MaldhariWeddings-3.jpg Maldhari Weddings The day before her wedding to Prabhubhai Kalar, Bhavna Khambhalya poses with her nephew, Alpesh. Guests who are not from the family are told she is 18 years old - the minimum legal age for marriage in India - though this can't be verified. Child marriage is not uncommon in Maldhari communities, sometimes even between very young kids, but the practice is gradually declining. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503262328-ZCWML3TG0CMO6A6BF1EO/MaldhariWeddings-38.jpg Maldhari Weddings The bride's maternal uncles bring gifts for their niece, and are blessed by her mother (their sister). Usually, the groom's family offers jewelry and cash to the family of the bride, while the bride's family pays for the wedding and gives the newlyweds important household items. Once, that would have meant blankets and cooking pots; today, it also includes refrigerators and television sets. Traditionally, the bride herself is expected to embroider elaborate garments for herself and her husband to wear during the ceremony; this painstaking work can take years, and the practice has been banned by some Maldhari communities, who would rather their daughters spend more time studying and less time sewing. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503262340-F1JMA7PVPL5D8OC9QWPU/MaldhariWeddings-1.jpg Maldhari Weddings Hira, from a village in the Rapar region, was schooled until the 7th grade, when her family forced her to drop out. Not only did she need to spend more time embroidering the garments for her wedding, the boy to whom she was engaged had not completed the 7th grade himself, and it was deemed improper for a wife to be better educated than her husband. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503262230-W0VZGE54YCED2NTDL6TY/MaldhariWeddings-32.jpg Maldhari Weddings Before the wedding of Bhavna and Prabhubhai, members of her family place money in front of a popular religious leader, Ram Balak Das. In addition to the blessings he will bestow upon the bride's family, his presence at their home is a status symbol, granting the household a substantial amount of prestige . https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503262303-X51RIP2W4P7E7NK0UNLL/MaldhariWeddings-5.jpg Maldhari Weddings As family and friends gather at his house, Bhavna's father, Samadhbhai Ramadbhai Khambhalya, surveys the scene to make sure everything is running smoothly. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503262351-JN6YSGS06U8K2AIAB366/MaldhariWeddings-7.jpg Maldhari Weddings Hired cooks load up a plate with chili peppers. Traditionally, the brides' families did all the cooking themselves, but today those who can afford it bring in help. A family's honor is at stake when they host a wedding, so poor families sometimes take on enormous debt - some even going into bonded labor - to hold a celebration of which they can be proud . https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503262266-O5BYOM7SCSXI8Q882N6O/MaldhariWeddings-9.jpg Maldhari Weddings A little girl in Bhavna's family tries on the outfit that she'll wear to the wedding. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503262243-81RLLWEC2FFAC4Z299GD/MaldhariWeddings-53.jpg Maldhari Weddings Though the pre-wedding festivities are already underway in the background, Bhavna's family still has to look after their 200 or so sheep and goats. Here, one of her relatives carries a couple of lambs to their mothers so they can feed; Maldharis know exactly which of their lambs belong to which ewes. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503262278-7STISJEU5Y2E44C5YTF4/MaldhariWeddings-10.jpg Maldhari Weddings On the morning of the wedding, women from Bhavna's family gather to meet the groom's family for the first time. Bhavna's cousin, Geeta, in the center, holds a beaded kalash on her head, which is worn when greeting important guests. The top piece represents a coconut, symbolizing prosperity, which balances on a bowl filled with water symbolizing life-force. Ideally, the water will come from the River Ganga. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503262217-D6JQ1S5JK2KHYR7050I9/MaldhariWeddings-2.jpg Maldhari Weddings Bhavna and Prabhubhai sit beside one another as newlyweds. Notice that that their scarves are knotted together and a gold chain is looped around them both. Bhavna has worn a full veil since the start of the ceremony, and will continue to wear it for many more hours. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503262182-3S0IARFBW91I1G6R8FSM/MaldhariWeddings-57.jpg Maldhari Weddings Following the ceremony, it's time for chai. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503262147-7G59MO7XDKQQW6L4MAZ6/MaldhariWeddings-40.jpg Maldhari Weddings Usually, Maldhari marriage processions look more like this: wet and muddy. But even in years when the rains come on time, fewer Janmasthami weddings are being held than in the past. "Young people are educated now and don't care as much about Krishna's birthday, so they're asking to marry on other days," explained Ladhabhai Klotra, a much older cousin-brother of Bhavna. "And we don't deny their request. We are happy when our children are happy.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503262316-OWMYDN46LSDW6ZV9BZGG/MaldhariWeddings-58.jpg Maldhari Weddings Maldhari men watch a wedding ceremony during monsoon rains (in 2006) . https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503262159-QQF137WX1IE570L4KOEY/MaldhariWeddings-14.jpg Maldhari Weddings After his wedding, a Maldhari groom pays a visit to a shrine outside his new wife's village to make an offering, as tradition requires. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503262255-N1XR0DBEA1WANVQ70GEM/MaldhariWeddings-16.jpg Maldhari Weddings After four wedding ceremonies in the village of Dhaneti, the grooms and their families are ready to take the new brides back to the grooms' villages. Fewer weddings than usual were held during Janmashtami in 2012 (when Bhavna and Prabhubhai were married) due in part to a severe drought in the area. "Many families who were migrating back to their home villages turned around when they heard there was no rain and no grass," said Lalji Desai, a Maldhari and secretary-general of the World Alliance of Mobile Indigenous Peoples. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503262363-ZI6DS2F4I2CUOLSTWHCV/MaldhariWeddings-28.jpg Maldhari Weddings While the weddings are taking place, traditional Janmasthami celebrations are also held. Here, an infant plays baby Krishna being delivered to safety by his father, Vasudeva. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503262206-84HIY1KS376MZFA2O8AQ/MaldhariWeddings-17.jpg Maldhari Weddings Maldhari women sing as they bid farewell to the brides who are leaving the village of Dhaneti to go to the villages of their new in-laws. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503262290-S1K0RQBJ863JQEGEYOXA/MaldhariWeddings-18.jpg Maldhari Weddings Groom Karanabhai Khambhalya arrives back at his home, in the village of Karapasvara, with his new wife, Rami. He will see her face for the first time later that night - while everyone else in the house pretends to be asleep. https://www.20shots.com/warana daily 0.75 2026-04-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503265669-A5W3PLIR07T35XB1BAF1/warana12_.jpg Waraná https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503283172-0FEL84LKLY2SB8X2UM8T/TCP+7.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503266016-T0OGONU2B2KP1A44XZUR/warana1_.jpg Waraná A cloud lands on the Maués-Açú river that bathes the city of Maués, to which there is no overland route. Though there is a tiny airstrip, nearly everyone and everything comes and goes via an 18-hour boat journey. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503265783-N52D3DKT9I9JG5CI0JOE/warana6_.jpg Waraná A man reaps the fruits of guaraná. As the fruits are very delicate, they must be picked by hand. Typically, guaraná operations are family-run, with all work performed by family members. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503265766-5L6CZVVEJW87RME2F4HA/warana7_.jpg Waraná The guaraná seed resembles a human eye. In the cosmogony of Sateré-Mawé - who first domesticated the tree - their people were formed from a human eye buried in the earth, from which the first guaraná tree also grew. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503265907-TWJOHUWBY97BWEEJFYEP/warana10_.jpg Waraná After the harvest, the producers separate the seeds, first using their feet to crush the fruits in a technique similar to that used in wine making. The seeds are next washed in a water tank, cleaning off any remaining bits of fruit, then are roasted in clay pots – resulting in a product that looks and smells similar to coffee beans. Here, Ademir Sataré a man of Sateré-Mawé origin, washes the guaraná seeds. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503265714-Q54MWLY3P84CY41KM1YB/warana9_.jpg Waraná In the backyard of his house, Natanael Menezes sieves roasted guaraná seeds. He harvests almost one ton of seeds per year and is considered the largest producer of guaraná in the world. Once they are roasted, the seeds will be put into 40-kilo bags. Those being sold for commercial consumption are bought by a company that grinds the seeds and mixes in dyes, flavors and natural oils to produce the liquid-concentrate syrup that is the base of popular Brazilian soft drinks. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503265838-FOEUNWFRT0BR8WHCCOXD/warana5_.jpg Waraná Natanael Menezes, the largest guaraná producer in the world, poses at his home, near Maués. In the background hang the skins of animals hunted by him. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503266080-8UBSECBM4HCEQIB6NPGI/warana3_.jpg Waraná The son of a local guaraná producer plays with the fruits. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503266036-UQ84DDIAI4ON4NZJAHAP/warana20_.jpg Waraná A man scrapes a guaraná stick on the dehydrated tongue of a pirarucú fish, which works as a grater. The stick is molded from a pulp of guaraná seeds, which preserves the taste and smell of guaraná for many years. This is the oldest and most traditional method of consuming guaraná, and it is still commonly practiced by indigenous people in the region. While commercial guaraná soft drinks are sweet and fruity, the drink as taken by the natives of the region is quite bitter and earthy. Both drinks are stimulants, similar to caffeine. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503265974-YV5I9IT4VDLO0B6AERM8/warana8_.jpg Waraná A woman reenacts the indigenous legend of the creation of guaraná. These performances, held at a harvest festival each November, strengthens the community and their traditions, bringing them closer together as they celebrate their origins. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503266057-CT9FLWLS1RXYFZV17MF1/warana12_.jpg Waraná A descendant of the Sateré-Mawé performs part of the traditional legend that celebrates the ancestral cultivation of guaraná. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503265862-D7PRY4PJLFRGM71K2YC0/warana13_.jpg Waraná A woman from the Sateré-Mawé indigenous community prepares herself backstage for the Sateré-Mawe’s traditional celebration of the guaraná harvest that happens every year in Maues, Amazônia. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503265733-HT3VRVTP1X9Y4NN6OYU5/warana14_.jpg Waraná Detail of the stage where descendants of the Sateré-Mawé reenact the original myth of their people. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503265799-1AQEJSDA3LJ6F8MLUJBI/warana21_.jpg Waraná A group of children display roasted guaraná seeds stored in their homes. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503265952-1AJ7LT7CSZTY1SXZ5K46/warana23_.jpg Waraná Natanael Menezes enters the forest in his backyard to harvest guaraná fruits. The harvest takes place only once a year. The factory that buys the seeds emphasizes sustainable production and trains families in “green” cultivation methods. To support native flora, ecological corridors are maintained throughout the guaraná groves, increasing the diversity of the ecosystem and allowing free movement for wildlife. In order to minimize the attack of pests and protect against winds that hinder flowering, productive guaraná groves are planted within forests, interspersed with wild trees. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503265886-YFHU7NVRBLVJKE80N0OZ/warana17_.jpg Waraná At the home of Natanael Menezes, the largest guaraná producer in the world, his children watch television on one of their cell phones. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503265748-LY7MY5KF68AVOJ8DW991/warana18_.jpg Waraná A typical kitchen from the Amazon region, which is set outside the house in the backyard and is where guaraná is prepared. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503265993-N0E4DKEOYV4S2EHLIGSJ/warana19_.jpg Waraná A cup of a homemade guaraná drink. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503265819-ZUVV58RDGNKUULVVK06X/warana4_.jpg Waraná A view of Maués from the river. Approximately 22,000 people live in this small city. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503265928-TIS44U65FORPOXJBP4DN/warana22_.jpg Waraná Although guaraná cultivation is done in a very integrated way with nature, respecting the areas of environmental preservation, it is not uncommon to see large areas of deforestation on the banks of the Amazon River in the vicinity of Maués, often due to illegal logging. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503266102-F3GA9C4PTWM58AH3M2I0/warana11_.jpg Waraná A boy looks into the forest in one of the villages of Maués. https://www.20shots.com/imam-san-cham daily 0.75 2026-03-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503269508-KBFT89HSMB49UNCC5PGT/hilton_cham_cambodia_sel12.jpg Imam San Cham https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503283172-0FEL84LKLY2SB8X2UM8T/TCP+7.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503269667-WB4LVU9T1V39VAVLC6V3/hilton_cham_cambodia_sel01.jpg Imam San Cham Imam San chai ceremonies are rituals rooted in ancient pre-Islamic practices, which channel the souls of ancestor spirits and in some cases, reenact scenes from Cham history. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503269643-DWLJ3J6QB3DVWLRE3R4O/hilton_cham_cambodia_sel02.jpg Imam San Cham Chai ceremonies are used thank the ancestral spirits for the recovery from illness. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503269846-J8W63AD0GGX1E3UPASEY/hilton_cham_cambodia_sel03.jpg Imam San Cham During chai ceremonies, sometimes animal spirits take possession of the participants. Here, a woman possessed by a monkey spirit clings to a tent pole while bananas are offered. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503269694-B4NJ4L6IHT3PW6HNE8N2/hilton_cham_cambodia_sel05.jpg Imam San Cham During the Khmer Rouge, some Imam San sacred texts were buried to save them from being destroyed and later unearthed. Over 90,000 Cham (including both Imam San and ‘Modern’) perished during the genocide. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503269823-QXICLIKIKNM3MVW0B0K1/hilton_cham_cambodia_sel07.jpg Imam San Cham Imam San have made efforts to revive their traditional language over recent years. In 2004, Leb Ke, a Cham language specialist, founded a Cham language school. Children learn how to write using the Cham alphabet and sing Cham songs, as pictured here. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503269589-8LVXX25NPNB5IPH2EF5C/hilton_cham_cambodia_sel08.jpg Imam San Cham An Imam San imam beats a drum to announce the call to prayer. The Imam San pray only once a week, as compared to the Modern Cham, who pray five times a day. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503269869-VSW4LBWOZEIWDWHUMAB5/hilton_cham_cambodia_sel10.jpg Imam San Cham On Fridays, men dress in ceremonial robes to pray, following the ritual movements nearly identical to those which can be seen all over the Muslim world. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503269952-5QMBQ0ELNI41KMVE0TE4/hilton_cham_cambodia_sel11.jpg Imam San Cham After prayer, the men and boys share a special meal. Left is Math Sa, Oknya (leader) of the Imam San community in Orussey. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503269717-G9ZUIJGEH6QL2T402MGR/hilton_cham_cambodia_sel12.jpg Imam San Cham One of the highlights of life in an Imam San village is the elaborate wedding tradition — three days of colorful and unique rituals. In January when the weather is dry and pleasant, weddings are held nearly every week. The groom Hammath Yep is bathed in ocre by his friends in a ritual that takes place on the eve of the wedding celebration. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503269912-JMOK3JH5S0GRZXDF38YI/hilton_cham_cambodia_sel13.jpg Imam San Cham The bride, Aisah Azanna, is bathed is ochre by female friends and family members. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503269890-46ZWFUTALT4903RUO4H8/hilton_cham_cambodia_sel14.jpg Imam San Cham Friends of the bride and village elders accompany her to pray to her ancestors before the wedding. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503269800-AER40Q7R4MMF44M4IKC7/DSCF2499.jpg Imam San Cham Wearing a yellow headscarf, the bride Aisah Azanna visits her ancestors' graves before her wedding. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503269738-FY01QI8YNITIISV7JM9L/hilton_cham_cambodia_sel15.jpg Imam San Cham During the wedding days, an important ritual involves carrying the bride in a hammock (said to represent the queen of the ancient Kingdom of Champa) around the new home she will share with her husband. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503269969-SEDFLMWYWPGA87383909/hilton_cham_cambodia_sel16.jpg Imam San Cham Another ritual involves cutting a lock of the bride’s hair. The ritual is performed by village elders. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503270006-EG4UGH802VY134VK1PBA/hilton_cham_cambodia_sel17.jpg Imam San Cham The groom, accompanied by his family and community members, travel to the bride’s village, where the unification ceremony is performed. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503269759-MEZWXUMNENC8LMGWAL8P/hilton_cham_cambodia_sel18.jpg Imam San Cham The unification ceremony is performed on the matrimonial bed in the newlyweds’ new home, which is built in bride’s village next to her parents’ house - a tradition that helps keep families close. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503269779-AI0CWGB0QQBYMM5D01ON/hilton_cham_cambodia_sel19.jpg Imam San Cham The bride rests with family members between events in an elaborately built wedding stage in the bride’s house, which has been newly built for her and her new husband. Elaborate wedding photography has gained popularity in mainstream Cambodian cultures especially among the new middle class. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503269932-2V12BONWM2JPFILOIZGR/DSCF5571.jpg Imam San Cham Palm fronds are soaked in pond water before used as roofing material. Imam San build their homes much like other Cambodians, with stilts and stairs leading to the bedrooms. Underneath, there is space for cooking, dining, lounging and oftentimes keeping animals. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503269619-2D9T700YT8HRBGQNZVI4/hilton_cham_cambodia_sel22.jpg Imam San Cham Modern Cham women who live in a fishing community have prospered from working abroad, where they also learned to become more devout. This woman who lived and worked at a supermarket in Malaysia rejoined her devout community in a settlement on the shores of the Mekong River. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503269987-BDZ2AVS16O78SVIYTFMO/hilton_cham_cambodia_sel20.jpg Imam San Cham Modern Cham men on their way to attend Friday prayers at one of several new big mosques along the highway north of Phnom Penh. With support of foreign Muslim countries, many new mosques have been built in and around Phnom Penh. International Islamic organizations lure the Imam San to convert to Orthodox Islam by offering new mosques, schools and infrastructure. Several villages located near Orussey have accepted the foreign aid and since doing so, now follow the codes of Orthodox Islam, including wearing Islamic clothing and praying five times daily. https://www.20shots.com/new-page daily 0.75 2026-03-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503273351-7B7GCJX0D2YUPU1URH73/HimalayaBound-Goku-2.jpg New Page https://www.20shots.com/new-page-2 daily 0.75 2026-03-26 https://www.20shots.com/atiphillipines daily 0.75 2026-04-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503275987-B725L7OHDYYLDKSJCCLL/JacobMaentz-21.jpg Ati of Panay Island https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503276684-QQK145WQV6D5FOQBPJA1/image-asset.jpeg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503276684-QQK145WQV6D5FOQBPJA1/image-asset.jpeg Ati of Panay Island https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503276572-J5V06NGFMY1JUQY2858H/JacobMaentz-1.jpg Ati of Panay Island An Ati man bringing his fishing boat out of the water. Historically, the Atis were nomadic and would rely on gathering wild foods, especially fruits, tubers, roots and honey. While fish have always been part of their diet, it's become more important than ever, as their other wild food sources have been critically depleted due to deforestation and increased population pressures from the so-called "lowland" - or non-indigenous - peoples. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503276655-156U43DB1H2HXSCU4F0O/JacobMaentz-2.jpg Ati of Panay Island An Ati village in the mountains of Panay Island. The typical home of an Ati family is made from natural materials sourced from the forest. Those families who are economically better off will opt for a cement foundation in their home. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503276489-O52BKRYMODBSUZBHP5C5/JacobMaentz-3.jpg Ati of Panay Island An Ati preacher during Sunday worship. This Ati community adopted Christianity in the 1950’s when an American missionary came to their area. Today this community is 70% Baptist and 30% Pentecostal. Although many Ati communities have adopted western religions, they still practice many of their traditional Animist beliefs and rituals, which have been passed down from their ancestors. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503276393-8U96K4LVXYAXCTXO81V9/JacobMaentz-4.jpg Ati of Panay Island Ati women leaving their local Baptist church after a Sunday service in the mountains of Panay. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503276240-FO2L68R7FQJW9DMGZQS1/JacobMaentz-5.jpg Ati of Panay Island Ati children preparing for their first holy communion on Boracay Island. This last remaining Ati community on Boracay is under the care of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul. Many of the Ati in this community have now adopted Catholicism. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503276343-CL2Y9C5UK53WLIF2T3C4/JacobMaentz-6.jpg Ati of Panay Island Portrait of a young Ati man from Panay. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503276633-BA7CIUB4I4NYR7B4GTLW/JacobMaentz-7.jpg Ati of Panay Island Hunting for monitor lizards requires trained dogs and a lot of patience. The dogs and their owners try to scare the lizards out of the forest to the bank of the river where they can easily be caught. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503276611-OO3N0YTQ7805DP25BV2N/JacobMaentz-8.jpg Ati of Panay Island Ati men carry two “bayawak” or monitor lizards, which they caught during a morning hunt. The Ati believe that eating wild animals - such as lizards, wild pigs, turtles, wild cats, fish and snails - helps keep them stronger than if they were only to eat the meat of domesticated animals. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503276532-GOZCBAD8BJ1I146RLE7N/JacobMaentz-9.jpg Ati of Panay Island A monitor lizard being cooked over an open fire. After the lizard has been partially cooked the meat is removed and cooked again in some type of sauce. This particular lizard had eggs inside which were also eaten. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503276511-HXWD3DME2OOBNFKMPPA1/JacobMaentz-10.jpg Ati of Panay Island An Ati child learning to walk after her mother returns home from the rice fields, Malay, Aklan. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503276265-DZHFLDZ6EWHB764NJLXQ/JacobMaentz-11.jpg Ati of Panay Island An Ati teenager. Many Atis are now integrating more and more with so-call “lowland” – or non-indigenous – communities and mixed blood is very common. In fact, in certain Ati communities, it can be difficult to distinguish their facial characteristics from other non-Ati communities. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503276553-3E2VDZXCLXVSY52CBY55/JacobMaentz-12.jpg Ati of Panay Island Women talking in front of their homes in Malay, Aklan. This Ati community is staying on a plot of land donated by charity because they do not yet have declared ancestral domain to settle on. In 1997, the Indigenous People’s Rights Act formally recognized the ancestral land rights of indigenous groups in the Philippines. Despite official legal protection, indigenous groups routinely face discrimination and continuous threats to their land. Although possible, the process to get land formally declared as ancestral domain is long and extremely difficult. Ancestral domain refers to the lands, territories and resources of indigenous peoples and is the most important basic right for these groups to survive. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503276590-FAHETOXYJABNVN6H4LZ5/JacobMaentz-13.jpg Ati of Panay Island Ati youth enjoying a small river that passes through their community. In 2009, during heavy rainfall, five children got caught on the rocks just upstream from where this photo was taken because to the raising river water. The children were unable to escape and people could not hear their cry for help. All of them drowned that day. Three of the five were siblings. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503276294-YCH9O2G53NYSNFTZHBOF/JacobMaentz-14.jpg Ati of Panay Island Ati elder and herbal medicine expert, Perla Moreno, hiking through the forest on Guimaras Island with her sister, looking for medicinal plants. During the span of about five hours Perla collected roughly 40 different plants and knew the medicinal uses for all of them. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503276423-IJUGURJSFHIWTO35IY5R/JacobMaentz-15.jpg Ati of Panay Island A wild root crop found in the forests of Guimaras Island, which can be eaten or used for medicinal purposes. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503276317-XLHE3DMYZM0ALRNPCE60/JacobMaentz-16.jpg Ati of Panay Island Ati girls arrive back in their village after competing in a local softball tournament. Many of the indigenous Ati are now integrating more into typical Filipino/adapted western culture, especially the younger generation. But even many Ati elders seem to accept integration as the way of things, and not something to resist. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503276368-8A6R8LFIK7UQZ63T3175/JacobMaentz-17.jpg Ati of Panay Island Ati men load pineapples into boats heading for the resort island of Boracay. Everyday, materials such as food, water, fresh produce and construction goods are loaded into boats on mainland Aklan and shipped to Boracay. The loading of boats provides a livelihood for many Ati families living nearby in Malay, Aklan. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503276467-J7BC9NPIX8Y4QDE02TPX/JacobMaentz-18.jpg Ati of Panay Island An Ati adolescent playing with a tire and piece of driftwood on the beach in front of his ancestral domain on Boracay Island. Boracay is a favorite tourist destination for both Filipinos and foreigners, reaching nearly 1.5 million visitors in 2014. The main attraction in Boracay is its white sand beach and clear water. The Ati used to call all of Boracay their home, but today their land has been reduced to a mere 5.2 of the 2550 acres on the island. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503276214-HE1YP47GWYVDDNLSKSFQ/JacobMaentz-19.jpg Ati of Panay Island Chinese tourists pose with an Ati child in Boracay. The Ati community here gets a number of visitors, mostly asian tourists looking to have their photos taken together with the Ati children - which doesn't seem to bother the Ati. There is also a small on-site heritage house where visitors can learn about the Ati people. Mainly because of discrimination and lack of support, the Atis on Boracay are not as integrated into the larger community as are many of the Atis on the mainland. Only a small percentage of them work in the numerous hotels and restaurants on the island and some end up resorting to begging. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503276446-FPVGLR7OVLRKZWFRSACN/JacobMaentz-20.jpg Ati of Panay Island Vicente Ilorde, the Ati Chieftain, leads a meeting with his community to discuss the preliminary stages of filing for certified ancestral domain in Malay, Aklan. Maps were drawn to show where each family stays in relation to the area they will be applying for. Currently, the only approved ancestral domain for the Ati in the entire province of Aklan is the 5.2 acres on Boracay Island. The latest population census of Ati in Aklan is 22,837.Although possible, the process to get land formally declared as ancestral domain is long and extremely difficult. Ancestral domain refers to the lands, territories and resources of indigenous peoples and is the most important basic right for these groups to survive. https://www.20shots.com/baka-of-central-africa daily 0.75 2026-04-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503279207-7TWDNSKU2S219Z8RPEZA/BakaBanner-1.jpg Baka of Central Africa https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503279599-3M00I2Y2JRHB1T8D3RR9/image-asset.jpeg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503279599-3M00I2Y2JRHB1T8D3RR9/image-asset.jpeg Baka of Central Africa https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503279504-OBNSMK7KNCVWLQ930JFE/Baka-SButler-15.jpg Baka of Central Africa The Baka are a semi-nomadic hunter-gatherer people living in the forest regions of the Central African countries of Congo, DR Congo, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. They are one of several such groups (all known collectively to the outside world as pygmies, on account of their famed short stature in comparison to many neighbouring peoples). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503279443-S0NR3RLYHA9S3XCGOTRT/Baka-SButler-10.jpg Baka of Central Africa Jengi is the spirit of the forest, through whom the Baka god Komba communicates to the people. Jengi is thanked after a successful hunt through song and dance. He also plays a key role in the circumcision ceremony that sees boys become men. This ceremony is closed to women and foreigners. It’s only at this ceremony that the real Jengi actually appears. Any photos, like this one taken in southern Cameroon, are likely to be a representation of Jengi put on for tourists - or for the pleasure of the Baka. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503279548-ERHEYZIYF8YU0TPV7JWC/Baka-SButler-6.jpg Baka of Central Africa The Baka are very musically gifted – music and dance is integral to their culture and is used as a way of communicating with the ancestors, Gods and spirits. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503279308-URWZZ7SC0GW1G80TNINW/Baka-SButler-2.jpg Baka of Central Africa Traditionally, Baka groups establish temporary camps deep in the forest made up of huts constructed of bowed branches covered in large leaves (though today more and more homes are of a more permanent mud and wattle construction). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503279323-6YHXUHGMTQRXOS3PGDDU/Baka-SButler-20.jpg Baka of Central Africa For the Baka, the forest serves as a food store and pharmacy in one. Their knowledge of medicinal plants is so renowned that even non-Baka peoples of Central Africa seek out Baka healers for treatment. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503279529-ZQT3M5M5K0OGHR5SSB7V/Baka-SButler-19.jpg Baka of Central Africa The Baka traditionally obtain most of what they needed from the surrounding forests. They hunt a wide variety of forest animals, gather wild honey. They fish in rivers using chemicals obtained from crushed plant material or by building dams in which to trap the fish. Women harvest wild berries, fruits and other plant matter. Rather than hunting indiscriminately across the forest, the Baka hunt one small area, then move on. They then won't return to hunt that same patch of forest again until the wildlife has had a chance to regenerate itself. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503279369-0DJ54HQMPC5EG6KAQ7U0/Baka-SButler-14.jpg Baka of Central Africa Net hunting for small forest antelope such as blue duiker is the most commonly used hunting technique by the Baka. A large group of people string a long, metre high net through the forest in a semi-circular shape. As they do this, the group sings, shouts and generally makes a lot of noise. This is done to scare away large, potentially dangerous animals such as buffaloes, elephants, and gorillas, which they don’t want to catch, but duiker hunker down and don’t run at such a disturbance. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503279472-V2GWNAX0EHJ51PFA52H5/Baka-SButler-18.jpg Baka of Central Africa After the nets are prepared, the hunt begins. The Baka form a line and rush, screaming and shouting, through the forest towards the nets. This drives any duiker that have taken cover into the nets, where more Baka scoop them up and kill them with a blow to the back of the head with a rock or branch. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503279353-WARKDRCIBS9GCA1L8ACR/Baka-SButler-8.jpg Baka of Central Africa After a successful hunt, the prize is divided up equally between all members of a group and will be eaten. In the past, Baka hunted elephants for food, which they killed with spears. Today, that is much rarer, although some Baka, who are valued for their tracking skills, are likely to be involved in the illegal ivory trade - in which case automatic weapons have replaced spears. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503279414-AS94E6E1XDJFN8ND3486/Baka-SButler-4.jpg Baka of Central Africa In addition to net hunting small forest antelopes, Baka will also hunt monkeys and birds with bows and poison-dipped arrows. The poison is obtained from local forest plants. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503279566-VP77C2PHE981OT0TDBGI/Baka-SButler-3.jpg Baka of Central Africa Compared to the size of the groups that net hunt, the parties that hunt with a bow and arrow are small. The man at the rear of the group is an expert at imitating animal calls and tries to draw monkeys closer by imitating their howls and hoots. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503279456-Q997NZAWE37RD0TN36LW/Baka-SButler-16.jpg Baka of Central Africa Baka eat a wide variety of forest animals and pangolin is one of their favourite foods. They saw this one running across the forest floor and just grabbed it. Today pangolins are becoming increasingly rare around the world thanks partially to the demand from the Far East where its meat is considered a delicacy and the scales are thought to aid breast feeding mothers. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503279278-0XZD2KOH9FK9RLUMIC2T/Baka-SButler-1.jpg Baka of Central Africa Today the Baka are an often marginalised and abused group. Though they are traditionally a semi-nomadic group (and a very large number still are) change is coming and many now live a more sedentary lifestyle. This is especially the case in areas that have suffered from heavy deforestation. In recent years many parts of Central Africa have suffered from severe conflict, and in such areas the Baka or related groups are reported to have often been on the receiving end of abuse by many armed groups. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503279398-7RG6ZBQB9M0P7CWBH6RC/Baka-SButler-21.jpg Baka of Central Africa The Baka are often in a subservient position to the non-Baka peoples that live nearby. Many of these non-Baka peoples (normally referred to as Bantu, though this designation actually includes some 100 million peoples of numerous different tribes and nationalities) are farmers, traders, businessmen and politicians. The Baka trade forest products with the non-Baka and theoretically work in their fields for payment, but it's not uncommon for Baka to end up in positions of indentured servitude. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503279293-XV9V8DIXRR96RL357IUX/Baka-SButler-9.jpg Baka of Central Africa For a variety of reasons, Baka children often forgo education. This puts them at a distinct disadvantage later in life when compared to their educated Bantu neighbours. The reasons for their missing out on schooling are varied but include distance from schools, lessons are conducted only in French or various Bantu languages none of which are widely understood by the Baka, economic reasons (the Baka largely live outside of a monetary society and so cannot pay school fees) and because of abuse they receive from Bantu classmates and teachers. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503279489-1WMFBD9OCTN936NLN41A/Baka-SButler-13.jpg Baka of Central Africa In Cameroon (and elsewhere) large parts of Baka territory have been turned into national parks and reserves protecting important swaths of lowland rainforest. While this may sound like good news, according to Survival International, an NGO working for the rights of indigenous peoples, groups of Baka in Cameroon have suffered abuse and torture - and have even been killed - at the hands of anti-poaching patrols working alongside international conservation bodies. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503279430-N0ENK5Y6U0OZVNG032D1/Baka-SButler-12.jpg Baka of Central Africa Logging, both legal and illegal (most hardwood timber in Europe is illegally logged in Central Africa), is also very disruptive to Baka lifestyle. Loggers, or security agents working with loggers, can forcibly remove Baka from areas that they want to cut. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503279262-YHWT7BPJMKQOM5B95YPG/Baka-SButler-11.jpg Baka of Central Africa The Baka believe that they are natural guardians of the forest. Though they live in balance with the jungle ecosystem, they have been forcibly removed from conservation and logging areas. They often end up living on the fringes of villages and towns where they’re largely unable to practise their traditional lifestyles. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503279339-JO7F9108DL9MVCCI5TSA/Baka-SButler-7.jpg Baka of Central Africa Baka communities that have been evicted from their ancestral forests tend to become marginalized members of mainstream society. No longer able to practice their traditional livelihoods, disconnected from their spiritual homelands, unable to successfully integrate with their neighbors, many turn to drink. Baka communities complain that when forcibly removed from their land, there is often a serious decline in the health of the community. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503279383-4PSEOMCJIF8WQLUU098W/Baka-20.jpg Baka of Central Africa In their creation myth, the Baka believe that they were God’s forgotten people. They prayed to God asking why all the other peoples of the world had been given something but not them. 'The pastoralists have the pastures, the bushmen the savannahs, the herds of animals belong to the hunters and the fruits to the gatherers, but we have nothing.' So God gave them the forests. Today, although the Baka are still losing their forest homes to loggers, miners, farmers and conservationists, there is a growing awareness of the problem and some international lobbying groups are starting to stand up for the rights of the Baka. https://www.20shots.com/voodoo-in-benin daily 0.75 2026-04-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503282618-S8O0R8L0P1LF4UBIRC5I/Cover2-1.jpg Voodoo in Benin https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503283172-0FEL84LKLY2SB8X2UM8T/TCP+7.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503283172-0FEL84LKLY2SB8X2UM8T/TCP+7.jpg Voodoo in Benin https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503282918-6FSLNY7AQ1OFBXDU1IZ6/8E7A3870.jpg Voodoo in Benin - Porto Novo, Benin Voodoo is commonly associated with Haiti, but the religion was born in what is today southern Benin (and parts of southwest Nigeria and southern Togo), on the southern coast of West Africa. In the 18th and 19th Centuries, much of the area that is today known as Benin was a powerful kingdom called Dahomey. Its kings, who were descended from the son of a princess who slept with a leopard, swore in their coronation vows to expand the size of their kingdom through warfare. During this period, the trans-Atlantic slave trade was peaking, and to fund their constant state of warfare the prisoners captured by the soldiers of Dahomey were swaddled in chains, marched to the coast and sold to European slave traders, who then dispatched their human cargo to the newly discovered lands of the Caribbean and America. But as well as a highly organised and ruthless army, the Kings of Dahomey had something else up their sleeve. Something that inspired fear among their foes. That thing was a religion known as Voodoo (or, more correctly, Vodou). And it was the slave boats that carried Voodoo from West Africa to Haiti and beyond. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503282878-XASKIFJDKK01EJY5QLMR/8E7A3811.jpg Voodoo in Benin - Voodoo Voodoo is an animistic religion whose roots stretch back at least 4000 years. The word Voodoo literally means ‘God’, ‘spirit,’ or ‘power’ and its followers believe in the power of nature and the natural forces – or spirits - that course through everything. The Voodoo pantheon includes hundreds of different gods and spirits, though the Supreme Being is known as Mawa-Lissa. These gods and spirits maintain balance on Earth. Upset them in some way and they can disrupt that balance in order to cause misfortune or illness. For this reason, the followers of Voodoo go to great lengths to please the spirit world by making offerings to the ancestors. This is a picture of a Voodoo shrine in Porto Novo, the political capital of Benin. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503283019-YQG7850VY3DEKMD714H4/8E7A6064.jpg Voodoo in Benin - Shrines God and spirits are everywhere, all the time. Their presence, however, is stronger in some places than others. They may also be invited into manmade shrines, through which a priest can communicate with them more easily. Thanks to the sort of offerings made to the shrines, they often they often look like mounds of rotting, blood-stained, wax-coated rubbish. Every once in a while a shrine is cleaned and the underlying shape becomes visible (as in this picture). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503282766-1AEYS7Z1OTR24I21MHI9/8E7A4787.jpg Voodoo in Benin - Healers Healers (or witch doctors) and medicine men (or herbalists) are important in Beninese society. Particularly in rural areas, many people prefer the advice (and price!) of traditional healers over western-style doctors. Healers have the power to cure a range of physical, mental and – importantly – spiritual illnesses using a mixture of natural medicines and supernatural interventions. The supernatural is key because in Benin (as in much of Africa) illnesses are traditionally thought to be caused by supernatural powers, magic and even pure sorcery. The healer will often consult the spirits to determine the best way of curing someone. It takes many years of training to become a traditional healer. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503282786-5VN1EJ5RNEON88XY3GFZ/8E7A4830.jpg Voodoo in Benin - Witches and Sorcerers Witches are very common in Benin. Witchcraft is a state of possession, sometimes voluntary, by non-human forces that can cause much harm. All sorts of calamities are put down to witchcraft: disease, illness, crop failure, death and the inability to conceive a child are all signs that a witch has been at work. Witchcraft is often hereditary. If someone is born a witch they may not know of their powers until late in life, and many witches are elderly women. To combat the powers of witchcraft, the local community will turn to a traditional healer who can neutralise the witches’ powers. Not all witches are bad, though. It’s sometimes possible to ‘buy’ witch craft powers which can then be used for the good of the community. Sorcerers are far less common than witches, but they are also far more dangerous. While witches harness their mystical powers for their own advantage and the advantage of those they chose to help, sorcerers use evil black magic specifically for the purpose of causing harm to others. They are often hired to put a spell or curse on someone against whom their client holds a grudge. Sorcerers often use poisons in their spells and potions, and if you ever hear stories of human parts being used in Voodoo spells, sorcerers were probably involved. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503282997-08HG2ZI1JI8PVGRHC258/8E7A5339.jpg Voodoo in Benin - The Queen Mother There are a number of different kings and royal families in Benin, but the most important is King Agoli Agbo in Abomey (former Dahomey). Voodoo, magic and the spirits play a big part in the history of the Kingdom of Dahomey and the current Royal Family. Pictured here is Nan Zognidi, the Queen Mother. When I met her she told me that her husband, the former King Glélé died in 1889 and that she was now in her 70’s, but that her son, the current king, is around 80 years old… https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503283085-NU4D8J4HA6EAECCKS7PF/8E7A6602.jpg Voodoo in Benin - King Kpassenon Although the most important kingdom in the country is that of Abomey, many large centres have their own royal families. Pictured is King Kpassenon from the coastal city of Ouidah. Ouidah is a Voodoo stronghold (the head of Voodoo in Benin is based here) so this king is considered one of the most powerful in Benin. He wears a veil because it’s said that if you were to look him directly in the eyes, you would die. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503282750-SKCYAYBUC4KUJB8CG6XG/8E7A6365-3.jpg Voodoo in Benin - Egungun Egunguns are among the most frequently seen spirits in Benin, and their role is to pass on messages from the spirit world. To do this the Egungun must take on a physical form by ‘commandeering’ a living human body for a short period of time. It takes its pick from the members of an Egungun society, which is a highly secretive organisation with its own temples that are barred to all but members of the society. During an Egungun ceremony, a member of the society falls into a trance and the spirit enters and takes control of the body. The possessed person is then dressed in an elaborate costume and led out into the community where it passes judgement in disputes and hands out advice. This advice is not optional and if someone ignores the advice then the Egungun will soon return and inflict a severe punishment. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503283063-LRN993LT34LH13N8H4SX/8E7A6283.jpg Voodoo in Benin - Messages In this picture an Egungun is passing on a message from the spirit world to the man crouched before it. When an Egungun speaks, it’s often in a high pitched – and very unhuman - tone and it’s often in a language not understood by the community as a whole. For this reason Egunguns are normally escorted by members of the society who act as translators and who control the crowds that gather. This is needed because it’s said that if an Egungun so much as touches a person, that person will die shortly afterwards. Meeting an Egungun can be a very stressful and scary experience. They can be very violent (I have seen Egunguns slashing at people with swords and whipping people), but at the same time the messages they bear are often considered very important. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503282946-RVKIV6X9DUTPGCNRFV20/8E7A6016.jpg Voodoo in Benin - Zangbeto A Zangbeto, or ‘night watchman,’ is another commonly seen spirit in Benin. These magical beings act as a paranormal police officers, patrolling the streets and tracking down perpetrators of crimes, whom the Zangbetos publicly denounce before issuing punishment. As with Egunguns, they have their own secret society who act as translators and crowd control. Zangbetos often spin madly around and around in circles for hours on end through the dusty streets. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503282729-9CGUCSX8NAW397NUKNV8/8E7A5831.jpg Voodoo in Benin - Under the Zangbeto It’s difficult to know exactly what is inside a Zangbeto. One might assume that a person is simply dressed in a colourful costume, but that is not the case. I have witnessed Zangbeto ceremonies a number of times and often, during the peak of their mad spinning-top ‘dance,’ a Zangbeto will topple over, or, more commonly, be purposefully tipped over by members of their society. Each time, the Zangbeto has turned out to be totally hollow with nobody inside (and no way of anyone hiding within, nor of there being any hidden wires or mechanical operations). Often, standing on the ground where the Zangbeto collapsed, remains a small, moving wooden replica of the Zangbeto -although I have seen a Zangbeto fall over to reveal a massive, moving wooden phallus. I have no explanation for what I witnessed. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503282970-6S4KQLHEYA621EKFKEE7/8E7A4587.jpg Voodoo in Benin - Djagli Not all Voodoo spirits are dangerous. The warrior God, Djagli is one who serves people in only positive ways, protecting villages from the evil of witchcraft. A crafty god, he knows that witches have a fondness for turning into birds in order to discreetly watch humans, so Djagli does likewise. During special ceremonies his initiates fall into a trance and he then takes over their bodies, which are then dressed in colourful, multi-layered costumes said to resemble bright birds. The initiates whose bodies have been commandeered then dance wildly around as though flying. Sometimes they even wear stilts to give them extra height. The idea is that a witch hiding out in a village won’t recognise the god in this form, so Djagli can sneak up on her and neutralise her magic powers. Djagli ceremonies often turn into big village parties! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503282805-E3UYQT6ZRE3NBWU6GQOF/8E7A6674.jpg Voodoo in Benin - The God Da The python represents the God Da (also Dan or Dangbe), who is the bringer of life and fertility. There is a famous Da Temple in Ouidah, a coastal city in Benin with a reputation for strong Voodoo practises. At this temple dozens of pythons are venerated by believers. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503283042-RJT2ZEA3YS8HKJDOH4FJ/8E7A3649.jpg Voodoo in Benin - Fa Reading Diviners are common in Benin. They are people who have the ability to reveal secrets of the past, present and future thanks to their rapport with certain spirits or gods. Their power is normally used to help people find a solution to a problem. This is done through a Fa reading. During a Fa reading the diviner throws a string of stones and then translates the pattern in which they land. The Fa readings of Benin are considered one of the most complicated divination systems in the world. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503282826-RJALHXETAHCOZV3A0PK6/8E7A3796.jpg Voodoo in Benin - Voodoo Dolls Perhaps the first thing many people think of when it comes to Voodoo are dolls. Unlike the Hollywood clichés, however, dolls are not all that common in Beninese Voodoo and they aren’t used to inflict pain on another person. Quite the opposite in fact. There are three types of doll in Beninese Voodoo. The first does indeed have nails sticking out of it, but instead of inflicting pain they are used to cure pain. If, for example you’re suffering from a terrible pain in your arm then by hammering a nail into the doll in the same position then this should ease the pain you’re suffering. The second kind of doll is the ‘twin doll’. Twins are regarded with awe in Benin, but if one of the siblings dies then the remaining twin must carry a doll representing their lost twin around with them for the remainder of their life. In this way the spirit of the dead twin is able to live on within the doll. But, should the doll be lost then an awful fate awaits the still living twin. The final kind of doll – and the one shown in this picture - is one that is used as a ‘home’ by a spirit. These are normally the centre point of Voodoo shrines. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503283110-I9NY74M4VIWH99B0SOOW/8E7A4900.jpg Voodoo in Benin - Talismans Many Beninese carry some kind of sacred object around with them at all times. This might be a necklace, amulet, charm or talisman with religious or mystical powers. Some guarantee a safe journey, others promise pregnancy and some even ensure that a member of the opposite sex will fancy you. Most, though, merely bring health and luck. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503282684-QK24BJNM8USVBRFTPVY5/8E7A5704.jpg Voodoo in Benin - Azongbeto Azongbeto healers have a wide knowledge of medicinal plants found in and around Benin, and are said to be able to cure many illnesses. Dr Alinhlenon (pictured holding a leg plaster cast removed from a patient) specialises in mending broken bones and claims to be able to heal bones much faster than a hospital can. He uses a combination of forceful, massage-like pressure on the injury, scalding hot water and a secret herbal potion, the knowledge of which has been passed down through generations of his family. He also asks for a little help from the spirit world, and their powers are unlocked when Dr Alinhlenon spits on the area of the broken bone. He claims never to use plaster, and many bed-ridden, hospitalised people come to see him when the hospital treatment takes too long. The first thing he does is remove the plaster cast protecting the break, although for particularly bad breaks he might continue to use a light wooden splint in order to support the bone. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503282709-WTZTFHWE6HNP9A3AFAZ3/8E7A5582.jpg Voodoo in Benin - Patient of an Azongbeto At Dr Alinhlenon’s treatment centre I spoke to a number of patients, including a man who had fallen from his motorbike and broken both arms. After just ten days with the Azongbeto, the breaks were virtually healed and he was ready to return home. The man pictured here had been in a very serious car accident in which he broke many bones. At the main hospital in Cotonou (Benin’s biggest city and the commercial capital) he had been “left for dead”, but after a few months with Dr Alinhlenon he was almost ready to go home. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503283133-7TD7V1L2EG2F2Y2GFPW1/8E7A4064.jpg Voodoo in Benin - Fetish Markets Almost every town in southern and central Benin has a ‘fetish’ market. Vendors in these markets sell magic amulets and talismans, herbal ingredients and medicines, animal parts and even live animals. These ingredients are used by traditional healers in Voodoo and other ceremonies as well as to treat illnesses, erase curses placed on people and to bring good luck. However, the items for sale in these markets are also used by sorcerers to cast black magic spells and to curse people. The animal parts for sale in these markets include dried birds, live chameleons, pangolins, bats, the fur of big cats, elephant skin and numerous dead monkeys. Most of these items are openly on display though some – such as elephant skin, ivory and the hands and heads of chimpanzees and gorillas – are sold much more discreetly and are kept hidden from general view. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503282855-O6FBFOM5FYGXE2MBKB30/8E7A5434-4.jpg Voodoo in Benin - Bushmeat The fetish markets in Benin, which sell large quantities of animal parts, are legal, though some of the items they sell are illegal - and the line between the two can be hazy. Body parts from great apes and elephants are illegal but are sold discreetly and, for local use, only in small quantities (though it’s hard to verify and traders stringently deny it). It’s highly likely that these markets are also used as funnels for the strictly illegal trade in endangered wildlife. The world’s most trafficked animal, the pangolin, is commonly sold in fetish markets and it’s probable that many pangolins (dead or alive) sold in these markets – as well as elephant ivory and big cat body parts – eventually find their way to China where they are used in traditional medication. It’s widely accepted that the 2020 coronavirus pandemic started in a market in China that was selling both bats and pangolins. Bats are known carriers of many nasty viruses, including ebola (which is highly contagious, has no known cure and a terrifying 60% mortality rate and so could potentially cause a worldwide pandemic that would make coronavirus with its 1-2% mortality rate look like child’s play) and pangolins are already known to carry types of coronavirus. https://www.20shots.com/the-alevis-of-the-munzur-valley daily 0.75 2026-04-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503286506-33FX8EM3QKMZ1E3XUHCN/MunzurBanner-3.jpg Alevis of the Munzur Valley https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503286956-4JTIROP22R5N9K0YPM9H/image-asset.jpeg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503286956-4JTIROP22R5N9K0YPM9H/image-asset.jpeg Alevis of the Munzur Valley https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503286772-UPJKZOKVKSBBPFTQZ5XZ/Munzur-20Shots-1.jpg Alevis of the Munzur Valley Morning in the upper Munzur Valley. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503286592-DY1JT43HYVDW5OBVCWCV/Munzur-20Shots-3.jpg Alevis of the Munzur Valley The Alevis of Munzur are ethnic Kurds, making them a minority within a minority in Turkey, since most Kurds, like most Turks, are Sunni Muslim. Religiously, the Alevis have many similarities to the Yazidi people of Iraq. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503286668-OM1I9FYBUKIQ1QZTCAGV/Munzur-20Shots-14.jpg Alevis of the Munzur Valley Alevi religious leaders, called pirs or dedes, lead prayer ceremonies - called cems - by singing poems while playing the baglama. Though they pray to Allah and revere Ali and Hussein, they never use the Koran and they reject Islamic law, including the Ramadan fast and the Haj to Mecca, as superficial; they are focused on inner spiritual meaning - not strict, outward displays of faith. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503286921-4VMQYAP85BCFX6Y0E9HV/Munzur-20Shots-15.jpg Alevis of the Munzur Valley One of the main elements of Alevi cems is the semah, in which men and women perform ritual dances together. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503286747-28XX926TTEAQSZR6EX4I/Munzur-20Shots-17.jpg Alevis of the Munzur Valley A dede recites poem-prayers beside the grave of a man from his village. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503286937-KZR1LLTLU45ZU606A8MR/Munzur-20Shots-11.jpg Alevis of the Munzur Valley Alevi holy places, major and minor, are scattered around the Munzur region, and all are connected to the natural world. The source of the Munzur River is one of the most important of these "ziyarets." Newlyweds often visit to light candles and offer prayers as part of their marriage ritual, hoping to ensure a happy future together. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503286797-5H0YID2Y0WBLE38Z2KG3/Munzur-20Shots-12.jpg Alevis of the Munzur Valley It's not unusual for Alevis to sacrifice sheep or goats near the source of the Munzur, perhaps to bless the birth of a child, or in the hope it will help heal a sick family member, or as a prayer offering for the well-being of the world. They then take the meat down to the riverside, cook it up, and have a feast of a picnic. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503286834-C4GQ5XQJEXCYOVYU0K60/Munzur-20Shots-13.jpg Alevis of the Munzur Valley At the cave known as Duzgun Baba, where a miracle-working Alevi saint lived in exile, it's said that if you find water in a hole in the rock, you have a pure soul. Those who are so fortunate drink a spoonful of the holy water while they are there, or carry a little bit home in bottles. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503286647-68JSRHAJ5ADM069SL501/Munzur-20Shots-5.jpg Alevis of the Munzur Valley The people of Munzur have always been herders and many still raise sheep, goats, and cows today. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503286869-1Z39S2PMAH13U1M7RKCP/Munzur-20Shots-9.jpg Alevis of the Munzur Valley Most families in Munzur still make at least some of their own food - baking their own bread; harvesting honey from their own beehives; growing their own vegetables in their garden plots; and making their own butter, cheese, and ayran (a yogurt drink) from the milk their animals produce. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503286902-HT6VGIF4XFP3548K9SR6/Munzur-20Shots-6.jpg Alevis of the Munzur Valley In the past, many families migrated with their herds to the high meadows of the Munzur Mountains in summer, living in tents from May to September; these days, fewer and fewer make the move, and those who do say that their transhumant way of life probably won't last more than another generation, as their children seek other opportunities. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503286727-IZY7LROKQZ1NK6QVGLPB/Munzur-20Shots-7.jpg Alevis of the Munzur Valley In addition to seeking fresh, free fodder for their flocks, the cool alpine climate is perfect for producing top quality tulum peynir, a hard cheese that sells for about $30 per pound. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503286888-TJ79WETTDS606CYDLWZ1/Munzur-20Shots-2.jpg Alevis of the Munzur Valley Many nomadic families camp in the high country within Munzur Valley National Park, where rare ibex, wolves, and bear are found. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503286852-S30FPZG2U8DP950LWLX4/Munzur-20Shots-8.jpg Alevis of the Munzur Valley Nomadic tents in the Munzur Mountains. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503286689-2DR88BW6VEVPCIRDGKO5/Munzur-20Shots-18.jpg Alevis of the Munzur Valley In the early 1990's, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) - a militant group whose goal is to create autonomous Kurdish regions within parts of Turkey, Iraq, and Iran - began operating in the Munzur region, using the rugged terrain as a natural fortress. Other guerrilla groups also roam these mountains, including TIKKO and MKP, both of which are armed Maoist organizations. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503286706-JXAGNF2LAYBQ33DMH2Y5/Munzur-20Shots-19.jpg Alevis of the Munzur Valley In the fall of 1994, the Turkish army launched a merciless campaign to deny the PKK safe haven or basic resources in Munzur. Known as The Evacuation, many villages were destroyed and the surrounding fields and forests were burned. Civilians were the greatest victims. Villagers fled to Ovacik or Tunceli, with many ultimately leaving for Istanbul or other cities. It was the single-most devastating blow to the people - and the traditional ways - of Munzur since the Dersim Massacre of 1937-38. Here, Nurcan Gundogdu stands amid the ruins of her family's home in Mercan, which was destroyed by the army. Now, twenty years later, with a tentative truce in place between the Turkish government and the PKK, she and her brother are finally thinking about rebuilding. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503286816-TRC6GR7NHYSH5JMHPLUK/Munzur-20Shots-10.jpg Alevis of the Munzur Valley Munzur feels very politically engaged, and many people lean Communist. In March, 2014, the town of Ovacik elected the first Communist mayor in the history of Turkey. Here, a music festival turns into a rally. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503286609-DA5OFJUX8LZAH4EADOTQ/Munzur-20Shots-20.jpg Alevis of the Munzur Valley The first of the dams in the Munzur region was built on the Mercan River, a tributary of the Munzur, within Munzur Valley National Park. Following its completion, local people protested vocally against the rest of the dam project, and have managed to get further construction at least temporarily suspended while Turkish courts weigh their case. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503286627-42WC1LF7KD19BQCHAG5J/Munzur-20Shots-21.jpg Alevis of the Munzur Valley Hasan Eroglu fled his village - Sorsvenk - during The Evacuation of 1994. Like everyone else in Munzur, he passionately opposes the dams, which will force him to leave again - this time, forever. It's not just the personal loss that affects the people of Munzur: as their religion is so deeply connected to the natural world, the thought of the destruction of the environment pains them deeply. "To us, it feels like someone is harming our body," we were told. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503286553-7C5H5Y4O4A74PHWEN17Y/Munzur-20Shots-25.jpg Alevis of the Munzur Valley Dams or no dams, life in Munzur is changing. Fewer and fewer young people speak Zaza, the local Kurdish dialect. Here, you can see the difference in dress between older and younger generations of women. Some young people, like Bahar, in the background, want to leave Munzur for greater opportunities elsewhere. But others, like her sister, Serde, want to stay. https://www.20shots.com/home daily 1.0 2026-03-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503235822-SG4VPHKJY05B36H1Q93U/VanGujjar-20Shots-2.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503261400-JX5E7X9Y09KKLRAS3F6D/AleviCover-1.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503240311-9GIHZ945YQEI2K398MLC/Cover2-1.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503251266-NR4ABB18YZQE9Q5ZCFE0/NatMyanmar17.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503240235-3UMBXLY0GTIULIHAKJY2/CaravanCover-1.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503246840-8IMGU985AMPFYO6S459L/0_DSH_3279.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503242040-RVYEDPV4YAF6L9HGVDS7/21.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503240346-S3RA7CU7BWFMNV50LGS8/BakaCover-1.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503240335-B7FW205L0Z9F8GRBWRU4/MaldhariCover-1.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503265669-A5W3PLIR07T35XB1BAF1/warana12_.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503240279-660GD3KIIKFTVIWPR0ST/MunzurWinterCover-1.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503240357-4I4J60MQHV1VY1V0ZT14/hilton_cham_cambodia_sel12.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503285742-I0AHTGLNJ7WLGQJPOW8U/JacobMaentz-21.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503240256-S1BJREIHYOWH7SZ5DV22/IMG_4169.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774642281083-326EQXJPQEZAWXSPWSKX/Stuart-Bhutan-7b.jpg https://www.20shots.com/meditation daily 0.75 2026-04-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503242732-R9BI6ZKFOS64P70ZICDT/Stuart-Maasai-cover-2.jpg Those Who Meditate https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503243028-NX4Z0XXPRAP7H5MEESP9/image-asset.jpeg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774641127824-ZBW2JCQSK461KJLZAIGF/Stuart-Bhutan-1.jpg Those Who Meditate The autumn sun still retained a hint of warmth, but it wouldn’t be long now until the chill of winter whittled down the valley. Standing outside the white-washed chapel, Passang Dorji surveyed the valley below. Dense conifer forests swept up the mountain slopes and, just visible on the valley floor far below, were a few small fields gathered tightly together around the occasional farmhouse. Aside from the cry of the choughs spinning and gliding on the updrafts, there was total silence. “I’m twenty-nine years old,” said Dorji quietly, as though afraid to break the silence, “I’ve already spent a total of seven years in solitary meditation. But one day soon I shall go to a cave up there, deep in the mountains,” he said, pointing north, to where the forests fade into Alpine rock and ice, “where I will meditate until I die.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774641736234-KPSFKNELPVCJCQWS17IO/Stuart-Bhutan-3.jpg Those Who Meditate Meditation is a method of transforming the mind and developing techniques that bring a sense of calm, peace and balance. Likely developed in India, its roots go back deep in time. The first recorded mention of meditation was in the Hindu Vedas, around 1500 BCE, but many historians believe it could date back to as early as 3000 BCE. However old it may be, meditation has been an important element of Hindu and Buddhist practise (as well as other religions) for as long as those religions have existed. In Bhutan, meditation is such an intrinsic part of life, it could be argued that it has shaped the very culture of the nation. This photo shows the Buddha Dordenma, a 54-metre high, golden Buddha statue situated on a hill overlooking the Thimpu Valley. It’s one of the world’s largest sitting Buddha statues and contains a meditation hall within its base. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774641418181-1JMC3V7S92C6PKW4S0UQ/Stuart-Bhutan-2.jpg Those Who Meditate Fascinated by the thought that people could have the physical and mental determination to spend years meditating, I travelled to Bhutan to try and find out more. I wanted to know what drove people to meditate for such long periods. What was day-to-day life like for them while meditating? What did their families and friends think? And what did they hope to achieve from it? This photo shows a monk inside a monastery in eastern Bhutan. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774641917840-SHGTGR25C525054N2VJW/Stuart-Bhutan-4a.jpg Those Who Meditate Most of the population (74.7%) of Bhutan follows Tibetan Buddhism. Its arrival was, so the legends go, partially thanks to meditation (and quite a lot of magic): In the 9th Century, Guru Rinpoche (also known as Padmasambhava or The Lotus Born One), a Tantric Buddhist Master who spread Buddhism around the Himalaya and Tibet, travelled to what is now central Bhutan, at the request of a king who was having a few issues with a rival king as well as with a deity sucking his life force away. On arriving, the first thing Guru Rinpoche did was to go into a deep meditation inside a small cave. With the powers he had tapped into, he defeated the deity (who from then on became known as a demon), brought peace between the two kings, and established Buddhism in Bhutan. This picture shows devotees in front of a statue of Guru Rinpoche at a tsechu. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774641985071-VC3EC3IBAIUN4GTH5WWW/Stuart-Bhutan-5.jpg Those Who Meditate A tshechu or (tsechu) is a religious festival that takes place annually in every district (or dzongkhag) of Bhutan. Steeped in tradition, they serve to unite a monastery with nearby communities. They are used to reinforce Buddhist philosophies and sometimes even to spread information about contemporary events. The focal point of the tshechus are the cham dances. These extraordinary symbolic dances, in which participants dress in elaborate costumes and often wear wooden face masks, are moral vignettes that are often based on tales from the life of Bhutan’s Patron Saint, Guru Rinpoche. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774642063373-PMKOSEZL3M0OEDI4EG7E/Stuart-Bhutan-6.jpg Those Who Meditate A tshechu is not just about cham dances and religion though. They are also a chance for people from remote farming communities to meet up and pass on news of day-to-day life. Large markets are often set up just outside the monastery and people set up tents so they can stay for the duration of the tshechu. In the evenings the religious aspect often fades into the background as makeshift bars and gambling dens spring up. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774642281083-326EQXJPQEZAWXSPWSKX/Stuart-Bhutan-7b.jpg Those Who Meditate The Paro Taktsang, better known among foreign tourists as the Tiger’s Nest Monastery, is the most famous monastery in Bhutan. And for good reason. Clinging like a limpet to the sheer face of a high cliff, the stunning complex is suffused with spiritual significance. During his journey around Bhutan, Guru Rinpoche is said to have arrived at this dramatic spot on the back of a flying tigress (hence its name). He then spent three years meditating in a cave here, which is now inside the monastery, before zipping off to battle demons and spread Buddhism across the land. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774642322924-2UZU5WBTA9A3R5NTNW83/Stuart-Bhutan-8.jpg Those Who Meditate Following in the footsteps of Guru Rinpoche, many Bhutanese today are regular practitioners of meditation. Of course, for those with jobs to go too and children to look after, meditation is something to be done when there’s a little time to spare. But for some Bhutanese – mainly the Buddhist clergy - meditation can become almost the very purpose of existence and it’s not at all uncommon to meet people who have spent an auspicious three years, three months, three weeks and three days engaged in solitary – or partially solitary - meditation. These years of meditation are normally undertaken in retreats situated close to monasteries and nunneries. However, some people take it the extreme and devote years and decades to solitary meditation in remote mountain caves far from the rest of humanity. For those meditating it’s forbidden for them to have contact with family, friends and the outside world. They don’t take telephones with them and the only people they have contact with during the meditation period are those meditating nearby and an experienced monk who keeps an eye on their mental and physical state. Families or the monastery provide food, but this is left at a discreet distance from the meditation caves. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774642361658-WP1Y81MXE9NLII6NGH3Q/Stuart-Bhutan-9.jpg Those Who Meditate But why devote years of your life to meditation? To find out the answer to this I trekked through the conifer forests of western Bhutan to the Juneydrak Hermitage, a tiny white and red building, stuck to a sheer cliff face. Like so many places in Bhutan, a cloud of legend envelopes the place. The hermitage is said to have been built at the site where Machig Labdrom, an 11th Century female Tantric practitioner founded the chöd meditation technique. This is a very extreme form of meditation during which one visualises their own dismemberment in an act that’s described as ego annihilation. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774642389293-MQSCE1XYRSOTXKGTONPX/Stuart-Bhutan-10.jpg Those Who Meditate Inside the Juneydrak Hermitage I met Tsewang Choden, a 27-year-old nun who explained that although she hadn’t yet done the full three years of meditation, she had already done over a year and that she was excited to see how she would emerge from an even longer period of meditation. “By doing the meditation I hope to gain right understanding and mindfulness and to become more aware of the impermanence of all things. I want to clear my mind of all negativeness and poisons, such as anger and lust. I want to remove all attachments and through this I hope to break the cycle of rebirths.” She smiles when I ask if she feels that she’s close to achieving this, “Right now I am far from achieving my goals. I still have anger inside me, and I need to be pure. We don’t know how we will be reborn. Maybe it will be as an animal or maybe we will just end up in Hell. But, by meditating I hope that I can return as a human being and live a better life that is purer than this one.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774642439859-OPJ51R6GDE4QUQNW6MAQ/Stuart-Bhutan-11.jpg Those Who Meditate For someone who barely has the patience to sit still long enough to write these words, the thought of staying in the same spot for months on end is daunting. So, what I wondered, did someone meditating do all day? To find out I went next to the Kila Nunnery. Tucked into a mountain niche at almost 4000 metres above sea level, the nunnery was established over a thousand years ago as a meditation retreat. Today, it continues to serve that same purpose with the ridges and peaks around the nunnery peppered with cold, spartan meditation huts and caves. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774642465745-7ZUTBV45ROSY7TGOBSSC/Stuart-Bhutan-12.jpg Those Who Meditate Inside the nunnery I met Karma (surname not provided; on the left of the picture), who sat down with me to tell me a little about her experiences of meditating, “I became a nun because I wanted to find out the truth. It was something that I decided to do just after I finished school while I was waiting for the results of my exams. I failed my exams so it’s lucky I became a nun!” she says laughing. She goes on to explain a little about the daily cycle of meditating and the hardships faced. “My first period of meditation, which was for four months, was hard and the first two months were the hardest of all. For the first month I prostrated 4000 times a day. The goal is to do 120,000 prostrations in a month. I would start at 1am and do it almost non-stop until 5pm. I got pains in my knees, hips, elbows and back from repeating the same movement again and again. I cried so much that month. I felt dizzy a lot and wanted to vomit. The second month was also hard. I did non-stop chanting and that hurt my throat. After that it got a bit easier. For the third month I just made mandalas and the fourth month was again spent chanting. I couldn’t wash for a month at a time. At times it was so hard, and I wanted to give up. But then I would think of the people out in the caves doing it alone and for longer and that made what I was doing seem easy.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774642521047-K3OIENC6QC7P8XJN1QG0/Stuart-Bhutan-13.jpg Those Who Meditate Sometimes a period of meditation can seem preordained. In Bhutan, astrology is taken seriously. From birth unto death, the results of an astrology reading will dictate what should be done, and when, in order to ensure success in a venture. Tibetan astrology, which is influenced by both Hindu and Chinese astrology, is used as a tool to guide a person through major decisions and life events, such as when to get married and to whom, when to set off on a journey, when to move house, when to change one's job and, when to embark on a period of meditation. Almost without exception every newborn child gets an astrological reading and it’s the astrologer who determines the most auspicious name for a child. This reading will be referenced throughout the child’s life and into adulthood. In addition, almost everyone gets an annual reading which will help to determine decisions made over the coming year. The monk in this picture, who gave his name only as Namgang, works at the Institute of Tibetan Astrology, the main astrology training centre in Bhutan. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774642547227-4ILVUDYUD35NF804CQKU/Stuart-Bhutan-14.jpg Those Who Meditate Sixteen-year-old Sangay Pema Wangchuk (right) is a good example of someone who is preordained to spend long periods of time meditating. I met him in the stone courtyard of the five-hundred-year-old Gangte Goemba, which crowns a forested hill rising above the fields and marshlands of the Phobjikha Valley. Originally from the capital, Thimpu, he was set on the path to becoming a monk after his birth master (the astrologer who works out every Bhutanese child’s astrological reading) predicted it. Sangay, who has now been a monk for three years, told me how he would “love to go and meditate for a long time. It’s the goal of every monk. You do it for this life and for the next. And you do it for all sentient beings.” But before he does that, he tells me, he has other challenges to overcome, “I have to complete my religious studies and then spend three years teaching other novices (trainee monks). Only then can I go off and meditate. First, we meditate in small huts not far from the monastery,” he says, pointing north toward a cliff face where I can just make out some small doorways etched into the rock. “Then you can go to the caves in the mountains and do three years of meditation. After that you can even go and meditate in the cemetery grounds. Not many people do this. It’s supposed to be scary because of the spirits who come, but I really want to try it and see if I’m scared of the ghosts!” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774642578474-LMOB3ZUL7C7OZFCB0Z1Q/Stuart-Bhutan-15.jpg Those Who Meditate Speaking of ghosts, Phub Zam has just returned from the dead. She is not a nun and neither has she spent years in meditation. Instead, she is what is known as a delom, which means that she is a person with strong spiritual powers who has died, travelled to the eight Buddhist Hells and then returned to life. There are very few deloms in Bhutan and their role in society is to offer spiritual advice and communicate with the spirits. “When I was a child, I had unusual visions and feelings. Sometimes I would talk in Tibetan, even though I never learnt the language. Other times I would talk in a strange manner about a person who had been dead for hundreds of years. Sometimes the visions I was having were so strong that I would pass out.” Phub Zam explains that from a very young age she made uncannily accurate predictions about the future. “I would predict things like a neighbour’s livestock dying, or a source of holy water drying up.” After consultations between senior Buddhist clergy, it was announced that Phub Zam was a reincarnation of the original delom, Namgay Choezom. “When I first meet a person, I get a strong feeling about the atmosphere surrounding them. I can roughly visualise the place they are from and can see where the problem they face comes from and what it is in their environment that causes this. I can feel what they feel.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774642639259-5BZBZYSAMC4HBWVVKUCA/Stuart-Bhutan-16.jpg Those Who Meditate The cultural and spiritual heart of Bhutan is the interconnected network of valleys collectively known as the Bumthang Valleys, in the centre of the country. It was here that Guru Rinpoche chased away demons and Buddhism got its first toehold in the region. Two of the key temples in the valley are the Jampey Lhakhang and the Kurjey Lhakhang. Dating back to the 7th century, Jampey Lhakhang is the oldest temple in the country and most of the time there’s a constant stream of pilgrims, thumbing prayer beads, pacing endless clockwise circles around the perimeter of the main temple. Very close by is Kurjey Lhakhang, one of the most religiously significant sites in Bhutan. The temple is built on the spot where Guru Rinpoche defeated a demon who’d been terrorising the valley, restored a king's lifeblood, and established Buddhism in Bhutan. This photo shows a group of monks outside Jampey Lhakhang. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774642683882-RSRKBTZ5OM0NOQMOALKH/Stuart-Bhutan-17.jpg Those Who Meditate At the nearby Kurjey Lhakang, resident monk, Tashi Wangchuk, tells me of his experiences with meditation. “I did my three years meditation over a very fortuitous period. I went to the caves to meditate in 2019 and finished in 2022. I missed almost the whole of Covid! I was shocked when I left the mountains and came back down to the valley and heard what had happened. I’m so glad I was in the mountains through all of that!” When I asked him how he had coped with the bitter cold that sweeps down off Himalayan glaciers in winter his answer left more questions than it answered. “Sometimes in winter I would sit on the ice in wet, cold clothing for long periods of time, but by using a special method of meditating I could use my inner heat to keep me warm. I can create so much body heat through this form of meditation that my clothes start to steam.” Seeing my stunned expression he goes on, “All the types of meditation we do in the caves is quite secretive. Some people even learn how to levitate. We don’t reveal it all to normal people. It would make your eyes pop out if you saw what we went through and what we could do,” he says with a chuckle. Known as Tummo meditation (Tummo is a goddess of heat and passion), a 1981 study revealed that by using this advanced form of Tantric Buddhist meditation practitioners could raise their body heat by 8.3°C. A more recent study, from 2013, discovered that Tummo practitioners could raise their body temperatures to levels the equivalent of a mild or moderate fever. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774642716429-KIKPLEJJBRINH66SN834/Stuart-Bhutan-18.jpg Those Who Meditate As I listened to the reasons the monks and nuns gave me for choosing to hide from the world for years on end, I couldn’t help but wonder about the families and friends they left behind and whether those people considered long periods of meditation to be a selfish act. When I had put this question to some of the monks and nuns they usually answered that nobody in Bhutan would stand in the way of a person on a spiritual path and that by meditating, they were doing it for the good of all sentient beings. However, in the remote village of Khoma, in the very far east of Bhutan, I drank tea in the home of a lady who told me how she felt about her father, who was a lay monk (essentially a part time monk) spending long periods of time in meditation. “The first time was for three years. Now he has gone again for nine years. He said he was doing it for us and for all sentient beings. But I don’t know about that. For us it’s very hard. When someone goes off to meditate for that long it’s like they have died. In a way it’s selfish. Each time he has left I have felt as if I was mourning him.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774642754819-C8SVUNKPEOEBB26DHJAH/Stuart-Bhutan-19.jpg Those Who Meditate Although family and friends might mourn for someone going off for an extended period of meditation there is always the joy of return to think about. This photo was taken in the courtyard of the large Gangtey Monastery in 2019. It shows two childhood friends reunited after the monk had just returned from three years of meditation. When I asked him what had changed the most during his time in the caves he didn’t hesitate, “Telephones. Before I went to meditate a few people had phones, but they didn’t dominate life. I can’t believe it now. Everyone is looking at a telephone screen all of the time!” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774642777580-IKA4DC2JTCXE82FHI78S/Stuart-Bhutan-20.jpg Those Who Meditate Despite all this talk about the spiritual reasons for meditation, for some people it might just be about escaping a cruel reality. Outside the cliff face chapel where our journey began, Passang Dorji continues to bask in the last of the autumnal sun. “I hadn’t considered becoming a monk, but when I was twenty-two, I had a stroke. I was partially paralysed down the right-hand side, and it made me re-evaluate things. Suddenly I knew that the Buddha was right when he said that nothing in this life is permanent. Being partially paralysed meant that there wasn’t much I could do for a job and that maybe my life was already over. And so, I decided that if I devoted my life to meditation then maybe this would make the next life better. By being up here reciting prayers and chants I have lost desires and gained peace. My paralysis no longer matters. Soon I will go to the caves high in the mountains and remain there until I die. I have no fear. It doesn’t scare me to do this.” Lifting his face to the sun he says, “The next life will be better.” https://www.20shots.com/meditation-1 daily 0.75 2026-03-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503242732-R9BI6ZKFOS64P70ZICDT/Stuart-Maasai-cover-2.jpg Those Who Meditate (Copy) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503242821-IR4NJE5VWW2XHQBZGJFG/Stuart-Maasai-2.jpg Those Who Meditate (Copy) The heartlands of the Maasai people are the savannahs of southern Kenya and northern Tanzania (but they also call parts of the central Kenyan plateau home). It’s commonly assumed that the Maasai have stridden over the Serengeti plains and other parts of this region since time immemorial but in fact they’re a relatively recent arrival to East Africa, and southern Kenya and northern Tanzania in particular. Alongside their very close cousins, the Samburu, the Maasai are a Nilotic people who originated along the banks of the White Nile in what is today South Sudan. Other Nilotic peoples include the Luo, Dinker, Nuer and Kalenjin. At first there was little difference between any of these groups, but slowly, over time, they spread out of their homeland areas and moved south (its been suggested that this was due to a growing Islamisation in Sudan). By about the 15th Century, the Maasai were based around Lake Turkana in the searing deserts of north Kenya; it wasn’t until about 1850 that the Maasai reached the Ngorongoro (in northern Tanzania and today a Maasai heartland). Indeed, when the first European explorers and settlers arrived in the region starting in the mid-19th Century, the Maasai still rarely ventured deep into the Serengeti-Mara grasslands. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503242993-FBMHEGY4Y61PTW10ZBKV/Stuart-Maasai-3.jpg Those Who Meditate (Copy) For most of their history, the Maasai have been feared by neighbouring peoples on account of the skill and ferocity of their warriors (or moran). But the Maasai didn’t have it all their own way. In the late 1800’s the Maasai were nearly wiped out by the combination of a rinderpest outbreak - which killed nearly all of their cattle - a very serious drought, and a major smallpox outbreak. According to some estimates, nearly two-thirds of the Maasai died between 1883 and 1902. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503242857-S3BD8BL9U007ST6813VD/Stuart-Maasai-4.jpg Those Who Meditate (Copy) The Maasai are traditionally a pastoralist people. Cattle are the cornerstone of their culture and the basis of their wealth, so central to their lives that the Maasai once believed that all the cows in the world belonged to them. This belief led to the once-common practice of raiding cattle from neighbouring tribes, with the justification being that the Maasai were just ‘reclaiming stolen property.’ Today the Maasai understand that they don’t in fact own all the cows on earth, but they regard them no less highly. Even successful Maasai businessmen who live in Nairobi tend to have a herd of cattle they keep back in their village, watched over by a hired herd boy (and by themselves when they return to the village during holidays). I know Maasai who live in America and live a largely typical American lifestyle, but every summer when they return to East Africa they put away the baseball shirts, put on the red shuka and head off into the hills with the cows. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503243006-Y1K6E2AXPY5W0XZAYSXM/Stuart-Maasai-5.jpg Those Who Meditate (Copy) One of the central figured in traditional Maasai culture is the laibon - a person gifted with the power to see the future. They’re not really fortune tellers and they’re certainly not witch doctors. They’re more like seers, but some also have the power to cure illnesses. Laibons advise their communities about the best course of action to take in a given situation. They might say where cattle should be taken in order to find better grazing when there’s a drought, and they pronounce when the time is right for important ceremonies, such as the initiation of a new set of moran (Maasai warriors), to be held. They also advise individuals on personal matters. Historically, there is no more respected member of the Maasai community. Today, though, as Maasai culture changes, the role of the Laibon is becoming reduced and in some areas no more laibon remain. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503242955-N8F4QU9A8B0GCH5HZ0U9/Stuart-Maasai-6.jpg Those Who Meditate (Copy) The laibon is considered to be a direct descendent of Enkai (God). It is told that, long ago, two Maasai warriors were walking in the forest when they came across a small child. One of the warriors wanted to leave the child, for it was just a small boy who would likely be a hindrance to them. The other warrior, though, picked up the boy and took him home to bring up as his own. The warrior named the boy Kidongoi. As the years paased, it became clear that this boy had special powers. The cattle he tended were always plump and healthy, even during times of drought, when everyone else’s cattle were starving and dying. Some Maasai had even observed him calling into the Heavens, and in response, rain immediately poured onto the ground around him, turning the grass lush and green. Acknowledging his unusual powers, the people made him their spiritual leader, or laibon. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503242908-SUO42UCBJGCPYQTDBCPG/Stuart-Maasai-7.jpg Those Who Meditate (Copy) Every laibon has his own oracle consisting of the right horn and hide of an ox, along with magical pebbles. The pebbles are kept inside the ox horn and when they are poured out onto the ox hide, the laibon “reads” them and makes a divination. Not all pebbles, however, can be trusted and if a laibon notices that there are one or two pebbles that cause mischief or produce false divinations, he will discard them and find others that behave correctly. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503242896-1J2X593LRJCRHUFAQQLB/Stuart-Maasai-8.jpg Those Who Meditate (Copy) Before the pebbles are poured out, whoever is requesting help from the laibon must spit into the end of the ox horn, then place a small sum of money and a personal object inside it. Thus the pebbles will know the identity of the person who wants their help. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503242832-1PSBG3FO2YUR9XIF15XV/Stuart-Maasai-9.jpg Those Who Meditate (Copy) This is Mokompo, arguably the most powerful remaining laibon. He lives in a remote part of Kenya in a green dale several hours drive east of the Masai Mara National Reserve. Like almost all older Maasai he doesn’t know his age, but he’s probably about seventy. He wears a ceremonial cloak made of colobus monkey and hyrax fur, has big ear rings, and a ring made of cow hide that stands fifteen centimetres off his finger. Mokombo is the great-grandson of Mbatiany, who famously foresaw the arrival of the British in the days before Kenya was a British colony; he had dreams featuring white butterflies and an iron snake, and feared that the butterflies and snake would bring great change for the Maasai. A few years, later the British (white butterflies) landed on the coast of East Africa and built a railway line (iron snake) through the interior. Soon, the Maasai lost their best grazing lands to white farmers and were pushed into negligible parts of the region such as the Masai Mara and the Serengeti. Mokompo’s uncle worked with the British whereas Mokompo’s father refused and instead moved his people into the remote Loita Hills. This caused a split among the Kenyan Maasai that has lasted until today. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503242845-RS6YQQ8B2H9462ANR8UR/Stuart-Maasai-10.jpg Those Who Meditate (Copy) A laibon isn’t the only one in Maasai society with magical or spiritual powers. This is Kureti, a traditional healer and midwife. She focuses exclusively on curing those who are sick and, of course, helps deliver babies. She explains: “Let’s say a mother brings a young child who is sick to me. The mother doesn’t have to tell me what is wrong. I just hold the child and look at the face, the hands, the legs and the feet. From that I can tell what sickness the child has. I will hand the child back to the mother and go to the bush to find the plants and the herbs that I need to cure that sickness.” As health centres, hospitals and ‘western’ medical practises reach ever remoter corners of East Africa the traditional healer is finding her role in society starting to reduce, but Kureti said, “Sometimes a hospital cannot cure someone but I am able to do so and so I know that my services will always be required.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503242786-ZEU0TMYT94EDARXFVBKN/Stuart-Maasai-11.jpg Those Who Meditate (Copy) The Maasai moran (warriors) were effectively the Maasai army, tasked with protecting villages and livestock - and raiding cattle from other tribes. Traditionally, a man becomes a moran after his circumcision in his late-teens. He then spends about ten years living in the bush with others in his age-set (peer group), drifting from village to village and herding his family’s cattle. The moran grow their hair long and often dye it red using natural materials. When this stage of life nears its end, the moran gather for a ceremony known as Eunoto, marking their transition from warriorhood to junior elder. Arguably the most important event in a man’s life, it culminates in a moran having his long hair shaved off by his mother. This symbolises moving onto a new stage of life: one of marriage, children and responsibility. Over the past decade or two, however, changing lifestyles, increased school attendance and the growing influence of a global economy means that few Maasai men are now able to afford the time, or have the inclination, to spend years living a traditional moran lifestyle in the bush. Thus, relatively few young men are, in fact, moran in the classic sense of the meaning (despite what many in the tourist industry may want you to believe!). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503242980-GPNXEA6ZSMJN9O2NL4EJ/Stuart-Maasai-12.jpg Those Who Meditate (Copy) You don’t have to be in East Africa long to hear about how every Maasai Moran is supposed to kill a lion with his spear. This was traditionally done in order to prove that the moran was a ‘real’ man, afraid of nothing. In reality there have never been enough lions for every male Maasai to kill one, so the moran would work in small groups to catch one, but the man who first threw the spear and killed the lion would claim the lions mane – and the most glory. Today, conservation rules and a fast shrinking lion population means that the Maasai lion hunt is now illegal. However, in some remote areas (particularly in Tanzania), it does still happen, and throughout the region Maasai sometimes kill lions (and other predators) if they attack livestock. This is often done with poisoned bait, which results in the deaths of other animals, especially scavengers. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503242797-QPFNBB530V08Y7JPWO6G/Stuart-Maasai-13.jpg Those Who Meditate (Copy) This man is from the Kuria tribe, who have traditionally borne the brunt of Maasai cattle raids. One eighty-four-year-old Kuria man recalled a night from his childhood, when about eighteen Maasai moran raided his boma, killing several members of his extended family and stealing one hundred cattle. But the Kuria raided the Maasai, too: “Several times we men here went on raids in Kenya,” a Kuria in Tanzania bragged. “One time we took many Maasai cows, but rather than fight, the Maasai told the police and the Kenyan police took the cows back off us. But we waited a year or two and then went back to Kenya and took the cows again.” Another claimed to have killed many Maasai: “These Maasai moran think they are very strong. But they’re not very clever. They come with spears, but we had guns!” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503242919-F11LYX4UNMYSC7AGGP51/Stuart-Maasai-14.jpg Those Who Meditate (Copy) As Maasai culture changes and they find themselves ever more a part of the global money economy, alcohol abuse is becoming a problem among underemployed Maasai men. Very cheap and strong whisky can be bought in most village shops. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503242943-X8GZAHK3Z0VP4OSXAHSM/Stuart-Maasai-15.jpg Those Who Meditate (Copy) The introduction of the mobile phone has been revolutionary for the Maasai. These once-isolated people can now easily communicate with others in neighbouring communities as well as in towns and cities across Kenya and Tanzania and beyond. They have instant access to the market price in other parts of the country for livestock; in a flash they can call a doctor if they fall ill, and they can keep in touch with family when they were far away from home grazing the cows. With the rise of the smartphone, a whole world of opportunity is opening up for the Maasai. Internet businesses are being established, phone banking and money transfers are the norm, political opinions are being discussed on a wider scale and social media sites such as Facebook have become an obsession among younger Maasai. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503242809-6KX4KT4Y8JLXZV99JPAU/Stuart-Maasai-16.jpg Those Who Meditate (Copy) It was only a generation or so ago that schools and formal education were looked upon with scorn by adult Maasai, who viewed every student as a lost pair of hands that would be put to better use tending livestock. Today that attitude has almost totally reversed, and parents will scrimp and save in order to try and give their children the best education possible. However, schooling facilities in many rural parts of East Africa remain below those of urban areas, and even with an education many young Maasai struggle to get decent jobs. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503242884-516BZWEGHLDK3N7O4CII/Stuart-Maasai-17.jpg Those Who Meditate (Copy) This young girl lives in a centre for girls rescued from situations such as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), arranged and underage marriages to men who are often many times older than the girl and, in the case of the youngest girls, being ‘given’ to another family as a part of a marriage dowry for an older sibling. All of these activities are illegal in Kenya and Tanzania, but in remote villages the rules are often ignored in favour of cultural traditions and financial considerations. Change is happening, though, as more women and girls resist FGM and arranged marriages; encouragingly, they’re increasingly supported in this stance by older brothers and male cousins. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503242773-ZIA1WCA0Y8PU4ZPR3I2G/Stuart-Maasai-18.jpg Those Who Meditate (Copy) The Maasai first encountered Christianity around the year 1900, but it wasn’t until approximately twenty years ago that they really started to be converted in large numbers. Today, in much of Kenya, more than three-quarters of Maasai are likely to be nominally Christian (in Tanzania which is less developed and more traditional the figure is lower). Not surprisingly, as younger Maasai have turned to the Church they’ve lost an important keystone of their traditional culture, in which their god Enkai, is both the creator and a living part of the natural world. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503242931-QC3CIPJDUTAKWZ4UC06E/Stuart-Maasai-18-A-1.jpg Those Who Meditate (Copy) Praying at an evangelical church. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503242871-R3COGFXX191F2OIWQPU8/Stuart-Maasai-19.jpg Those Who Meditate (Copy) One area of work in which Maasai, with or without a formal education, are highly in-demand is within the safari industry. The Maasai’s intimate knowledge of the wildlife and landscapes means that those of them who speak English well are often employed as wildlife guides. Those with less English work as security guards, cleaners and waiters at the hundreds of safari camps and lodges found in southern Kenya and northern Tanzania. For some Maasai, though, there are still cultural barriers to achieving success in the safari industry: this Maasai woman had to defy her parents, run away from home and beg for help from her uncle in order to go to school and fulfil her dreams of becoming a wildlife guide. She is now one of the top-rated female wildlife guides in Kenya. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503242967-XFML9Z8Y3JWGHPASJBLR/Stuart-Maasai-20.jpg Those Who Meditate (Copy) As beneficial as the safari industry has been for many Maasai, not everyone is happy about wildlife tourism. There are at least fifteen national parks and reserves as well as numerous other conservation zones within the parts of Kenya and Tanzania in which the Maasai live, and in some cases the Maasai have been evicted from ‘their’ land with little or no compensation in order to make way for wildlife conservation. Many also feel that the money generated by wildlife tourism is not being fairly distributed, with the vast majority of it going to local councils or national governments, rather than being invested in local infrastructure and development projects. Again and again, Maasai living on the fringes of conservation areas have said that they feel the central governments of both Kenya and Tanzania value the life of an elephant over the lives of their children. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774625003316-6D3MPPZK0V5A3Z25MU64/HimalayaBoundPix-5.jpg Those Who Meditate (Copy) Here’s Mariam https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774641127824-ZBW2JCQSK461KJLZAIGF/Stuart-Bhutan-1.jpg Those Who Meditate (Copy) The autumn sun still retained a hint of warmth, but it wouldn’t be long now until the chill of winter whittled down the valley. Standing outside the white-washed chapel, Passang Dorji surveyed the valley below. Dense conifer forests swept up the mountain slopes and, just visible on the valley floor far below, were a few small fields gathered tightly together around the occasional farmhouse. Aside from the cry of the choughs spinning and gliding on the updrafts, there was total silence. “I’m twenty-nine years old,” said Dorji quietly, as though afraid to break the silence, “I’ve already spent a total of seven years in solitary meditation. But one day soon I shall go to a cave up there, deep in the mountains,” he said, pointing north, to where the forests fade into Alpine rock and ice, “where I will meditate until I die.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774641418181-1JMC3V7S92C6PKW4S0UQ/Stuart-Bhutan-2.jpg Those Who Meditate (Copy) Fascinated by the thought that people could have the physical and mental determination to spend years meditating, I travelled to Bhutan to try and find out more. I wanted to know what drove people to meditate for such long periods. What was day-to-day life like for them while meditating? What did their families and friends think? And what did they hope to achieve from it? This photo shows a monk inside a monastery in eastern Bhutan. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503243028-NX4Z0XXPRAP7H5MEESP9/image-asset.jpeg Those Who Meditate (Copy) https://www.20shots.com/maasai-1 daily 0.75 2026-03-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503242732-R9BI6ZKFOS64P70ZICDT/Stuart-Maasai-cover-2.jpg Once We Were Lions (Copy) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503243028-NX4Z0XXPRAP7H5MEESP9/image-asset.jpeg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503242821-IR4NJE5VWW2XHQBZGJFG/Stuart-Maasai-2.jpg Once We Were Lions (Copy) The heartlands of the Maasai people are the savannahs of southern Kenya and northern Tanzania (but they also call parts of the central Kenyan plateau home). It’s commonly assumed that the Maasai have stridden over the Serengeti plains and other parts of this region since time immemorial but in fact they’re a relatively recent arrival to East Africa, and southern Kenya and northern Tanzania in particular. Alongside their very close cousins, the Samburu, the Maasai are a Nilotic people who originated along the banks of the White Nile in what is today South Sudan. Other Nilotic peoples include the Luo, Dinker, Nuer and Kalenjin. At first there was little difference between any of these groups, but slowly, over time, they spread out of their homeland areas and moved south (its been suggested that this was due to a growing Islamisation in Sudan). By about the 15th Century, the Maasai were based around Lake Turkana in the searing deserts of north Kenya; it wasn’t until about 1850 that the Maasai reached the Ngorongoro (in northern Tanzania and today a Maasai heartland). Indeed, when the first European explorers and settlers arrived in the region starting in the mid-19th Century, the Maasai still rarely ventured deep into the Serengeti-Mara grasslands. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503242993-FBMHEGY4Y61PTW10ZBKV/Stuart-Maasai-3.jpg Once We Were Lions (Copy) For most of their history, the Maasai have been feared by neighbouring peoples on account of the skill and ferocity of their warriors (or moran). But the Maasai didn’t have it all their own way. In the late 1800’s the Maasai were nearly wiped out by the combination of a rinderpest outbreak - which killed nearly all of their cattle - a very serious drought, and a major smallpox outbreak. According to some estimates, nearly two-thirds of the Maasai died between 1883 and 1902. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503242857-S3BD8BL9U007ST6813VD/Stuart-Maasai-4.jpg Once We Were Lions (Copy) The Maasai are traditionally a pastoralist people. Cattle are the cornerstone of their culture and the basis of their wealth, so central to their lives that the Maasai once believed that all the cows in the world belonged to them. This belief led to the once-common practice of raiding cattle from neighbouring tribes, with the justification being that the Maasai were just ‘reclaiming stolen property.’ Today the Maasai understand that they don’t in fact own all the cows on earth, but they regard them no less highly. Even successful Maasai businessmen who live in Nairobi tend to have a herd of cattle they keep back in their village, watched over by a hired herd boy (and by themselves when they return to the village during holidays). I know Maasai who live in America and live a largely typical American lifestyle, but every summer when they return to East Africa they put away the baseball shirts, put on the red shuka and head off into the hills with the cows. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503243006-Y1K6E2AXPY5W0XZAYSXM/Stuart-Maasai-5.jpg Once We Were Lions (Copy) One of the central figured in traditional Maasai culture is the laibon - a person gifted with the power to see the future. They’re not really fortune tellers and they’re certainly not witch doctors. They’re more like seers, but some also have the power to cure illnesses. Laibons advise their communities about the best course of action to take in a given situation. They might say where cattle should be taken in order to find better grazing when there’s a drought, and they pronounce when the time is right for important ceremonies, such as the initiation of a new set of moran (Maasai warriors), to be held. They also advise individuals on personal matters. Historically, there is no more respected member of the Maasai community. Today, though, as Maasai culture changes, the role of the Laibon is becoming reduced and in some areas no more laibon remain. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503242955-N8F4QU9A8B0GCH5HZ0U9/Stuart-Maasai-6.jpg Once We Were Lions (Copy) The laibon is considered to be a direct descendent of Enkai (God). It is told that, long ago, two Maasai warriors were walking in the forest when they came across a small child. One of the warriors wanted to leave the child, for it was just a small boy who would likely be a hindrance to them. The other warrior, though, picked up the boy and took him home to bring up as his own. The warrior named the boy Kidongoi. As the years paased, it became clear that this boy had special powers. The cattle he tended were always plump and healthy, even during times of drought, when everyone else’s cattle were starving and dying. Some Maasai had even observed him calling into the Heavens, and in response, rain immediately poured onto the ground around him, turning the grass lush and green. Acknowledging his unusual powers, the people made him their spiritual leader, or laibon. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503242908-SUO42UCBJGCPYQTDBCPG/Stuart-Maasai-7.jpg Once We Were Lions (Copy) Every laibon has his own oracle consisting of the right horn and hide of an ox, along with magical pebbles. The pebbles are kept inside the ox horn and when they are poured out onto the ox hide, the laibon “reads” them and makes a divination. Not all pebbles, however, can be trusted and if a laibon notices that there are one or two pebbles that cause mischief or produce false divinations, he will discard them and find others that behave correctly. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503242896-1J2X593LRJCRHUFAQQLB/Stuart-Maasai-8.jpg Once We Were Lions (Copy) Before the pebbles are poured out, whoever is requesting help from the laibon must spit into the end of the ox horn, then place a small sum of money and a personal object inside it. Thus the pebbles will know the identity of the person who wants their help. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503242832-1PSBG3FO2YUR9XIF15XV/Stuart-Maasai-9.jpg Once We Were Lions (Copy) This is Mokompo, arguably the most powerful remaining laibon. He lives in a remote part of Kenya in a green dale several hours drive east of the Masai Mara National Reserve. Like almost all older Maasai he doesn’t know his age, but he’s probably about seventy. He wears a ceremonial cloak made of colobus monkey and hyrax fur, has big ear rings, and a ring made of cow hide that stands fifteen centimetres off his finger. Mokombo is the great-grandson of Mbatiany, who famously foresaw the arrival of the British in the days before Kenya was a British colony; he had dreams featuring white butterflies and an iron snake, and feared that the butterflies and snake would bring great change for the Maasai. A few years, later the British (white butterflies) landed on the coast of East Africa and built a railway line (iron snake) through the interior. Soon, the Maasai lost their best grazing lands to white farmers and were pushed into negligible parts of the region such as the Masai Mara and the Serengeti. Mokompo’s uncle worked with the British whereas Mokompo’s father refused and instead moved his people into the remote Loita Hills. This caused a split among the Kenyan Maasai that has lasted until today. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503242845-RS6YQQ8B2H9462ANR8UR/Stuart-Maasai-10.jpg Once We Were Lions (Copy) A laibon isn’t the only one in Maasai society with magical or spiritual powers. This is Kureti, a traditional healer and midwife. She focuses exclusively on curing those who are sick and, of course, helps deliver babies. She explains: “Let’s say a mother brings a young child who is sick to me. The mother doesn’t have to tell me what is wrong. I just hold the child and look at the face, the hands, the legs and the feet. From that I can tell what sickness the child has. I will hand the child back to the mother and go to the bush to find the plants and the herbs that I need to cure that sickness.” As health centres, hospitals and ‘western’ medical practises reach ever remoter corners of East Africa the traditional healer is finding her role in society starting to reduce, but Kureti said, “Sometimes a hospital cannot cure someone but I am able to do so and so I know that my services will always be required.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503242786-ZEU0TMYT94EDARXFVBKN/Stuart-Maasai-11.jpg Once We Were Lions (Copy) The Maasai moran (warriors) were effectively the Maasai army, tasked with protecting villages and livestock - and raiding cattle from other tribes. Traditionally, a man becomes a moran after his circumcision in his late-teens. He then spends about ten years living in the bush with others in his age-set (peer group), drifting from village to village and herding his family’s cattle. The moran grow their hair long and often dye it red using natural materials. When this stage of life nears its end, the moran gather for a ceremony known as Eunoto, marking their transition from warriorhood to junior elder. Arguably the most important event in a man’s life, it culminates in a moran having his long hair shaved off by his mother. This symbolises moving onto a new stage of life: one of marriage, children and responsibility. Over the past decade or two, however, changing lifestyles, increased school attendance and the growing influence of a global economy means that few Maasai men are now able to afford the time, or have the inclination, to spend years living a traditional moran lifestyle in the bush. Thus, relatively few young men are, in fact, moran in the classic sense of the meaning (despite what many in the tourist industry may want you to believe!). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503242980-GPNXEA6ZSMJN9O2NL4EJ/Stuart-Maasai-12.jpg Once We Were Lions (Copy) You don’t have to be in East Africa long to hear about how every Maasai Moran is supposed to kill a lion with his spear. This was traditionally done in order to prove that the moran was a ‘real’ man, afraid of nothing. In reality there have never been enough lions for every male Maasai to kill one, so the moran would work in small groups to catch one, but the man who first threw the spear and killed the lion would claim the lions mane – and the most glory. Today, conservation rules and a fast shrinking lion population means that the Maasai lion hunt is now illegal. However, in some remote areas (particularly in Tanzania), it does still happen, and throughout the region Maasai sometimes kill lions (and other predators) if they attack livestock. This is often done with poisoned bait, which results in the deaths of other animals, especially scavengers. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503242797-QPFNBB530V08Y7JPWO6G/Stuart-Maasai-13.jpg Once We Were Lions (Copy) This man is from the Kuria tribe, who have traditionally borne the brunt of Maasai cattle raids. One eighty-four-year-old Kuria man recalled a night from his childhood, when about eighteen Maasai moran raided his boma, killing several members of his extended family and stealing one hundred cattle. But the Kuria raided the Maasai, too: “Several times we men here went on raids in Kenya,” a Kuria in Tanzania bragged. “One time we took many Maasai cows, but rather than fight, the Maasai told the police and the Kenyan police took the cows back off us. But we waited a year or two and then went back to Kenya and took the cows again.” Another claimed to have killed many Maasai: “These Maasai moran think they are very strong. But they’re not very clever. They come with spears, but we had guns!” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503242919-F11LYX4UNMYSC7AGGP51/Stuart-Maasai-14.jpg Once We Were Lions (Copy) As Maasai culture changes and they find themselves ever more a part of the global money economy, alcohol abuse is becoming a problem among underemployed Maasai men. Very cheap and strong whisky can be bought in most village shops. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503242943-X8GZAHK3Z0VP4OSXAHSM/Stuart-Maasai-15.jpg Once We Were Lions (Copy) The introduction of the mobile phone has been revolutionary for the Maasai. These once-isolated people can now easily communicate with others in neighbouring communities as well as in towns and cities across Kenya and Tanzania and beyond. They have instant access to the market price in other parts of the country for livestock; in a flash they can call a doctor if they fall ill, and they can keep in touch with family when they were far away from home grazing the cows. With the rise of the smartphone, a whole world of opportunity is opening up for the Maasai. Internet businesses are being established, phone banking and money transfers are the norm, political opinions are being discussed on a wider scale and social media sites such as Facebook have become an obsession among younger Maasai. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503242809-6KX4KT4Y8JLXZV99JPAU/Stuart-Maasai-16.jpg Once We Were Lions (Copy) It was only a generation or so ago that schools and formal education were looked upon with scorn by adult Maasai, who viewed every student as a lost pair of hands that would be put to better use tending livestock. Today that attitude has almost totally reversed, and parents will scrimp and save in order to try and give their children the best education possible. However, schooling facilities in many rural parts of East Africa remain below those of urban areas, and even with an education many young Maasai struggle to get decent jobs. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503242884-516BZWEGHLDK3N7O4CII/Stuart-Maasai-17.jpg Once We Were Lions (Copy) This young girl lives in a centre for girls rescued from situations such as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), arranged and underage marriages to men who are often many times older than the girl and, in the case of the youngest girls, being ‘given’ to another family as a part of a marriage dowry for an older sibling. All of these activities are illegal in Kenya and Tanzania, but in remote villages the rules are often ignored in favour of cultural traditions and financial considerations. Change is happening, though, as more women and girls resist FGM and arranged marriages; encouragingly, they’re increasingly supported in this stance by older brothers and male cousins. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503242773-ZIA1WCA0Y8PU4ZPR3I2G/Stuart-Maasai-18.jpg Once We Were Lions (Copy) The Maasai first encountered Christianity around the year 1900, but it wasn’t until approximately twenty years ago that they really started to be converted in large numbers. Today, in much of Kenya, more than three-quarters of Maasai are likely to be nominally Christian (in Tanzania which is less developed and more traditional the figure is lower). Not surprisingly, as younger Maasai have turned to the Church they’ve lost an important keystone of their traditional culture, in which their god Enkai, is both the creator and a living part of the natural world. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503242931-QC3CIPJDUTAKWZ4UC06E/Stuart-Maasai-18-A-1.jpg Once We Were Lions (Copy) Praying at an evangelical church. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503242871-R3COGFXX191F2OIWQPU8/Stuart-Maasai-19.jpg Once We Were Lions (Copy) One area of work in which Maasai, with or without a formal education, are highly in-demand is within the safari industry. The Maasai’s intimate knowledge of the wildlife and landscapes means that those of them who speak English well are often employed as wildlife guides. Those with less English work as security guards, cleaners and waiters at the hundreds of safari camps and lodges found in southern Kenya and northern Tanzania. For some Maasai, though, there are still cultural barriers to achieving success in the safari industry: this Maasai woman had to defy her parents, run away from home and beg for help from her uncle in order to go to school and fulfil her dreams of becoming a wildlife guide. She is now one of the top-rated female wildlife guides in Kenya. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c4c53fd146e37031e95d8a/1774503242967-XFML9Z8Y3JWGHPASJBLR/Stuart-Maasai-20.jpg Once We Were Lions (Copy) As beneficial as the safari industry has been for many Maasai, not everyone is happy about wildlife tourism. There are at least fifteen national parks and reserves as well as numerous other conservation zones within the parts of Kenya and Tanzania in which the Maasai live, and in some cases the Maasai have been evicted from ‘their’ land with little or no compensation in order to make way for wildlife conservation. Many also feel that the money generated by wildlife tourism is not being fairly distributed, with the vast majority of it going to local councils or national governments, rather than being invested in local infrastructure and development projects. Again and again, Maasai living on the fringes of conservation areas have said that they feel the central governments of both Kenya and Tanzania value the life of an elephant over the lives of their children. https://www.20shots.com/home-shift daily 0.75 2026-03-26