Where Fire Speaks
A Visit With the Himba
-
- $16.99
-
- $16.99
Publisher Description
On the wild river that divides Namibia from Angola, members of the Himba tribe herd cattle as they have done for hundreds of years.
But the world of the Himba sits in the shadow of third-world development and the inevitability of change that threatens their way of life; now, they are more likely to attend evangelical church services, congregate around the liquor trader’s truck, and pose for tourists’ photographs.
Sandra Shields and David Campion spent two months living with the Himba, and this book, a provocative melding of photography and narrative, tells of the profound changes in the lives of the Himba—both gradual and immediate—which echo those effecting indigenous people around the world.
Includes more than one hundred black and white -photographs.
David Campion and Sandra Shields met in South Africa, married a year later, and have collaborated for over a decade. Sandra has written for publications including Geist and The Globe and Mail, and David’s photographs have appeared in publications and exhibitions in Canada, Europe, and Africa.
PHOTOGRAPHY + TEXT = PARALLAX
Parallax, a new series of books from Arsenal Pulp Press, explore the far reaches of the modern world, proposing new perspectives on how we see ourselves through the eyes and the words of our most intriguing photographers and writers.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Canadian journalist Shields and photographer Campion, funded by the International Center for Human Rights and Democratic Development, spent two months with the Himba people of northern Namibia. In the name of development, the Namibian government had been proposing a dam and hydroelectric plant on a nearby river, opposed by some vocal Himba as it would submerge an important grazing area for their livestock as well as certain tribal graves. Apart from the dam's specific impact, the project raised questions about the desirability of modernization: what do traditional cultures sacrifice by accepting electrification, land ownership registration and other aspects of "progress"? The Namibian government has suggested it might be a human rights offense not to offer electrification, and, as Shields and Campion soon discovered, Western tourists, fascinated by the "primitiveness" of the Himba, have already invaded with their Cokes and cameras. Himba tribespeople regularly pose and charge for pictures, which was a problem for Campion, who'd wanted to snap candid moments. But his photos and his wife's journal do capture some ironies of modern Himba life: a woman in traditional (un)dress checking out her ash-braided hair in a modern mirror; airplanes flying above a soothsayer inspecting goat entrails before performing a healing ceremony. Beyond the ironies, the relationship between the Himba and even benign visitors like Shields and Campion is complex. The authors are wise enough to offer only observations, not answers, in this handsomely produced, thought-provoking little volume. 60 b&w white photos.
