photograph scan of PRM number 1998.189.11.1

1998.189.11.1 (Print Black & White)

Key Information

Photographer

D. V. Figueira, Mombasa

Description

Two Luo men and five women posing for a photo outside a hut in an unidentified Luo village. The hut is a typical traditional Luo type with grass roofing and walling. The dress is also typical Luo adornment for married young men and women. Married women wear leather aprons or fibre skirts ('olemo or chieno respectively) while men usually did not wear any covering unless they were elderly or at a ceremony. They also wear several strands of beads at the waist (tik nungo) and around the neck (tik ng'ut) as well as wire armlets and anklets (minyonge), made of coiled copper, brass or iron. The man (second right) an the middle woman both wear animal skin from their necks, suggesting either spirit possession or having undergone some ritual. Body scarification ('ng'olo) is evident on almost all the women's abdomens. [Gilbert Oteyo 21/04/2005]

Cultural Group

Luo

Region

Nyanza

Pitt Rivers Source

Henry Balfour

Primary Documentation

Notes on print ms ink - '2'Notes on PRM card - 'KAVIRONDO. Figuaira phot: dd. H. Balfour 1932'

Research Notes

Luo adornment in this period is described well by C. A. Dupre, The Luo of Kenya: An Annotated Bibliography (Washington: Institute for Cross-Cultural Research), 1968, page 12. [Gilbert Oteyo 21/04/2005]

Date of Photograph

1925 circa

Accession number

1998.189.11.1

Further Information

Photographic Process

Print silver

Date Acquired

Donated 1932

For citation use:
Pitt Rivers Museum Luo Visual History "1998.189.11.1" 6 Jun. 2008. Pitt Rivers Museum. Accessed 19 Nov. 2015 <http://photos.prm.ox.ac.uk/luo/photo/1998.189.11.1/>.