Pitt Rivers Museum Luo Visual History
1998.349.190.1 (Film Negative 120mm)
Key Information
Photographer
Edward Evan Evans-Pritchard
Description
A portrait of Chief Ismail Owuor Molo in the uniform of a colonial chief, although without his helmet (known in Luo as ogut simba). Owuor (1901-1968) was chief of Asembo from 1931, and is here photographed with four of the wives he had married by 1936, all wearing expensive European dresses. Since he was a colonial chief and thereby relatively wealthy, he could afford to marry a number of wives, and in fact he married more than 10 before his death. [Gilbert Oteyo 9/9/2004 & CM 04/04/2007]
Cultural Group
Luo
Region
Nyanza Asembo
Named Person
Ismail Owuor Molo
Pitt Rivers Source
Edward Evan Evans-Pritchard
Research Notes
This photograph was evidently taken at the same time as 1998.349.192 which shows four other wives either side of Owuor, making eight wives married by 1936. Gilbert Oteyo visited the grave and three surviving wives of Chief Owuor in March 2007: Turfosa Omari (married 1936), Dorina Owuor (Ndege) (married 1942), and Sela (married 1944), whose son Paul Wariru (born 1961) was also visited. Oteyo presented these wives with framed copies of Evans-Pritchard's photographs of Owuor, which were placed in the houses alongside one other later portrait. [CM 04/04/2007]
Date of Photograph
1936
Accession number
1998.349.190.1
Further Information
Photographic Process
Negative film nitrate
Date Acquired
Donated 1988
For citation use:
Pitt Rivers Museum Luo Visual History
"1998.349.190.1"
6 Jun. 2008. Pitt Rivers Museum.
Accessed 19 Nov. 2015
<http://photos.prm.ox.ac.uk/luo/photo/1998.349.190.1/>.
© Pitt Rivers Museum