This past Saturday, after brunch, I walked over to one of my favorite bookstores, Book Soup (okay, there are only a few left in town… but this one has survived because it’s awesome). There, facing out at me in the photography section, was Jim Naughten’s book, Conflict and Costume, recommended by a Book Soup employee (and that is why it’s awesome). I had seen images from this book on the internet but never had the chance to actually flip through. It’s an interesting story on influence and tradition. The members of the Herero tribe in Namibia were influenced by European fashions when German missionaries came to their land in the mid 1800s. Overtime, the tribe began modifying their clothing to reflect their own culture. The women’s headdresses represent cattle horns, an homage to the animal that is their livelihood. And after war broke out against Germany, the men began wearing old German uniforms on special occasions as a way of honoring their ancestors who fought in battle.
And there is your history lesson for today. Class dismissed.
I love the contrast between the bleak landscape and their colorful clothing.
Tagged: Africa, Jim Naughten, Photographer, photography, portraits
