Traditional African Ceremonies

Vibrant images of women in traditional attire, adorned with beads and intricate accessories, participating in cultural celebrations from East Africa.

East Africa, Kenya, outside Amboseli National Park, Maasai village where Leann lives (Large format sizes available)

A Pokot woman in traditional attire dances to celebrate an Atelo ceremony. Her broad belt is made with the metacarpus and metatarsal bones of dikdiks interspersed with beads.

A Pokot woman in traditional attire dances to celebrate an Atelo ceremony. Her broad belt is made with the metacarpus and metatarsal bones of dikdiks interspersed with beads.

Kenya, A Samburu warrior of Northern Kenya in all his finery.

East Africa, Kenya, outside Amboseli National Park, Maasai village where Leann lives (Large format sizes available)

Samburu girls are given strings of beads by their fathers when they are still young. As soon as they are old enough to have lovers from the warrior age-set, they regularly receive gifts from them. Over a period of years, their necklaces can smother them up to their necks. The metal cross-like ornament hanging from the girl's headband has no religious significance.

A Maasai schoolboy in traditional attire during an inter schools song and dance competition, Kenya

The Pokot have a small ceremony called Koyogho when a man pays his in-laws the balance of the agreed dowry for his wife. This may take place many years after he marries her. At the conclusion of the ritual, his father-in-law blesses him.

A young married Pokot woman wearing the traditional beaded ornaments of her tribe which denote her married status. The Pokot are pastoralists speaking a Southern Nilotic language. Kenya

The detail of a Mursi womans decorated leather skirt.The Mursi speak a Nilotic language and have affinities with the Shilluk and Anuak of eastern Sudan. They live in a remote area of southwest Ethiopia along the Omo River.

Samburu Dancers - Kenya - Africa

Samburu tribesman, Loisaba Wilderness Conservancy, Laikipia, Kenya, Africa

Traditional dance of the men of the tribe Samburu Kenya

Ethiopia, Gamo Gofa Omo, Chencha, Dorze tribe village traditional dance with colorful costumes tribal songs in center of compound.

Laikipiak Maasai

Africa; Kenya; Samburu region. This is a Samburu ceremonial dance to welcome visitors to their village.

Samburu tribesman, Loisaba Wilderness Conservancy, Laikipia, Kenya, Africa

Young Laikipiak Maasai girls watch a marriage ceremony.

Ethiopia, Lower Omo Valley, Mago National Park, Jinka. Mursi tribal woman with basket with paint on face and traditional culture.

Kenya, Kajiado, Gourds Filled With Honey Beer Are Drunk At The Beginning Of The An Initiation Ceremony That Will Bring The Young Maasai Moran Or Young Warriors Into Manhood.

Melanesia, Papua New Guinea. Small island of Ali. Local villagers in traditional attire performing welcome dance and sing-sing. Detail of elaborate belt and armband with beads and seashells.

Woman wearing traditional dress, Kenya, Africa

Africa, Kenya, Samburu National Reserve. Tribal handicrafts, jewelry. (Editorial Use Only)

A MASSAI woman wears her tribal jewelry in her village near the rim of NGORONGORO CRATER, TANZANIA

A Maasai schoolgirl sings during an inter schools song and dance competition at Magadi, Kenya

Africa, Ethiopia, Southern Omo, Karo Tribe. Karo woman decorated with pigment, skins and beads.

Samburu Dancers At A Courtship Ceremony&#Xa;Samburuland Kenya

At the conclusion of a Parpara ceremony when a pregnant woman is blessed for a successful birth, Pokot women tie grass necklaces round each other using the grass which she had sat on during her blessing.

Africa, Kenya, Laikipia. Laikipiak Maasai moran (warriors) at a marriage near Sabuk. The groom is on the right.

Kenya, Laikipia Plateau. Laikipiak Maasai

A young married Pokot woman wearing the traditional beaded ornaments of her tribe which denote her married status. Her lower belt is made with the metacarpus and metatarsal bones of dikdiks interspersed with beads. Kenya

Laikipiak Maasai

Dassanech women dressed in ceremonial regalia, holding wooden batons and cowhorn containers, participate in a Dimi dance, Ethiopia

Tribal portrait. The Bonda, also known as Remo, are a Munda ethnic group who live in the isolated hill regions of the Malkangiri district of southwestern Odisha, near the junction of the three states of Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and Andhra Pradesh. The tribe is one of the oldest and most primitive in mainland India; their culture has changed little for more than a thousand years. They are one of the 75 Primitive Tribal Groups identified by the Government of India.

A Pokot woman in traditional attire with patterned cicatrices on her back attends an Atelo ceremony. Her broad belt is made with the metacarpus and metatarsal bones of dikdiks interspersed with beads.

Dassanech men and their wives dressed in ceremonial regalia participate in a Dimi dance, Ethiopia

Africa, Benin, Ouidah. Group of priestesses wearing beads in Kpasse Sacred Forest.

Shanabla woman sings at a wedding celebration near El Obeid, North Kordofan, Sudan. A nomadic tribe they raise camels.

The Pokot have a small ceremony called Koyogho when a man pays his in-laws the balance of the agreed dowry for his wife. This may take place many years after he marries her. At the conclusion of the ritual, his father-in-law blesses him.

Kenya, Samburu County, Bawa. A Samburu schoolboy from Ler Primary School dressed in typical tribal finery while competing in a schools cultural display. (Not for use as a book cover in France, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxemburg from June 2016 to June 2021)

Africa, Kenya, Samburu National Reserve. Tribal women in traditional clothing and ornamentation. (Editorial Use Only)

Africa, Kenya, Samburu National Reserve. Tribal handicrafts, jewelry.

A young married Pokot woman wearing the traditional beaded ornaments of her tribe which denote her married status. The Pokot are pastoralists speaking a Southern Nilotic language.

Africa, Kenya, Samburu National Reserve. Tribal handicrafts, jewelry.

Congo, People, Men, Portrait Of Azande Diviner. Divination Plays An Important Part In Daily Rituals. Religion Centres On A Supreme Being Called Mboli.

Masai females in robes singing in village near Tsavo National Park, Kenya, Africa

AFRICA, Kenya, Samburu Learning Kikuyu Ways

Kenya, A Samburu warrior of Northern Kenya in all his finery.

Ghana, Upper east region, Bende. A funeral procession and memorial dance.

Samburu women performing a welcome dance at a Samburu village near Samburu National Reserve in Kenya.

Africa, Kenya, Sumburu Tribe, Young girl in wedding garb

Dance performance of Maasai warriors wearing traditional dress, Massai Mara, Distrikt Narok, Serengeti, Rift Valley province, Kenya, Africa

Traditional dress of the dummers made from roots, UkusefyapaNg'wena, a ceremony held annually in August by the Bemba to chronicle their journey from Angola to Zambia, Bemba people of Paramount Chief Chitimukulu, Kasama, Zambia, Africa. The traditional dress of the drummers is made from roots.

Kenya, Laikipia, Ol Malo. Young Samburu girl dressed in her traditional beaded necklaces and headress at a dance.

African craftsman, Damara Living Museum, Damaraland, Namibia, Africa

Wodaabe Bororo men with faces painted at the annual Gerewol male beauty contest, a general reunion of West African Wodaabe Peuls Bororo Peul, Niger, W...

Benin, Come, Mono Department. A priest, known as Atinan, wears red feathers as he dances in praise of Fetish gods during a ceremony to honor a man who had just died.

Dancers wearing Kananga masks perform at the Dama celebration in Tireli, Mali

Surma woman placing her lip plate Ethiopia

A close-up of a beautifully decorated leather apron and other adornments worn by a Bena girl. Her handbag is a finely decorated gourd. The Bena are a small tribe living in remote Southwest Ethiopia.

Maasai warriors resplendent with long ochred braids relax and wait for the start of a ceremony. Red has always been their preferred colour.

Kenya, Marsabit County, Kalacha. Borana women sing and dance at the annual Kalacha Festival. Their 'bells' are fashioned from small gourds.

Men of the tribe of Samburu lighting a fire Kenya

Elaborate headdress and body adornments worn by Samburu moran (warrior).

Africa, Ethiopia, Southern Omo Valley, Nyangton Tribe. Detail of a Nyangton woman's heavy bead necklace.

Africa, Ethiopia, Southern Omo Valley, Nyangatom Tribe. Nyangatom woman wear heavy beads and other decorations.

Benin, Mono County, Sahoue Doutou, The Sword Holder Of Houngue Towakon Guedehoungue Ii, The King Of Fetishers

Gerewol Festival, Chad, Africa. Close-up portrait of young Wodaabe man preparing for the festival with the help of a friend. (Editorial Use Only)

Kenya,Laikipia. Laikipiak Maasai women dressed in decorative headdresses and necklaces to attend a wedding.

Samburu Dancers At Courtship Ceremony

Rwanda, Festivals, All Male Traditionally Adorned Tutsi Intore Dancers Characterised By Coordinated Drilling Dances Reflecting The Tutsi Warrior Tradition

The proud father of a Samburu boy who has recently been circumcised. ;For each son who has been initiated into the warrior age-set, a father will tie a strip of lion skin below his knees, hang two copper ornaments normally worn by women in his pierced earlobes and places a string of pale green beads round his forehead. A ceremonial leather cape is slung over his shoulder.

Vintage Photograph. Exploring the vibrant beadwork of traditional Maasai attire.

Africa, Ethiopia, Dassanech women prepare to participate in a Dimi ceremony, an important initiation ceremony, which every male member of the tribe must undergo.

South Ethiopia, Omo region, among the Hamar tribe, Hamer, Hamma, Hammer, Amar or Amer, face painting in the run-up to the initiation ritual, the bull jump, Ethiopia, Africa

Ethiopia, Omo Valley, Mago National Park, Womans Necklaces And Traditional Goatskin Dress Decorated With Cowrie Shells Jane Sweeney

Samburu Dancer - Kenya - Africa

African jewellery on a woman from the Samburu tribe Kenya Africa

Karo woman with face painting, necklaces and cowrie shells, Karo warrior with body painting and rifle, Omo Valley, Southern Ethiopia, Karo

Africa, Kenya, Samburu National Reserve. Tribal handicrafts, jewelry. Building, igniting and making fire, demonstration. (Editorial Use Only)

Africa, Kenya, Samburu National Reserve. Tribal handicrafts, jewelry. (Editorial Use Only)

Southern Ethiopia, woman of the Hammer people in Dimeka, dress made of goatskin and hair dyed with a mixture of fat and ochre-coloured clay, Ethiopia, Africa

Woman with infant and headdress from the Mursi tribe, Ethiopia, Africa

Kenya, Samburu District, Wamba. Immediately an initiate completes his lmuget loolbaa ceremony a month after his circumcision, he becomes a junior warrior of the Samburu tribe.

Africa, Ethiopia, Southern Omo Valley, Nyangatom Tribe. Nyangatom women wear long leather skirts decorated with colorful beadwork.

Surma teens at Donga ceremony Ethiopia

Africa, Kenya, Samburu National Reserve. Tribal handicrafts, jewelry. (Editorial Use Only)

Intore dancers perform at Butare. In the days of the monarchy in Rwanda, Intore dancers were an integral part of the Royal Court. Today, several groups perform nationally and internationally. Their rhythm, movement and impressive drumming is widely acclaimed.

AFRICA, Kenya, Amboseli Masai Warrior

Kenya, Marsabit County, Kalacha. Gabbra women wear traditional metal headbands known as malmal. They are made from old aluminum cooking pots.

Africa, Tanzania, Maasai girls gather to celebrate a wedding. Their broad beaded necklaces with predominantly white glass beads mark then as Kisongo Maasai.

Ethiopia - child surma: tribe of south west Ethiopia. Face mask made from red and white clay . Villages around the town of Kibisch Ethiopia.

Dassanech men dressed in ceremonial regalia with long sticks participate in a Dimi dance, Ethiopia

Africa, Cameroon, Adamaoua,Ngaoundere, fortune teller

Wodaabe Bororo man with his face painted at the annual Gerewol male beauty contest, a general reunion of West African Wodaabe Peuls Bororo Peul, Niger...

A day in a Maasai Village as guests to view thier way of living. Maasai people preforming traditional dance.

Pokot warriors watch a Sapana ceremony an important rite of passage for a youth to become a warrior

Dassanech men and their wives dressed in ceremonial regalia participate in a Dimi dance, Ethiopia

Ghana, Accra, Young Girls In Traditional Dress And Body Paint At Ancestor Worship Ceremony.

Africa, Namibia, Opuwo. Detail of Himba jewelry.

A young Maasai warrior performs the traditional jumping dance in his village in Mikumi, Tanzania.

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