Where Fire Speaks: A Visit with the Himba

by Sandra Shields, Hugh Brody (Introduction), David Campion (Photographer)

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.

Genres: Anthropology, Africa, Travel

168 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2003

Reviews

[Clivemichael]

Provocative and illuminating examination of a cultural collision.

[Liralen]

The look of the Himba and their lands has duly become a resource. Tourists negotiate a price with the women to photograph them in their Himba costumes, and with Himba families to photograph them at their fires, beside their mud-covered huts, dancing. That which is tribal (and therefore deemed to be "ancient" and "traditional") has monetary value. So this pressure to be the version of themselves that appears to exist outside modernity comes from modernity. (8)

What started as two journalists' exploration into Himba culture, and the impact a dam would have on that culture, turned very quickly into an exploration into how Himba culture has already been affected by the 'outside world'. Beautiful photographs in the book, but it's ultimately a very sad view -- not because Himba culture has changed and continues to change (I'm certainly not in a position to say whether it should change) but because of the way it has changed.

Some Himba have turned outsiders' fascination with their look into a moneymaking venture; as Shields tells us, prices are negotiated for permission to take photographs. There's a very striking photograph of a group of Himba in discussion with one another, doing their own thing, while a very few feet away a group of white tourists stands, cameras in hand, staring.

Tourists often took pictures without saying a word to their subjects; the only eye contact came through the viewfinder, the only physical connection the coins in outstretched hands. I wondered how it had come to be that getting pictures of these people was more important than actually meeting them. It seemed tourists came to take their own versions of the photographs they had seen in tour brochures and travel magazines. (143)

I wonder, though. Shields and Campion did make an effort to communicate with their subjects, to spend time with them -- and they were there with a different purpose than your average tourist. But I do question whether that's a distinction that the Himba saw, and whether that distinction would make a difference to them. (I will note that I think seeking money from something that's going to happen anyway -- i.e., tourists taking photos -- seems rational; what saddens me is that it seems that so little of the 'good' that can come from modernisation, such as better medical access and opportunities for education, seems to have come through.)

Shields seeks a neutral perspective -- falling neither on the side of yes, bring in the dam, bring in change nor on the side of keep this culture untouched -- but my impression is that the more she sees the less she likes the idea of the culture changing. She makes an interesting point about education, that the low level of education that is sometimes available to Himba youth is enough to give them a thirst for more but not enough to give them the skills to really succeed in the 'modern' world...but I guess I'd say that the real question is why that's the only level of education available.

Interesting book with wonderful photos; although I have reservations about a number of non-conclusions drawn, it made me think quite a bit, and that's never a bad thing.

[Kevin]

This engaging, well-written, and entertaining story depicts one woman's encounter with the Himba, as she researches the effects a proposed dam construction might have on their culture.

In addition to issues relating to the dam, though, the author gets the Himba's perspective (both older generation and new) on topics such as money, family, health, education, and sex.

There are plenty of books out there that highlight the good and bad effects of "modernization" of traditional cultures, but I liked that this story did it in a way that wasn't preachy.

Aside from the story itself, there are a LOT of beautiful pictures in this book.