Peul Noblewoman Mono II
© All rights to these photos and descriptions are reserved. Any use of this work requires my prior written permission.
Peul noblewoman (Fulani, Fulbe, Fula) with tattooed lips and gold earrings from a large semi-nomadic pastoral settlement near Hombori, central Mali. High resolution Noritsu Koki slide scan, Asahi Pentax SP Spotmatic, (SMC Pentax Zoom 45~125mm f/4), circa 1976.
Peul women of this region often tattoo their lips, gums and the area around the mouth before marriage, a painful aesthetic practice and rite of passage signifying marital status.
The extravagant gold earrings or "kwottenai kanye" symbolize the wealth and prestige of a husband or family based largely on the ownership of cattle among the semi-nomadic pastoral Peul of this region. They are also an aesthetic symbol of cultural pride and identity, usually passed on as a gift from a husband to his wife or an heirloom to a daughter on the death of her mother.
The large earrings are made by local smiths or artisans concentrated mostly in the Mopti region of central Mali. They are crafted from a 14-karat bar of gold that is first chiseled and heated over a fire, then hammered into thin blades and twisted into a four-lobe shape.
This proud and elegant Peul woman is likely from the class of “free nobles” (mostly herders, religious and political leaders, some cultivators) at the top of a highly stratified Peul society. Ethnographers distinguish this class from lower-tiered occupational groups or “castes” (griot story tellers and song-praisers, artisans, blacksmiths, potters, woodworkers ) and former slaves (labourers, brick makers, house builders).
Documentary Portraiture | National Geographic | BodyArt
Peul Noblewoman Mono II
© All rights to these photos and descriptions are reserved. Any use of this work requires my prior written permission.
Peul noblewoman (Fulani, Fulbe, Fula) with tattooed lips and gold earrings from a large semi-nomadic pastoral settlement near Hombori, central Mali. High resolution Noritsu Koki slide scan, Asahi Pentax SP Spotmatic, (SMC Pentax Zoom 45~125mm f/4), circa 1976.
Peul women of this region often tattoo their lips, gums and the area around the mouth before marriage, a painful aesthetic practice and rite of passage signifying marital status.
The extravagant gold earrings or "kwottenai kanye" symbolize the wealth and prestige of a husband or family based largely on the ownership of cattle among the semi-nomadic pastoral Peul of this region. They are also an aesthetic symbol of cultural pride and identity, usually passed on as a gift from a husband to his wife or an heirloom to a daughter on the death of her mother.
The large earrings are made by local smiths or artisans concentrated mostly in the Mopti region of central Mali. They are crafted from a 14-karat bar of gold that is first chiseled and heated over a fire, then hammered into thin blades and twisted into a four-lobe shape.
This proud and elegant Peul woman is likely from the class of “free nobles” (mostly herders, religious and political leaders, some cultivators) at the top of a highly stratified Peul society. Ethnographers distinguish this class from lower-tiered occupational groups or “castes” (griot story tellers and song-praisers, artisans, blacksmiths, potters, woodworkers ) and former slaves (labourers, brick makers, house builders).
Documentary Portraiture | National Geographic | BodyArt