Nuer 2016

Before I went to Ethiopia, I watched the 1971 documentary The Nuer by Hilary Harris, and naively, that is what I expected I might see. Many traditional ways of life did remain, such as a strong cattle-focused culture and distinctive housing, but I also saw Western clothing, motorbikes and signs of Christianity. The young no longer carry the traditional facial marks, and many prefer to work in the nearby factories. The portraits here were made because cell phones were still rare, and people wanted to glimpse their image, even for a moment, on the back of the camera. These villages, and the people themselves, continue to change.