Lion of the Kalahari, 2009

John Kenny  

This Himba elder was at a huge funeral gathering in the western Kaokoland between the largest town of the area, Opuwo, and Otjitando. The area was flat, and very dry, with a strong wind constantly whipping up fine, dry dust and flinging it across the landscape.

The funeral was quite different in feel. People were engaged in deep, animated conversations, they smiled and laughed a lot in more of a festival atmosphere than one of sadness. Long parted friends came together to celebrate the life of the man who had passed – a man of huge popularity and social status. The funeral was to last a week and the crowd was swelling each day. There were huge animal carcasses being cooked on fires tended carefully by younger Himba men.

I watched from a distance, concerned at the need for privacy at such a gathering, but a number of groups waved for me to come over. The elder maintained a natural authority within his small circle, and I noticed that others spoke to him with deference. In the past this man had hunted and killed desert lions. He then pointed to a large gouge on the man’s thigh – the results of one of these encounters.

The lower necklace on this man are made of the soft ears of lambs. The small metal spear-like object at the side of his head is used for scooping and sniffing powdered snuff.

John Kenny’s work is all shot on location in some of the remotest corners of Africa. His images are all taken with natural light and his subjects in their day to day attire.

C-type photograph with a UV-protective acrylic face mount and metal subframe. The piece is hung from the subframe and sits away from the wall. The standard acrylic has a gloss finish. Other sizes are also available if you would like more information please enquire.