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kodak.com
presents
Liz Gilbert
Life of the Massai
May 31, 2001
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Shona:
How receptive to the camera were the people you met?
Liz Gilbert:
Most people were very receptive to my cameras. I was fortunate to have the introduction of local Massai who brought me into villages where they had family members. That went a long way toward paving the road to being able to work amongst them. Of course, there are always some people who disagreed and protested my presence. But I found that they were in the minority, not the majority. I didn't photograph anybody who didn't want to be photographed.
Cayla:
Did you use digital and film?
Liz Gilbert:
I never used digital for this project. I only used film, and the format of that was 6 x 4.5".
Mallory:
These photos are black and white--did you shoot color too?
Liz Gilbert:
I never wanted to approach that project in color because that had been done so many times, and it really felt like a big cliché. Also I thought that the color was a distraction to the essence of what I wanted to capture. I hoped that by using black and white, the viewer would be less distracted by the aesthetic, and could focus more on the events and personalities depicted in the images.
Miramichi:
Can you get your film processed in Africa or did you wait until your return to the US?
Liz Gilbert:
I could have processed my film in Africa, but waited until I got to the U.S. This was mainly because of my relationship with my photo agency and some of the magazines who assigned me to work on the project.
Sleeping Man:
Did you at any time ask the Massai to pose for your pictures, or did you just take them as and when the inspiration caught you?
Liz Gilbert:
Well, Sleeping Man, the Massai posed for me in studio situations and for some of the general portraits. Especially in the beginning, I was working with a tented studio which I built in Nairobi and hauled all over Maasiland. Originally my intention had been to do a project which was mostly about portraiture, but that changed as I developed my relationship with the Massai and began being invited to ceremonies and events.
Baby Jonah:
Did you find that being a women made it easier or harder to penetrate the world of the Massai?
Liz Gilbert:
I'd have to say that being a woman has always been an advantage when traveling in Africa. I'm also white, and in some funny ways, that too is an advantage. The reason that was an advantage was because I think the Massai have always seen me as something so different from themselves that I was never subjected to the same rules that they applied to themselves. That is to say, had I been a black woman, it might have been harder for me to be allowed to see things like the male circumcision, which is a private ceremony that only men are allowed to attend. But because I was a foreigner and because they never saw me within the framework of their own culture, I believe they were able to give me unique access.
Jillybean:
What photo tips can you provide from your experience in this project?
Liz Gilbert:
Photo tips? What photo tips? I feel completely hopeless with my cameras half the time. I wouldn't venture to give tips to anyone. I'm sorry. I'm so horrible at anything technical. I barely know how my cameras work!
Duo Penultimate:
What is the Eunoto and how is it important in their culture?
Liz Gilbert:
The Eunoto is the graduation of warriors. The social infrastructure of the Massai is a definitive division of age groups. Each age group represents a kind of life stage, and one of the most important of these for men and the Massai tribe is the age set of the warriors. When the warriors are initiated at the age of between 14 and 18, they traditionally enjoyed a 7-year period as the defenders of the tribe. During this time, they went hunting and cattle raiding and enjoyed a life of privilege with few domestic responsibilities.
At the end of that time, they are given a week-long celebration to initiate them into the next stage of adulthood, when they become junior elders. During this ceremony, the Eunoto, their heads are shaved, and they re-enter the fabric of the society as ordinary citizens really. So like all initiations, it is an emotional experience and an important passage.
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