Bongo tribe, Sudan.

£1,000 · Offered by Shapero Rare Books

East Africa A series of three photographs taken in the same location in Khartoum by Louis Vossion (1877-1955), a French diplomat who undertook postings to Sudan, Pacific, India. His interest in photography is suggested to be both personal, and professional in its reflection of diplomatic duties in remote areas. One of the photographs shows a girl from the Bongo ethnic group, one of the smaller groups of the White Nile region, with a long tradition in cattle-rearing and pasturage. The 19th century arrival of the Ottomans, Arabs, and subsequently the British, had a major impact on relations between the Nilotic groups. Whilst certain groups accommodated foreign rulers, others rebelled; causing inter-group aggression and hostility. The girl photographed is part of an ancient dance troupe, which had performed after the main meal with important members of the tribe. She is pictured wearing frayed leather garments and an amulet hung on a long, leather cord around her neck. On another photograph Vossion captured Fadl-el- Kerim, an Arab woman, and Aicha, a woman from the mountains of Djebel. They are part of the Nouba ethnic group, consisting of different peoples inhabiting the south of Sudan's Kordofan province. The group has African origins and settled in the region over thousands of years. They were fairly isolated until the nineteenth century, when Sudan came under Egyptian occupation. The violent rule of Mahdi and his successor, and British colonial rule also significantly shaped

• Binding: Hardcover

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