Benue River, Cameroon’s Great Cleaner

People bathing and washing clothes in Cameroon’s Benue River near Garua. In Africa, anywhere water is abundant, bathing and washing clothes is a national pastime. Heat, mud, dust, and socialization help make them entertaining.

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Cameroon: Mandara Mountains Scene

Kirdi women returning home from a market in Cameroon’s Mandara Mountains. Kapsiki volcanic plugs rise in the background.

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North Cameroon near Pouss: Musgun woman

North Cameroon near Pouss: Musgun woman wearing the traditional nose ring of that tribe’s women.

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Cameroon: Traditional Fulani Kitchen

Bororo (Fulani) woman sitting at her kitchen fire in Cameroon’ Bamenda Highlands.

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Cameroon: Fulani Woman On The Way To Market

While walking across Cameroon’s Bamenda Highlands a few years ago, I crossed path with this Moslem Bororo woman. On the way to market, she was using her umbrella for protection against the scorching sun. I found the Bororo people, part of the great Fulani family that spreads between the coast of Senegal and Lake Chad, to be among the friendliest and hospitable people of Cameroon.

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Brazil: Exploring Human Anatomy

Son of a poor but loving Brazilian fisherman's family of Salvador examining the last of his nine siblings.

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Bolivian Altiplano: Running After Llamas Keeps An Old Quechua Man Happy And Strong

When I caught sight of this Quechua man in Bolivia’s Altiplano near Uyuni, he was running full speed after a large herd of llamas he was bringing back to a corral at day’s end.  Watching him from a distance I thought him young.  But he changed his course to come have a better look at me, and I was stunned to see an old man. To my question he replied that he was 84. His clothes held together by years-old patches and his sandals had been carved out of old tires. But asked whether he enjoyed running after llamas, he replied that nothing could make him happier. I had heard similar words from other llama herders, in Bolivia and Peru, and I believed him.

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Sahara: Sharing Three Little Glasses Of Tea With The Tuareg

One of my great pleasures while sharing the Tuareg’s harsh Sahara and Sahel lives was to watch them ceremoniously prepare their steaming hot and foamy syrupy green tea and then drink it with them. Three little glasses of it. The first one, somewhat bitter. The second one, after renewing the water, just right. The third one, lighter and sweeter. It surprisingly calmed thirst better than cold water. And so said the Tuareg.  The last time I sat among my nomadic friends was the last time I enjoyed tea. I could not repeat its preparation. And without their warm humanity and extraordinary environments it would have been a disappointment anyway.

For most tribes, heavily sweetened tea was the only luxury they knew, and not always available, or even affordable. Besides some occasional dates from the palm trees of very distant oases, when business took them there, it was the only sweet thing the Tuareg knew. When staying with them, I always offered plenty of tea and of big sugar loaves.

In 1965, when for a couple of weeks I rode a camel with a Tuareg man from camp to camp around the central Sahara’s Ahaggar Mountains, that companion always added to our tea mint leaves he had picked along the way. When our day ended without spotting any mint he pulled from his robe a small can of Vicks VapoRub, a decongestant meant for external use, and dished some of it in our tea because of its menthol content. No, it did not make us sick.

In this 1970 photo taken in Niger’s Sahel, under a tent out of a blinding sun, Radwane is pouring tea for three, including his nephew Abookabook and me. Radwane was one of the sons of Mohammed, then the leader of  the powerful and wealthy noble Iullimiden tribe,

In 1972-1973, when I brought my wife and kids to meet the Tuareg (http://victorenglebertphotography.blogspot.com/search?q=+trans-african ),

this time by jeep, Mohammed wanted to buy our brand new vehicle. He could have afforded several. His family owned thousands camels, zebus, sheep, and goats. The family lorded over an army of vassal Tuareg tribes and servants to herd and water the animals for them. It also controlled great numbers of artisans who produced all the articles they needed for a comfortable nomadic life. This included spears, swords, and knives, camel saddles, wooden mortars, leather cushions and bags, and silver jewelry.                          

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Sahara: Ancient Tuareg Caravan To Lybia

1970 scene of a Tuareg caravan on its way to sell camels, sheep, and goats in Libya, where they would fetch considerably higher prices than in their native Niger.  I shot the scene from my own moving camel while we were crossing a flat area of the Sahara’s AÏr Mountains.

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Sahara Salt Caravan

In 1965 I shared the harsh life of a Tuareg salt caravan of 200 camels across the sand dunes of the Tenere, one of the Sahara’s most dangerous regions. For nearly a month I walked, rode, and often ran up tall sand dunes to give my camera wider views. That experience taught me that thirst is harder to bear than hunger, and that physical exhaustion, added to dehydration, is even worse than thirst. I told that story, and others, in my book, Wind, Sand and Silence: Travels with Africa’s Last Nomads.

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