honorable mention
Roberto Cornacchia italy
title
Turkana women life stages
For Turkana women, marriage is the first and primary stage of adulthood. Turkana girls usually marry between 15 and 20 years of age but they usually have some say in the selection of their husbands. A Turkana man can marry several women, so long as he is able to pay the dowry for each.
Despite of working hard every day in the very harsh enviroment of Lake Turkana'a area, they are beautiful and you can see pride in their eyes.
In this serie the girls/ladies are depicted in different life stages:
1. A very young Turkana girl, maybe 6/8 y.o., sitting in front of her hut, at her early age already pierced and with multiple beaded necklaces.
2. Probably aged 10/12 years old, she is almost a woman according to Turkana standars, with huge beaded necklaces, earring and traditional haircut.
3. Probably aged 14/15 years old, she wears her best attire made by a massive and elaborate set of beaded necklaces/collars. Usually Turkana women get married between 15 and 20 years of age.
4. Probably aged 20 years, she wears huge beaded necklaces but less elaborate than younger girls, and has earrings. She's could be engaged or married. Marriage is the first and primary stage of adulthood for a Turkana woman.
5. Leaning on her stick, an old Turkana woman looks fiercely in the camera. The copper lip plug is not used anymore by younger generations.
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entry description
Traditional dress and ornaments are of vital importance among Turkana people and a lot of emphasis is placed on adornment of both women and young men. Beads and jewellery indicate a woman's wealth and marital status.For Turkana women, marriage is the first and primary stage of adulthood. Turkana girls usually marry between 15 and 20 years of age but they usually have some say in the selection of their husbands. A Turkana man can marry several women, so long as he is able to pay the dowry for each.
Despite of working hard every day in the very harsh enviroment of Lake Turkana'a area, they are beautiful and you can see pride in their eyes.
In this serie the girls/ladies are depicted in different life stages:
1. A very young Turkana girl, maybe 6/8 y.o., sitting in front of her hut, at her early age already pierced and with multiple beaded necklaces.
2. Probably aged 10/12 years old, she is almost a woman according to Turkana standars, with huge beaded necklaces, earring and traditional haircut.
3. Probably aged 14/15 years old, she wears her best attire made by a massive and elaborate set of beaded necklaces/collars. Usually Turkana women get married between 15 and 20 years of age.
4. Probably aged 20 years, she wears huge beaded necklaces but less elaborate than younger girls, and has earrings. She's could be engaged or married. Marriage is the first and primary stage of adulthood for a Turkana woman.
5. Leaning on her stick, an old Turkana woman looks fiercely in the camera. The copper lip plug is not used anymore by younger generations.
about the photographer
I'm an amateur photographer who loves to travel. I always thought about myself as a traveller first, only in recent years I'm giving photography a more important role.back to gallery