Behind the shot - Traditions
This image of a Maasai child drinking the traditional mixture of cow blood and Milk was taken on New Year's Day in 2016. One of my all time favourite images and a best seller.
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On New Year's Day in 2016, we got up bright and early and drove on a dusty road for about 40 minutes to visit a nearby "Boma" the traditional Maasai hut, made with mud and cow dung.
We had been invited by the chief, who I knew very well, to spend some time together and give him greetings for the newly started year.
Milk and blood are two of the main staples in the Maasai diet, and I have heard of the blood letting cerimony that takes place on special occasions, as fresh blood drawn from the giugular of a cow gets mixed with milk and drank, but I had never witnessed it.
After some chatting where I learned a new Kiswahili word or two, he called us in towards the corral where the cattles where kep, and then called his eldest son, instructing him to bring two calves out.
The kid, with the help of two other family members, dragged the animal sout of the fence, and brought them to where we were sitting.
Then, the father of the chief approached the cows and, using a small bowwith a specially made arrow, pierced a small hole in the jugular of the of the animals.
Blood started flowing out, and collected in a gourd that was containing some milk, and the mixture then poured into a cup made with a cattle horn.
After cleaning the small wound of the animal with a leave soaked in a mixture of dung and dust, the elder drank the first sip, and after offering the gourd to the chief.
Then, all the younger boys of the family started kneeling in front of the chief, receiving the cup and drinking from it.
The whole image was beautiful,reminiscent of a religious cerimony; in my mind, (perhaps due to my catholic education), akin to a holy communion, a reminder of the raw power that traditions have on people, no matter where they live or where they come from.
I kneeled in order to have a good field of view and managed to snap a shot before taking part to the cerimony myself and having a (quick) sip of the drink.
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I spent some more time chatting with the chief and his family and then went back to camp.
Working on the image, I immediately recognised the power of the shot, the colours were on point, and the deep red of the drape of the kid reminded me of the blood.
The overall experience has been one of the most profound I had in my many years in Africa and this shot is one of my all time favourites and one of my best sellers images.
