Shooting With Mursi

Olisarali Olibui is a member of the pastoralist Mursi tribe, one of the most isolated in Ethiopia. Shooting with Mursi is aptly named because Olisarali carries a Kalashnikov rifle in one hand, ready for potential threats from the 14 other tribes that surround the Mursi. In the other hand, he carries a video camera that captures the sometimes-brutal rites and routines of his people, including women placing their lip plates (a sign of beauty) and a ritualistic beating of Olisarali and other men of his generation for an affront to the elders. He also trains his camera on less painful, but equally insightful, features of tribal life, such as the intrusive construction of a road that brings tourists who create complications for the once-remote Mursi.
—DH