Rana Tharu: life in colour.
In the far east of Népal, far from Katmandu, legend and history join together to recount how five centuries ago women of royal blood immigrated from Rajasth (India) with their children and servants. Here it is the women who rise up as guardians of the traditions and combat assimilation into an Indo-Nepalese culture. Contrary to other ethnic groups of Nepal, they themselves make their exceptional costume. At a time when the Indian sari triumphs amongst most of the tribes, here, the clothing tradition continues. The design of their very colourful costume, adorned with embroidery and little mirrors, as well as their silver jewelry is very close to the dress style adopted in Rajasthan. Of course, the fabrics and colours change according to current fashions.
Photos and text ©Bruno Morandi/Lightmediation
Contact - Thierry Tinacci Lightmediation Photo Agency +33 (0)6 61 80 57 21 thierry[AT]lightmediation.com
The Sambatra : the collective circumcision rite of the Antambahaoka.
Every seven years, the year of the Friday, the Antambahoaka who make up one of the eighteen ethnic groups on the island of Madagascar have been celebrating for centuries the biggest event that defines them: the Sambatra. This major moment in their lives is not just the ritual of the collective circumcision of the boys born in the seven years preceding it. It is also an initiation and integration rite practiced by the Antambahoaka boy that will permit him to make the passage from an asexual state to the statute of male. From this moment on, he will be integrated into the paternal clan and initiated into the life of the true Antambahoaka man. He, himself, will thus become a Zafiraminia, a son of Raminia, the founding ancestor of this ethnic group. But for this to happen, he has to symbolically relive the history of his ancestors, which was the exodus that brought them to Madagascar. During one month, the Sambatra lets the Antambahoaka remember their origins and so honour Raminia.
Photos and text ©Jacques Bock/LightMediation
Contact - Thierry Tinacci Lightmediation Photo Agency +33 (0)6 61 80 57 21 thierry[AT]lightmediation.com
Children behind bars
The way a nation state treats its prisoners can be a good indicator of the quality of the nation’s democracy; a society can be judged on the way it treats its children. And yet there are a number of countries with prisons for children which invariably keep the young detainees in inhumane conditions. Lizzie Sadin wanted to use her position as a photographer to show the legal system for minors in ten countries with very different geopolitical situations: peace and war, rule of law and authoritarian regimes. Driven on by the idea of providing us with a view inside these detention centers and of conveying the views of the inmates to the outside world, she wanted to break the silence surrounding them and, most importantly, to break their isolation. It is a story designed to bring them out of the shadows… Her work obtained this year, the “Visa d’or” at “Visa pour l’image” festival, and the special prize of the jury at ” festival of the scoop” of Angers.
Photos and text ©Lizzie Sadin/Lightmediation
Contact - Thierry Tinacci Lightmediation Photo Agency +33 (0)6 61 80 57 21 thierry [at] lightmediation.com
