Bantu Gallery

Member of the Meru Tribe - Kenya, East Africa

Memeber of the Meru Tribe - Kenya, East Africa. Both men and women of this region stretch their ears, although today more women than men follow the practice. Originally, the piercing was done with a sharpened object such as the point of a knife or a thorn. Heavy jewelry was then placed in the hole to increase the size with materials such as animal bones, wood, stone, and tusks used for jewelry (as shown here) . Date: circa 1910s

© Mary Evans / Grenville Collins Postcard Collection

Group of Herero women, German South West Africa

A group of native Herero women, one holding a child, wearing western style clothing in German South West Africa (now Namibia), either before or during the First World War. A rebellion by the Hereros against the German colonists took place between 1904 and 1907, leading to the genocide of thousands of Herero by means of starvation and thirst, when they were driven into the Namib Desert. Date: early 20th century

© Robert Hunt Library/Mary Evans