In April 2017 I travelled to Uganda driven by the prospect of meeting and documenting the life of the Ik, one of the most enigmatic ethnic groups in East Africa.
Formerly a nomadic hunter-gatherer tribe, the Ik, also known derogatively as Teuso, used to move regularly in annual cycles in the area between the Didinga Hills in South Sudan, the Kidepo Valley in Uganda, lake Turkana and the Zingout Hills in Kenya.
Far from being erratic and haphazard, the movement of nomadic peoples is purposeful, measured and systematic and allows them to harness local natural resources without using them up. Thus seems to have been the livelihood of the Ik, until external determinants brought this culture’s evolution to a sudden stop.
This photo-essay is about them, one of the most remote tribes in Africa.
Portraits of Resistance is about the struggle of the Ik to maintain their indigenous culture and livelihoods while coping with the rapidly-changing environment around them.
