Tribes

On every continent except Antarctica, there are extraordinary indigenous peoples who adorn themselves with the wondrous ornamentation that nature avoids: multicolored clays and dyes,brilliant feathers, and other exotic elements.

But as civilization expands, it encroaches on their unique ways of life: their customs have begun to change as they are assimilated into dominant societies. To celebrate these traditions, world-renowned nature photographer Art Wolfe has traveled around the world to observe and document the people and places in Tribes, a remarkable collection of more than 120 photographs.

Using his skills as a photographer of the natural world, Wolfe turns his lens on thirty-five diverse groups--among them, the Bumi of Ethiopia, who scar their torsos with raised geometric designs; the Maasai warriors of Kenya, with their towering ostrich plume headdresses and vivid ochre dyes; the Lisu women of northern Thailand, whose indigo turbans are laden with colorful tassels and pounded silver; the men of Samoa, who tattoo their torsos and thighs in marvelous, meaningful patterns; and the Kayapo of the Amazon Basin, who paint themselves with tropical fruit dyes and wear flamboyant headdresses of parrot feathers.

But Tribes is more than a simple document of body art: it is a bold celebration of the pageantry and patterns of everyday life. With an introduction by Harvard anthropologist David Maybury-Lewis and a foreword by Iman, Tribes offers a rare glimpse into the world's most fascinating cultures. Taken tribe by tribe, the variety of adornment and cultural experience Art Wolfe has discovered is astonishing; taken as a whole, the collection of photographs is a testimonial to the power of human creation and spirit.