These incredible images capture the South Sudanese Mundari tribe which worships cows as equals and whose culture centres around cattle and cattle-herding.
The photos were taken in the countryside of Terekeka, 53 miles north of Juba, during the last two weeks of February.
According to photographer Roberto Pazzi, 46, the tribe has a strong connection with animals, and each member has an estimated 10-12 cows.
‘They are very very bonded with animals. Nothing is more important than the animals,’ he said.
‘They use their milk, urine, dung but never meat. They “worship” them but not as for example ancient Egyptian used to do.
‘It is an interconnection with nature that probably could teach something to the first world too.’
The tribe use dung to protect themselves and their cows from mosquitos.
‘The children were collecting in the early morning the fresh dung in order to pile. Then it is mixed with dust so the dung becomes dry.
‘After that they put in a pile all around the camp and light on fire. The smoke coming out is used to keep off mosquitos.’
These incredible images capture the South Sudanese Mundari tribe which worship cows as equals
The photos were taken in the countryside of Terekeka, 53 miles north of Juba, during the last two weeks of February
According to photographer Roberto Pazzi, 46, the tribe has a strong connection with animals, and each member has an estimated dozen cows
‘They are very very bonded with animals. Nothing is more important than the animals,’ he said
‘They use their milk, urine, dung but never meat,’ the photographer said of the South Sudanese tribe
‘It’s like a symbiotic relationship with a feeling between humans and the cattle that goes over the usual animal husbandry,’ he said
The photographer continued: ‘Herd is their pride. When they want to communicate an image of strength they are simulating the horns of their bulls by raising their arms at the sky’
‘It is an interconnection with nature that probably could teach something to the first world too,’ the Italian photographer said
The tribe use dung to protect themselves and their cows from mosquitos
‘The children were collecting in the early morning the fresh dung in order to pile. Then it is mixed with dust so the dung becomes dry,’ he said
‘After that they put in a pile all around the camp and light on fire. The smoke coming out is used to keep off mosquitos’
Western culture could ‘learn something’ from the ‘sustainable’ tribe who massage themselves in dung, said the former software engineer turned photographer
A tribe member looks directly into the camera as he is draped in cloth
Young members of the Mundari tribe of Terekeka in South Sudan attempt to shield a fire from the wind
A young tribe member holds a goat close to him as he sits on the ground and looks at the camera
A tribe member smokes a pipe. The ethnic group’s entire culture is centered around cattle and cattle-herding
Three members of the tribe sit on the ground, taking it in turns to smoke a pipe
These incredible images capture the Mundari tribe of Terekeka, South Sudan
The Italian photographer, now living in Mallorca, Spain, said the most memorable aspect was the tribes connection with animals, estimating 10-12 cows per person
Tribe members dressed in cloth stand together with the setting sky in the background
Roberto Pazzi, 46, took stunning images of the Mundari tribe in Terekeka, South Sudan in the last two weeks of February
The photographer said: ‘They are very very bonded with animals. Nothing is more important than the animals’