The Namib Desert and the Himba People by Jeremy Lock

The village chief sits inside a hut talking with members of his tribe on August 12, 2015 in the Kunene Region of Namibia. Like most other tribal societies, the Himba people are very distinct with regards to the roles of the men and women. Typically, the men are the warriors; they are the ones who bring food to the table, and the ones who are the authority on tribal affairs. The Himba are indigenous peoples. One of Southern Africa's last traditionally living pastoral tribes with an estimated population of about 50,000 people living in northern Namibia, they are semi-nomadic with the men tending to livestock. The Himba live by herding sheep, goats and some cattle, and they move location several times a year to graze their livestock. The Himba are a people that live very distant from the "modern-western" world. Although they have contact with the western society, the Himba people have managed to maintain their traditional lifestyle. — The village chief sits inside a hut talking with members of his tribe on August 12, 2015 in the Kunene Region of Namibia.

Located in Namibia, the Namib Desert is an effortlessly beautiful landscape that shows its age with ancient scars carved into the earth. Unique shapes and patterns form over great lengths of time as the winds whip to transform, shape and move this majestic landscape. The Namib Desert stretches 1,000 miles along the Atlantic coast of Southern Africa making Namibia one of the least densely populated countries in the world, with a population of 2.1 million people. A number of unusual species of animals that are highly adaptive and can live on little water are found in this desert, including oryx, springboks, ostriches, and in some areas even desert elephants.

Living within this harsh landscape and calling it their home are the indigenous Himba people.

They are one of Southern Africa’s last traditionally living pastoral tribes with an estimated population of about 50,000 living in northern Namibia. They are semi-nomadic with the men tending to livestock and the women performing more labor-intensive duties such as homebuilding, water fetching and meal preparation in addition to caring for children. The Himba live by herding sheep, goats and some cattle, and they move locations several times a year to graze their livestock. The Himba are a people that live very distant from the modern Western world. Although they have contact with Western society, the Himba people have managed to maintain their traditional culture and lifestyle.

The Namib Desert is ancient, severe and beautiful all at the same time. It will grace you with dust, drought, stifling heat and harsh conditions. It will deprive you of necessities like water and food. However, the landscape has produced such treasures as the Namib Sand Sea and the Skeleton Coast. That same desert beauty can be seen in the tribe of the Himba people, whose women not only use the earth (stone of the ochre) to beautify their bodies giving them their red color, but whose customs also have transcended time and technology to maintain a tribal lifestyle that has been virtually unchanged since the 16^th century.

Remaining unchanged in its present form for the last 2 million years of its 55 million year existence, one can only wonder what rare form the landscape and it inhabitants will take over the years to come? –Jeremy Lock

Some coastal areas have one or more sets of dunes running parallel to the shoreline directly inland from the beach. In most cases, the dunes are important in protecting the land against potential ravages by storm waves from the sea. Namib Desert August 17, 2015.

A Gemsbok or South African Oryx grazes on a sand dune on the outskirts of Sossusvlei, Namibia on August 17, 2014.

The vivid pink-to-orange color in some of the dunes is an indication of a high concentration of iron in the sand and consequent oxidation processes. The oldest dunes are those of a more intense reddish color. Namib Desert August 17, 2015.

A young Himba boy watches over his goats on August 12, 2015 in the Kunene Region of Namibia. Himba children stay with their mothers until the age of three. After that they live with their sibling and are cared for by all the members of the village.

Two Himba women and their dog stand next to the Kunene River on August 10, 2015 in the Kunene Region of Namibia. The Himba women are said to bathe once in their lifetime and that is before marriage. Each morning they rub a paste of butter, fat and red ochre on their skin and hair, giving them a distinctive red hue.

Millions of years of wear and tear are etched through the rocky terrain of the Namib Desert on August 17, 2015.

One of the small run offs from the Kunene river cuts through the Namib Desert landscape before flowing into a delta and spilling into the Atlantic Ocean on August 11, 2015.

A young Himba girl finishes crushing red ochre on August 11, 2015 in the Kunene Region of Namibia. The red ochre is grinder into a powder with a rock and then applied to the skin. Young Himba girls are married to male partners chosen by their fathers, and this can be as early as 13 years of age or otherwise at the onset of puberty.

A dune is a hill of sand built by either wind or water flow. Dunes occur in different shapes and sizes, formed by interaction with the flow of air or water. , Namib Desert August 14, 2015.

A elderly Himba woman and two young boys return back to their village on August 11, 2015 in the Kunene Region of Namibia. The Himba tribes want more offspring so that there can be more people to help with the livestock and to run the tribe. Because of this, it is common for the Himba men to have multiple wives/lovers as well as women having multiple spouses.

Resembling tree branches, dried up water runoff has left its scar on the Namib Desert in Namibia Africa on August 17, 2015. The desert gets less than .39 inches of rain annually. The dry climate of the Namib reflects the almost complete lack of bodies of water on the surface. Most rivers flow underground and are dry for most of the year,

A Himba woman sits in the shade of her hut talking with other female members of her tribe on August 11, 2015 in the Kunene Region of Namibia. Hairstyles symbolize different life stages. Boys have ponytails, but when they marry, they pull all of their hair up in a cloth. Young girls have their hair plaited at the back of their head. When girls reach puberty they comb their hair over their faces; after they start menstruating they reveal their faces. When a mother decides her daughter is ready to start having babies, she puts her hair up with a skin.

Bio: SEVEN-TIME MILITARY PHOTOJOURNALIST OF THE YEAR, JEREMY T. LOCK

For the past 21 years, photojournalist and now retired military photographer Jeremy Lock directed his lens towards the elements of the world that many of us will never have the opportunity or even the desire to see firsthand. His images are beautiful, heartbreaking, provocative and devastating – sometimes all in the same frame.

“My photographic journey is rooted in my ability to capture the essence and reality of humanity at its finest and at its worst,” says Lock. “I’ve captured everything from the hunt for Osama bin Laden, to the playful nature of our young military who are defending our freedom, and the plight of humans in search of food after the Haiti earthquake disaster.”

Lock is not only an accomplished military veteran receiving the Bronze Star Medal for distinguished service in Iraq. His experience as a seasoned photojournalist has led to his work being published in magazines, newspapers and books including National Geographic, TIME, New York Times, and The Washington Post among others. His work has also earned multiple awards from prestigious organizations including World Press Photo, National Press Photographers Association and Oasis.

“Not only do I get to live my life, but I’ve been able to live the lives of those I photograph, even if it was just for a moment,” notes Lock. “I constantly want to share my experiences to remind myself and others that what I am doing is very important and the world needs to see it. I like to think the experiences haven’t changed me, but I know they have, and I’m thankful for that change. There is more to the world than what is outside your front door.”

Contact: www.jeremytlock.com

Instagram: @jeremytlock

Nancy McCrary

Nancy is the Publisher and Founding Editor of South x Southeast photomagazine. She is also the Director of South x Southeast Workshops, and Director of South x Southeast Photogallery. She resides on her farm in Georgia with 4 hounds where she shoots only pictures.

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The Namib Desert and the Himba People by Jeremy Lock

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