Hanging out with the Hadza for a Moment

While in East Africa this past spring, I visited a unique tribe in Tanzania, the Hadza (or Hadzabe), well known to anthropologists and other social scientists. According to the National Geographic Society, the Hadza have been called “the cradle of mankind” as genetically they trace back to the first humans on earth. And now, they are among the last hunter-gatherers in the world. I was tagging along with a documentary film crew on this expedition. It took us about 10 hours driving from Arusha to the Hadza camp we were aiming for, a third of it driving off-roads. The first sign that we were finally approaching the “village” was seeing a few children running away from us.

The Hadza live in the Great Rift Valley, not far from the salty Lake Eyasi. Today, the Hadza number just under 1000. Though some have left to live near Mangola, the closest town to Hadzaland (and a few of them earn a little money by displaying their skills to tourists), there are still about 400 Hadza who subsist almost entirely in the traditional way: hunting animals, foraging for roots and fruit, harvesting honey. They own no land, do not grow crops, and have no domesticated animals such as cattle common among neighboring tribes. They set “camp” by building temporary huts in an area dominated by thorn bushes and acacia trees, and they move when the area does not provide them the food they need any longer. Our group set up our own “camp” for 5 days in a clearing near the huts that a group of Hadza was calling home.

Over the years, the Hadza have been under pressure from various governments to modernize their way of living, and have lost much of their land to other tribes who practice herding and agriculture or to safari hunters.  Recently, however, with NGOs’ help, the Hadza have managed to acquire the land rights to a small portion of the land they used to call their own. This is a big victory for the tribe as it has allowed them to survive as true hunter-gatherers, something that most other hunter-gathering tribes like the Bushmen and the Pygmies have not been able to do. The challenges faced by the Hadza are beautifully captured in a fascinating 2015 documentary titled  “The Hadza: The Last of the First.”

Close to 40 people were living in the village we were visiting, a relatively high number of Hadza to find in one place. The camp’s center point is a large beautiful baobab tree that has some land cleared in front of it and can provide a little shade during the day. As with other baobab trees, it is used to harvest honey or fruit, so the Hadza have inserted pointed sticks into the trunk to use as ladders. This tree is where the women and young children gather every day, and this is where I spent most of my time. Here the women nurse babies, crush seeds, cut tubers into pieces, or simply sit on the ground their legs extended in front of them, sometimes digging thorns out of one another with a knife’s tip. The women also thread beads to make jewelry, still an important part of their attire even though they mostly wear second-hand western clothes that they adapt to their needs. Children who are old enough participate in the chores, while the younger ones just play on the ground or climb on trees. When needed, the women go and fetch water, dig roots and tubers or pick up berries. Though their type of work reflects gender norms, men hunting and women gathering “women’s work” is seen as equally important, one of many things we can learn from the Hadza. The Hadza people are very egalitarian; they share everything. Childcare is also the responsibility of everyone. It is hard to know who is the mother of one particular baby. I saw one beautiful little girl carried by a different woman every day.

When old enough and not climbing a tree, children play a game with made-up balls that reminded me of petanque or bacce. They play this game multiple times a day, these balls being the only thing resembling a toy I saw while I was there.

The men and young boys adopted a nearby tree where they sit in the early morning around a fire. They stay there until they decide to go hunting or honey gathering. In the meantime, while smoking non-stop, they work on making arrows. Making a good arrow appears to be a task that requires considerable skill and time. They also make a potent poison with a local plant called the “desert rose,” which they used to kill the local wildlife.

At some point, Dofu, a man who appears to be in his mid-thirties (the Hadza do not keep track of time, so no one’s age is known with any certainty), decides that it is time to go hunting. Equipped with his bow and arrows, he leaves the camp walking thru the bushes at an impressive pace. While readying the bow for his shot, Dofu holds spare arrows between his legs; the Hadza do not seem to use a quiver. I try to follow along for a little while, but of course, I can’t keep up. (In my defense, I was wearing a compression boot as I had fractured a bone in my foot before the trip, but I doubt if I would have been able to keep up even with proper running shoes). A few hours later, I see Dofu walking toward the camp with a small hyrax (a small animal that looks a bit like a chubby rodent) attached to his belt. Within a matter of minutes, a fire was built at the camp, and everyone gathers around it. The small animal is very quickly cooked and shared among the tribe members. Every part of the animal is quickly and voraciously consumed, and everyone has a joyful time.

The next day, the Hadza enjoyed another of their favorite foods, the fruit that grows on the baobab tree. The baobab fruit, which I am told is amazingly nutritious, looks a bit like a coconut or a mango. It has a hard outer shell that one can break by stepping on it. Once opened, the pulp’s little bits can be eaten right away or crushed and made into a powder.

One day, the Hadza have other visitors. A few men from a neighboring tribe, the Datoga, come to the camp. The differences in their appearance are quite striking. Though the Hadza are friendly and peaceful, there has been tension between them and the animal-herding Datoga. The conflict arises because clearing the land for their goats and cattle destroys the berries and tubers that form a crucial part of the Hadza diet, and most importantly, the cattle also consume water, precious to everyone. This time the visit is short and civil. The Datoga sat with the men for a little while and then went on their way.

Spending a little time with the Hadza left me with much to ponder. One thing that stayed with me is how much they live in the present. If they need food, they find food in the forest, and they eat it.  Nothing is kept, everything is shared, and nothing is wasted. The next time they are hungry (probably the next day), they repeat the same process. When they are fed, they sit around enjoying their bounty and their companionship.   As I find myself constantly planning, thinking about what’s next for me, I feel I could benefit from being a little more “in” the moment, the Hadza way.

Mutana,

France

P.S. You can follow me on Instagram at franceleclerc

P.S.S. Because you have read this very long post all the way to the end, you deserve a reward 🙂  Follows a few of my favorite portraits. And if you want, you can listen to the Hadza singing a song while dancing at night.  I could not see them dancing as it was so dark out I could barely see my hands.

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21 Responses

  1. France – love this post! Great in B&W. My favorite is the mother and child, 2nd from the top in the section of your favorites and the man smoking the thick ‘cigar’. This must have been a wonderful experience – even with the boot on your foot!
    Ivy

    1. Thanks Ivy. It was a wonderful experience though I have to say that some of it was quite challenging and the boot did not help. But the memories are all good and this is all that matters at this point. Best, France

  2. Hi France, What interesting people they are; you are correct in that there is much to be said for living in the moment. I love your black and white images. That does not mean that I dislike the colour ones either and in fact it is just good to have a change. There are pros and cons with both. I was wondering why you chose black and white this time?

    1. Hi Jane. Thanks for your kind words. I am basically a “color” or as you would say “colour” person 🙂 I love black and white images but I think my images typically show better in color. But this time, these images were shot inside and out, in soft light and in harsh light with lots of broken light because of the trees, so it was difficult to get a unified feel for the post. I thought black and white did a better job at this. If I show the images individually, I’ll probably revert to colour. Hope you are well. France

  3. I didn’t find it a long post at all, it was so fascinating. I had no idea there was still a hunter-gatherer tribe in existence. You got some wonderful photographs as usual.
    Alison

    1. Hi Alison, I am glad you did not find the post too long, I usually try to keep them shorter. Yes there are still a few hunter-gatherer tribes but obviously very very few. And I am not sure how long the Hadza will be able to keep it up. The modern world is coming closer and closer and I am guessing it will be hard to resist its appeal at some point. Yet again, people have been saying this for years and the Hadza still live the way they want. So who knows. Time will tell I guess.

  4. These are spectacular images, France but, having been to Africa several times and captivated each time by the vibrance of the people, I long to see these in color! That said, your post is wonderful, not long and, as always, laser focused on your experience with the people you photograph. I recall a post long ago where you claimed to not be an anthropologist. I respectfully disagree. And thank you for the sound bite… goosebumps!

    1. Hello Sharon. Thanks for your kind words. I don’t think I am an anthropologist but I am more and more interested in doing documentary photography and I used to be a scientist so I am sure this maybe part of how I photograph too 🙂 I understand your frustration of not seeing the colors. I rarely do b&w as you know, I think my images typically show better in color. But for this post, it was hard to get a unified feel for all of these images as they were shot in very different conditions. I thought b&w was doing a better job at this. But if I show the images individually I will probably show them in color. And no worries, the next post will be in color. I am glad you like the sound clip. I certainly greatly enjoy listening to them in the dark. All the best.

  5. Fascinating!!! You are so very talented !!! and although I personally prefer the colour pictures these BW are exceptional. Through your eyes we are also able to see these remote parts of the world !

    1. Dimitra, Thank you so much. I am glad you like the post. And yes the Hadza live in a very remote area. The world is getting to be the same everywhere so I guess one has to go further and further to see something different. Of course, it is possible to do wonderful photography near home, but I am interested in these cultures who may disappear. All the best, France

    1. Hello Avery; thanks for stopping by and looking at my pictures of the Hadza people. I am glad you like them. You probably enjoy taking pictures yourselves, we all do these days. I am sure you take nice pictures too. Warmly, France

  6. I loved the detailed writing and would love to go there myself (the pictures were so beautiful, I need to go there now!).

    1. Hello Sascha, I am glad you enjoyed my little story on the Hazda people. They are amazing; they have lived through challenging times but are still there, living the same lifestyle they always have. I hope you get to meet them someday. But they live far away from here, so it will be a long trip, and you must prepare for it. All the best, France

  7. I loved all the pictures. Its so cool how you got to meet these people. Also how did you try the baobab fruit if so was it good?

    1. Hello Jonah, thank you for your kind words on my pictures. I am glad you like them. Yes, the Hazda are pretty cool people and quite inspiring. They don’t have an easy life, though. I did indeed taste the baobab fruit. You eat the white kernels inside the skin. They are tasty, a little bit lemony, not very sweet. The Hadza people love it, they also make a powder out of it (when there is some left because the children want to eat them all right away). It is very nutritious. Thanks for being curious; I am very curious too, I think it is a great quality. Best, France

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