The photographic series “Family Portraits” is an ethnographic approach to the study of family dynamics and their relationships among the cultural patterns of a given society. The project intentionally juxtaposes photographs of non-western societies within traditional family portraiture found on mantelpieces and above doorways in western homes. The objective of this project is to collect a compilation of portraits, interviews, and data from areas around the globe and arrive at a more reliable and impartial view of the status of the family and its relationship to culture.

The first project of the “Family Portraits” series was taken in the Omo Valley of Ethiopia over a two week time span. I stayed with four tribes in the region--Ari, Mursi, Hamer, and Bena. We camped, shared meals, exchanged cultural nuances and celebrated our common humanity. I photographed the chief’s family in each tribe, followed by individual family members, and created diptychs of a male and female member of each tribe. As a home is often serendipitous for collecting meaningful anthropological observations, family portraits in and around the tribes’ homes, using material and natural objects in their settings as background texture, provide the viewer with the richest possible context for the study of family life.

Family and community are priorities amongst the Omo valley tribes. Tribal members rely on one another to build homes, harvest crops, raise children, protect the weak, and mourn for the dead. Caring for one another is a communal effort with ageless boundaries. During the day, when elders work cattle in the fields and sell grain at the market, children look after one another, feeding babies and drying tears. As the tribes grow their own food, generate their own energy, and work from farms for their livelihood, the presumed “costs of living” mostly vanish. They are untethered to the work-earn-spend consumer economy. Alternatively, the tribes prosper in a collective autonomy with mutual interdependence, where monetary income isn’t imperative for a rich life. Subject to globalization, the traditions of the Omo Valley tribes are exposed to the practices of the modern world and have been unveiled to the pros and cons of capitalist societies. They fall privy to a loss of culture as modern development inevitably reaches the most remote ends of the earth.

Mursi chief interview

The following interview was conducted with the Mursi's chief after photographing his family's portrait. The transcription of the interview contains the English translation of the interview from the tribal language as quoted from the translator.

...

ROXANNE: How many wives does he have?

TRANSLATOR: Two.

ROXANNE: How long has he been chief for?

TRANSLATOR: He’s tooking from his father about 10 years before. His father was chief of this village.

ROXANNE: How did his father become chief?

TRANSLATOR: From his father.

ROXANNE: How many children does he have?

TRANSLATOR: He has two. He has one from first wife, and one from second wife. 

ROXANNE: How did he barter for his wives? In Mursi culture I’ve been told that you have to give a cow for his wife, so how many cows did he give for his wife?

TRANSLATOR: Thirty-eight cow and one gun [for each wife]. The limit is seven.

ROXANNE: Can you tell him thank you for letting us come here? How do him and his tribe feel about us coming here and photographing them and videoing them?

TRANSLATOR: He say's he's very happy. Is it good or bad for you?

ROXANNE: For us? The village is beautiful, it's amazing.

TRANSLATOR: We are [sic], we don’t drink any alcohol thats why.

ROXANNE: And that's different from other tribes in this area?

TRANSLATOR: Yes. So tell for your friend to come with Eman here to this village.

Ari chief interview

The following interview was conducted with the Ari chief after photographing his family's portrait. The transcription of the interview contains the English translation of the interview from the tribal language as quoted from the translator.

ROXANNE: How many people are in his family?

TRANSLATOR: He said he has nineteen children. 

...

ROXANNE: How old is his oldest child?

TRANSLATOR: Twenty-eight.

ROXANNE: How old is his youngest child?

TRANSLATOR: Two years and one month.

...

ROXANNE: How many wives does he have?

TRANSLATOR: Five wives.

ROXANNE: Are they all here?

TRANSLATOR: Now a-days three of them go to their family house, because when there father was dead they supposed to take care of everything. He’s keep in touch with them, but their not right now around here because they have some duty somewhere else.

ROXANNE: Ok, so if the father passes away they need to take care of their family?

TRANSLATOR: Yes, yes, yes.

ROXANNE: What is the main work in their family?

TRANSLATOR: Agriculture.

ROXANNE: What kind of plants?

TRANSLATOR: Maiz.

ROXANNE: How did they feel about us coming here today and taking photos of him and his family?

TRANSLATOR: They are excited.

ROXANNE: Can you tell him thank you for having us in their home and allowing us to do this? I’m excited to send photos to him.