Portraits Danseurs traditionnels Pende
Portraits Pende
Traditionnal dancers and musicians from surrounds of Gungu , Bandundu and Western Kasai region
in Democratic Republic of Congo
Pende came from Angola and settled from end of 19th century in the region of Gungu and Kahemba in the east of Bandundu and Western Kasai regions.
They are mainly farmors and breeders.
During their migrations, they have enhanced their traditions and customs.
The Traditionnal Dances of Gungu festival, initiated by Midi à Gumama, brought from 1987 to 1989 hundreds of dancers and musicians from the villages around.
These villagers, one day’s arstists, contributed to keep lively Bapende traditions.
Some have walked more than sixty kilometers to come in Gungu.
Dancers and musicians bands up to sixty persons performed their choregraphies held by the rythm of the percussions.
It’s also a rendez-vous of the initiated to practice traditionnals rituals of the passage from childhood to the adult world.
I have settled a daylight studio a bit apart of the festival and have invited the bands to be photographied one by one in a documentary process.
The photographs have been done originaly on Ektachrome and Kodachrome film with a Hasselbald CM and Planar 80mm for the 120 film and a Nikon F2 and a 85mm Nikkor for the 135 mm film , have been scanned by Tim Parkin at Drumscanning UK, have been printed by myself on a Epson 3800 on Innova IFA 69 paper, sticked on Alu Dibond and protected by Hahnemühle spray.
Traditionnal dancers and musicians from surrounds of Gungu , Bandundu and Western Kasai region
in Democratic Republic of Congo
Pende came from Angola and settled from end of 19th century in the region of Gungu and Kahemba in the east of Bandundu and Western Kasai regions.
They are mainly farmors and breeders.
During their migrations, they have enhanced their traditions and customs.
The Traditionnal Dances of Gungu festival, initiated by Midi à Gumama, brought from 1987 to 1989 hundreds of dancers and musicians from the villages around.
These villagers, one day’s arstists, contributed to keep lively Bapende traditions.
Some have walked more than sixty kilometers to come in Gungu.
Dancers and musicians bands up to sixty persons performed their choregraphies held by the rythm of the percussions.
It’s also a rendez-vous of the initiated to practice traditionnals rituals of the passage from childhood to the adult world.
I have settled a daylight studio a bit apart of the festival and have invited the bands to be photographied one by one in a documentary process.
The photographs have been done originaly on Ektachrome and Kodachrome film with a Hasselbald CM and Planar 80mm for the 120 film and a Nikon F2 and a 85mm Nikkor for the 135 mm film , have been scanned by Tim Parkin at Drumscanning UK, have been printed by myself on a Epson 3800 on Innova IFA 69 paper, sticked on Alu Dibond and protected by Hahnemühle spray.
