ISBN 978-1-904722-08-3
 
Made up of four different ethnic units, the beautiful people of Kenya are as old and as modern as mankind. This part of Africa has been a melting pot of human society since our early ancestor Homo erectus first walked upright on the shores of Lake Turkana. A bleak, burnt-out region in Kenya’s far north its shores have earned the distinction as a ‘Cradle of Mankind’ but the paucity of resources is counterpoint to the wealth of cultures which still live there, societies that are rich and colourful reminders of our origins. Elsewhere Kenya’s more than 40 different indigenous groups are as diverse and contrasting as the countries landscapes and equally magnificent.
These communities are founded on social systems built on democracy of seniority and sharing of communal wealth, of laws of justice with compensation, not retribution, as punishment.
Hardy and vigorous, many of Kenya’s communities still circumcise their young without painkillers, practise polygamy, and celebrate the richness of life in song, dance, and ritual.
They all come to glorious life in Beautiful People of Kenya, a magnificent full-colour tribute to a wealth of cultures and customs with more than 80 stunning photographs from Mohamed Amin and Duncan Willetts and a lively fact-filled text by Brian Tetley.