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fauna and flora — we must not
overlook the intrinsic beauty of its
people, the same people who gave
us Moses and Akhenaten, Queen
Makeba and Queen Tiye, the
Ethiopians, the Masai, the Amazigh
and Kushites. To misread the African
people of today is to misread all that
is great and glorious about Africa's
past and its future. Africa is the
alpha and omega of mankind, the
beginning and the end of the divine
experiment that began in the Garden
of Eden.

This is not to say, however, that
Africa's future is doomed. On the
contrary, because of its near pristine
beauty, not in spite of it, Africa's
future is assured — but only if we act
now. We, the ardent lovers of Africa,
have a moral obligation to restore
Africa to what it was before the rape
by the colonialists, the onslaught of
the relgionists, the massacres by the
merchants of misery. We owe it to
posterity.

and listening full of homesick for it."

Leni Riefenstahl, photographer and
filmmaker, recently turned 100.
When she was in her early sixties,
Riefenstahl began making frequent
trips to Africa, where she worked
on various film and photography
projects over the last half century.
Sudan was her favorite destination,
according to Taschen, publisher of
her 564-page book of photographs
(some of which are shown here). In
the Sudan, Riefenstahl lived with
and photographed the Nuba tribes
people, learning their language and
becoming their friend.

"The Nuba were a loving and
peaceful people who welcomed
Riefenstahl as one of their own,"
said Taschen. "(Riefenstahl's)
images of the Nuba, as well as of
the Dinka, Shilluk, Masai, and other

The Nuba of Kau

Anthropologists call them
"South-East Nuba." Although
living just two hundred kilometres
away from the peaceful and
gentle Masaki Qisar Nuba they
don't know each other, they
speak a different language, they
have different customs and
conventions, and as far as their
nature and character is
concerned they are the exact
opposite of the Masakin: wild and
passionate.

Pictured above (from left, clockwise): A Nuba woman,
three Nuba men, a Masai warrior. The expression on his
face shows the typical characteristics of the Masai: pride,
bravery and fearlessness. Picture to the right: The Masai
girls are as beautiful as the men.

tribes, are gathered in a
monumental book. (See details
below) Riefenstahl remembers
her experiences in Africa as the
happiest moments in her life. Her
beautiful, skilled photographs
represent a landmark in an
extraordinary career."