Joyful woman in colorful traditional African attire raises hand at vibrant cultural celebration while cameras record the event.

DOCUMENTARY photography - hentrik witbooi

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In 2019 I was asked to document the return of the family Bible and whip of Hendrik Witbooi, the Nama leader who resisted German colonial rule. German colonial troops took the objects in 1893, and they spent more than a century in the Linden-Museum in Stuttgart. My role was to record the handover for Namibia and the state government of Baden-Württemberg, from the delegation’s journey to the ceremony in Gibeon, Witbooi’s home, where his community still lives and where officials, descendants and community members gathered to receive them. This was not an event to stage or direct. The day carried grief, pride and anger, sometimes all at once, and I had to work quietly and respect the families and the ceremony while still capturing the moments that mattered: the speeches, the reactions and the objects themselves as they came home. The images form a record of a significant moment in Namibian history and in the wider conversation about colonial restitution. For me, it was one of the most meaningful projects I have worked on. Hearing the history told, past and present, was a reminder that we must know and learn from the past so we don’t repeat it.

Joyful woman in colorful traditional African attire raises hand at vibrant cultural celebration while cameras record the event.
Joyful African women in colorful traditional attire smiling and celebrating together at an outdoor community gathering.
Elderly woman in blue dress and red headscarf holds cloth to her eye outdoors.
A woman in white traditional attire weeps while a man in a white hat consoles her at a cultural gathering.
Students in school uniforms standing in a line outside a modern school building on a sunny day.
Emotional woman in pink blouse wipes tears at formal ceremony, flanked by military officers in uniform with flags.
Young man covering his mouth in a crowd of people at a cultural gathering event.
Two people wearing headsets sit at an outdoor audio mixing table during a formal event with officials standing behind.
Young child in straw hat crouching barefoot on red soil during an outdoor gathering with adults seated on white chairs.
Two women shaking hands at an outdoor ceremony with EU and Namibia flags in the background.
A man in a hat sits cross-legged on a red carpet at a large outdoor gathering under a white tent.
Group of African schoolchildren in blue uniforms gathered outdoors at a school event on a sunny day.
Two people stand back-to-back admiring a vast desert landscape at sunset with distant mountains on the horizon.

 

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