Samburu circumcision fire John K. Hillers

Samburu circumcision fire John K. HillersWide view of some Samburu men building and lighting fires on which the meat of oxen will be roasted during 'The Ceremony of the Arrows' which marks the end of the circumcision rites. Due to the nature of these images, prints will reproduce any signs of age, wear or damage that occurred before they were archived by the Pitt Rivers Museum.

Beyond an oasis of lush vegetation sits in a depression behind a further dune

one man crouches on the poop rail at the stern of the boat

A man wearing a light-coloured ghutra (headscarf) and a dark thobe (long shirt) walks across a rocky flat plain dotted with tall leafless bushes

he has a metal teapot attached to his leather belt

The buildings on the left are topped only with adobe

The effigies represent the dead man

riding camels in the vicinity of the Ramlat Unayq

on one of the Abu Dhabi islands

Behind him a crowd of people stand with donkeys carrying wood

with three members of Wilfred Thesiger's travelling party standing with laden mules in the foreground

while behind him two men work next to a standing camel

holding knives