Tribal beauty: Photographer gives snapshot of vanishing way of life | CNN

'Before They Pass Away' —

British photographer Jimmy Nelson spent three years traveling to remote areas of the world to document the lives of indigenous people. He visited 35 different tribes, nine of them in Africa, like the pictured Karo tribe in Ethiopia.

Courtesy Jimmy Nelson/teNeues

The Karo —

An estimated 200,000 tribal people live in the Omo Valley in Ethiopia. The Karo are small in number with around 3,000 living on the Omo River's eastern banks. Before a ceremony, they paint their bodies and faces with white chalk.

Courtesy Jimmy Nelson/teNeues

The Karo —

Nelson says he had to gain the trust of the tribes before they would let him take their portraits. "You make one contact and before you know it, somebody else is there. And at the end of the day the whole village is in," Nelson says.

Courtesy Jimmy Nelson/teNeues

The Mursi —

Nelson says the most challenging part of his African journey was approaching the Ethiopian tribes, like the Mursi, pictured. He says they were very protective of their territory, and he was often greeted by men carrying Kalashnikov rifles.

Courtesy Jimmy Nelson/teNeues

The Maasai —

The British photographer visited one of the last great warrior cultures -- the Maasai (pictured). The Maasai are one of Africa's best-known tribes.

Courtesy Jimmy Nelson

The Maasai —

From a very early age, the Maasai boys learn the responsibilities of being a man and a warrior. The Maasai live in Kenya and Tanzania.

Courtesy Jimmy Nelson/teNeues

The Banna —

The Banna people (also known as Bana) in Ethiopia are approximately 45,000 in number. They are famed for their "bull jumping" ceremony, where the men earn the right to marry by making four runs over the backs of cows.

Courtesy Jimmy Nelson/teNeues

The Samburu —

Nelson visited the African tribes during five trips to the continent. He says that the Kenyan Samburu are more traditional than the Maasai and more independent and egalitarian.

Courtesy Jimmy Nelson/teNeues

The Samburu —

Nelson grew up in various African countries until the age of seven. But he says his childhood isn't there anymore. "Africa is evolving the quickest in my opinion. It has lost the majority of its ethnicity and authenticity," he says.

Courtesy Jimmy Nelson/teNeues

The Himba —

One thing that stood out to Nelson when meeting the different African tribes was their awareness of their appearances, including the "beautiful" Himba.

Courtesy Jimmy Nelson/teNeues

The Himba —

Nelson said the most pleasant trip was visiting the Namibian Himba. "The aesthetic of their body, of their dress, of their dance and of their movement I find extraordinary and very few of us will ever look as beautiful as them," he says.

Courtesy Jimmy Nelson/teNeues

The Dassanech —

The Dassanech in Ethiopia, pictured, will allow anyone to be one of them, as long as they agree to be circumcised, Nelson explains.

Courtesy Jimmy Nelson/teNeues

Jimmy Nelson —

The 45-year-old photographer says his book is just the beginning of a larger project. He wants his photographs and stories to inspire discussion. "In my eyes the tribespeople are emotionally and socially very rich but materially very poor, and we're the opposite," he says. "How aware of how special they are is debatable, hence why I want to start this discussion. Before they pass away."

Courtesy Jimmy Nelson/teNeues

Tribal beauty: Photos give snapshot of vanishing way of life

Story highlights

Jimmy Nelson photographed 35 tribes all over the world for book "'Before They Pass Away"

Nelson photographed tribes in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Namibia

He wanted to create a record of "a fast disappearing world"

CNN —

As teenagers, the women of the Ethiopian Mursi tribe pierce their lower lips and put a clay plate in it. They are one of the last tribes in the world who still practice this tradition and the new generation, influenced by the outside world, might decide to abandon it.

That’s why British photographer Jimmy Nelson decided to travel the world for three years, visiting 35 tribes in all five continents, to document their lives and customs before they disappear.

He drank vodka with the Mongolian Tsaatan tribe in freezing conditions and admired the beautiful Himba tribesmen in the Namib Desert. The result of his journey can be found in his new book of photographs, “Before They Pass Away.”

“The whole idea is to make (the tribes) iconic. To give them the attention that we give ourselves in the developed world,” the 45-year-old photographer says.

From a very early age, Nelson was confronted by cultural diversity. He grew up in different African countries before moving to England at the age of seven to attend a catholic Jesuit boarding school. Going back to Africa to meet with nine tribes in four different countries was a special experience for him.

Read this: modernizing the Maasai to avoid extinction

“Africa is evolving the quickest in my opinion. It has lost the majority of its ethnicity and authenticity,” he says. “I grew up in Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Gabon and in Cameroon. I’ve been living for 45 years, and what I saw in my childhood is not there anymore.”

Being humble

Nelson and his crew, consisting of an assistant and a cameraman, covered Africa in five trips. They visited five tribes in Ethiopia, and one each in Kenya, Tanzania and Namibia. Nelson says the most challenging part of his African journeys was approaching the tribes in southern Ethiopia.

“There are many small tribes in a small area and everybody is protecting their own turf. So they can be quite intimidating,” he says.