The last kings of Africa

Monique Todd, for CNN

Updated 1407 GMT (2207 HKT) March 25, 2015

Vienna-based photographer and art historian Alfred Weidinger has spent the past five years capturing the splendor of Africa's monarchies and tribal leaders for his photographic project, <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/a-weidinger/sets/72157629895167757/" target="_blank">The Last Kings of Africa</a>.<br /><br /><em> Bakary Yerima Bouba Alioum, Lamido of Maroua, Cameroon</em>
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Portraits: Africa's fading monarchs – Vienna-based photographer and art historian Alfred Weidinger has spent the past five years capturing the splendor of Africa's monarchies and tribal leaders for his photographic project, The Last Kings of Africa.

Bakary Yerima Bouba Alioum, Lamido of Maroua, Cameroon
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Weidinger was initially inspired by the late 19th and early 20th century photographs taken of African tribal leaders and kings. However, Weidinger decided to leave the composition to chance.<br /><br /><em>Fo Sikam Happi V. de Bana, Bamileke, Cameroon</em>
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Portraits: Africa's fading monarchs – Weidinger was initially inspired by the late 19th and early 20th century photographs taken of African tribal leaders and kings. However, Weidinger decided to leave the composition to chance.

Fo Sikam Happi V. de Bana, Bamileke, Cameroon
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"I never arrange ... never! I just ask them what they want to do and then I photograph them the way they want to be shown," says Weidinger.<br /><br /><em>Fon Ndofoa Zofoa III of Babungo, </em><em>Cameroon</em>
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Portraits: Africa's fading monarchs – "I never arrange ... never! I just ask them what they want to do and then I photograph them the way they want to be shown," says Weidinger.

Fon Ndofoa Zofoa III of Babungo, Cameroon
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"If they like to be shown with ministers, they're there in the image. If they like to be shown with their wives, they are there. I don't move them around. This is the reason why every image is more or less different in terms of style, because it's their style." <br /><br /><em>Alhadji Abba Mahamat Moussa, </em><em>Cameroon</em>
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Portraits: Africa's fading monarchs – "If they like to be shown with ministers, they're there in the image. If they like to be shown with their wives, they are there. I don't move them around. This is the reason why every image is more or less different in terms of style, because it's their style."

Alhadji Abba Mahamat Moussa, Cameroon
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A standout moment was meeting the 'female king' Sarauniya Ajima, pictured, in Lougou, Niger. She has refused to be photographed in the past, but relented to let Weidinger take her picture. <br /><br />"She's allowed to talk to people but nobody is allowed to see her. She comes out of her house only two times a week."<br /><br /><em>Sarauniya Aljima, Lougou, Niger</em>
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Portraits: Africa's fading monarchs – A standout moment was meeting the 'female king' Sarauniya Ajima, pictured, in Lougou, Niger. She has refused to be photographed in the past, but relented to let Weidinger take her picture.

"She's allowed to talk to people but nobody is allowed to see her. She comes out of her house only two times a week."

Sarauniya Aljima, Lougou, Niger
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Finding kings to photograph has proven quite tough, says Weidinger. There is no definitive guide that lists all the African monarchies and tribes. To find their location, Weidinger has to depend on the knowledge of locals. <br /><br /><em>Kan Iya, </em><em>Obiré, Province of Poni, Burkina Faso. </em>
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Portraits: Africa's fading monarchs – Finding kings to photograph has proven quite tough, says Weidinger. There is no definitive guide that lists all the African monarchies and tribes. To find their location, Weidinger has to depend on the knowledge of locals.

Kan Iya, Obiré, Province of Poni, Burkina Faso.
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One of the best resources for tracking down royals, says Weidinger, was taxi drivers.<br /><br />"I have a very good network of drivers," he admits. <br /><br />"They became kind of assistants."<br /><em>Nana Kwasi Asampong II, Biakoye, Ghana, 2012</em>
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Portraits: Africa's fading monarchs – One of the best resources for tracking down royals, says Weidinger, was taxi drivers.

"I have a very good network of drivers," he admits.

"They became kind of assistants."
Nana Kwasi Asampong II, Biakoye, Ghana, 2012
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Weidinger found that one thing that seems to distinguish African monarchs from royals across the globe is a keen religious focus<br />"Their power is in spirituality and this makes (African monarchs) so unique," he says.<br /><br /><em>El-Hajj Naaba Kiiba, </em><em>Ouahigouya, Burkina Faso</em>
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Portraits: Africa's fading monarchs – Weidinger found that one thing that seems to distinguish African monarchs from royals across the globe is a keen religious focus
"Their power is in spirituality and this makes (African monarchs) so unique," he says.

El-Hajj Naaba Kiiba, Ouahigouya, Burkina Faso
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