[Xosa men, South Africa]
Photograph
[Xosa men, South Africa]
ca. 1957
Gelatin silver print
Image: 7 3/4 × 9 7/8 in. (19.7 × 25.1 cm)
Gift of Mrs. Nickolas Muray
Inscriptions Typed on applied label on verso, C: The Xosas near King William's Town, South Africa, still adhere to cirumcision rites to provide full adult status for males of the tribe. For a given period (which, we were told, varies from group to group) the young men remain secluded in a hut which is later burned. Customs differ among the Xosas, but we learned that religious instruction and tribal lore is universally imparted to the novitiates. No women may look upon them during their period of seclusion, and even when bringing food the women must dry warning of their approach, and then shirld their gaze from the hut.
Stamped in ink on verso, TLC: MRS. NICKOLAS MURAY \ 333 E. 49th St. - 6R \ New York 17, N.Y.
Inscribed in colored pencil, TC: [circled] 14A
Inscribed in pencil on verso, C: X
Stamped in ink on verso, BC: PHOTO BY \ MURAY \ MRS. NICKOLAS MURAY \ 2401 River Road \ Pt. Pleasant, New Jersey
Stamped in ink on verso, BLC: [upside down] 4 1215
Stamped in ink on verso, TLC: MRS. NICKOLAS MURAY \ 333 E. 49th St. - 6R \ New York 17, N.Y.
Inscribed in colored pencil, TC: [circled] 14A
Inscribed in pencil on verso, C: X
Stamped in ink on verso, BC: PHOTO BY \ MURAY \ MRS. NICKOLAS MURAY \ 2401 River Road \ Pt. Pleasant, New Jersey
Stamped in ink on verso, BLC: [upside down] 4 1215
