23rd Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Travel
Life in the Cattle Camp
Portrait of a Mundari child cleaning the horns of a bull with a mixture of mud and water (South Sudan). The Mundari are cattle herders who live in symbiosis with their Ankole Watusi cattle, characterized by their large horns. In a cattle camp, everyone plays their role. Kids are doing most of the daily work collecting the fresh cow dung and putting it into piles which are then set on fire to repel the (extremely) numerous and voracious mosquitoes of the area. They use the ash created by the fires to rub on themselves and their cattle twice a day, creating a protection against mosquitoes. The children with few guardinas are sleeping with the cows. The ash from dung fires, as fine as talcum powder, is often used as bedding.
Photo Detail
| Date Taken: | 02.2025 |
| Date Uploaded: | 10.2025 |
| Photo Location: | South Sudan |
| Camera: | ILCE-7M3 |
| Copyright: | © Roberto Pazzi |