Pieter Hugo Photos of Nigerian Hyena Handlers

Mallam Mantari Lamal with Mainasara from Pieter Hugo’s The Hyena & Other Men series. Pieter’s photography is at once formal and very personal, and the subject matter is carefully chosen and stunningly presented. 

Quote, “In Abuja we found them living on the periphery of the city in a shantytown — a group of men, a little girl, three hyenas, four monkeys and a few rock pythons. It turned out that they were a group of itinerant minstrels, performers who used the animals to entertain crowds and sell traditional medicines. The animal handlers were all related to each other and were practicing a tradition passed down from generation to generation.”