08/30/2024

The Hyena Men of Abuja, Nigeria

This phenomenal shot is an image from South African photographer Pieter Hugo’s famous series about West Africa’s Hyena Men.

This digital chromogenic print, 60 x 60,” is on offer from a private collector at Heffel Vancouver here.

Abdullahi Mohammed with Mainasara, Ogere-Remo, Nigeria, 2007 here

The full series focused on itinerant men who haunt the peripheries of Nigeria’s cities. Accompanied by hyenas, rock pythons and baboons, they earn a living by performing before crowds and selling traditional medicines. Hugo’s extraordinary portraits of their liminal existence reveal an uncanny world. 

Hugo and Adetokunbo Abiola produced a book about the lifestyle, called The Hyena & Other Men.

Mallam Galadima Ahmadu with Jamis, Nigeria, 2005 here

See all the images in the series on Pieter Hugo’s website, here.

A fascinating first-person article in The Guardian, here.


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