Hadzabe: By The Light of a Million Fires

Daudi Peterson, working closely with a committee of Hadzabe Elders in Tanzania, gives an unprecedented inside account of one of the world’s last hunter–gatherer societies as seen through their own eyes. Over thousands of years, the Hadzabe oral history unfolded as elders narrated their stories around countless fires in their bush camps of the remote Yaeda valley. Building on years spent working with and accompanying Hadzabe in the field, Daudi and Trude Peterson and Jon Cox photographed hunter–gatherer daily life, culture, and knowledge, from digging tubers to collecting honey and medicinal plants, hunting game and making tools out of just about everything. This documentary rich with photographs, illustrations and Hadzabe handwritten text is an innovative approach to documenting one of the world’s most unique remaining indigenous cultures.