Mundari Cattle Herder

• Photographer
  Joe Buergi
• Prizes
  Gold in People/Culture, 2nd Place winner in People

The Mundari, also referred to as Mandari, are a small ethnic group and one of the Nilotic peoples, living north of the capital of Juba, South Sudan. Like other Nilotic tribes, they are very cattle-oriented and treasure their cattle more than anything else and are said to sleep close to their most prized cow. Their cattle serves as food, a form of currency and a mark of status.

Born in 1965 in Stans, Switzerland, Josef Buergi started around 2000 with photography. He studied engineering at the Bale Institute of Technology and works now full-time as a project and team leader for the local government. As a pure autodidact, he developed the knowledge by himself but also by studying the masters. His music photography, together with travel, have become two of his life’s passions. His photography focuses on music, culture, landscapes, and wildlife; images that reflect a spatial and temporal journey through life.