Rabari
Gujarat India 2009
A small Rabari girl wears the intricately embroidered clothing of her tribe while her grandmother hides herself in black with only her lac or maybe ivory bracelets showing.
This is the patio area of a prosperous Rabari home occupied by several related families. The patio is made of cement not the usual adobe (mud and dung) that has to be constantly resurfaced (by the women).
I can’t help but compare visiting homes in other countries to visiting a home in Morocco. In Morocco, the women would hurry to bring out the tea tray and set the kettle on the fire. Soon all would settle down for a glass of very sweet tea and good conversation. And if bread has been freshly baked for the family, it will be offered to the guests. The women can always bake more.
To be fair, the Rabari family allowed us to photograph them and we were grateful…but then we provided “gossip for a month” for them.