Olivier Asselin photography

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  • Granite stone carving at the Loango granite sanctuary near the town of Ziniare, Burkina Faso, West Africa.
    BFA12.0327.NUT0869.JPG
  • Portrait of a teenage girl in the Clara Town slum of Monrovia, Montserrado county, Liberia on Thursday April 5, 2012.
    LBR12.0405.NUT1138.JPG
  • Granite stone carving at the Loango granite sanctuary near the town of Ziniare, Burkina Faso, West Africa..
    BFA12.0327.NUT0866.JPG
  • A young girl sits on the beach next to a colorful wooden fishing boat near Sao Filipe, Fogo Island, Cape Verde, on Thursday December 30, 2010.
    CPV10.1230.TRAVEL0527.jpg
  • A bright blue building adorned with an image of Ernesto Che Guevara in Baracoa, Cuba on Monday July 14, 2008.
    CUB08.0714.BARACOA0014.jpg
  • A boy sits on his mother's lap at the Slipway clinic in Monrovia, Montserrado county, Liberia on Monday April 2, 2012.
    LBR12.0402.NUT0860.JPG
  • A girl carries a load on top of her head in N'Djamena, Chad on Thursday June 10, 2010.
    TCD10.0610.DDRCONF0256.JPG
  • Boy holding elastic bands at an orphanage and school in N'Djamena, Chad on Thursday June 10, 2010.
    TCD10.0610.DDRCONF0219.JPG
  • Boy at an orphanage and school in N'Djamena, Chad on Thursday June 10, 2010.
    TCD10.0610.DDRCONF0216.JPG
  • A former child soldier sits against a wall covered in drawings of firearms and military vehicles in a transit and orientation center for child soldiers in N'Djamena, Chad on Thursday June 10, 2010. Center workers ask children to draw anything they like as a way to understand how they feel and get a sense of what's on their minds.
    TCD10.0610.DDRCONF0085.JPG
  • Young girl outside the Bazzama Integrated Health Center in the town of Bazzama, Cameroon on Wednesday September 16, 2009.
    CMR09.0916.FARROW0182.JPG
  • Portrait of girl with face painting outside the Kotonli kindergarten in the village of Kotonli, northern Ghana, on Thursday June 7, 2007.
    GHA07.0607.GIRLSED1229.JPG
  • Children and young men place bets as they try to guess which face a die will land on during annual Oguaa Fetu Afahye Festival in Cape Coast, Ghana on Saturday September 6, 2008...
    GHA_FESTIVAL026.JPG
  • Children and young men place bets as they try to guess which face a die will land on during annual Oguaa Fetu Afahye Festival in Cape Coast, Ghana on Saturday September 6, 2008...
    GHA_FESTIVAL069.JPG
  • Children and young men place bets as they try to guess which face a die will land on during annual Oguaa Fetu Afahye Festival in Cape Coast, Ghana on Saturday September 6, 2008...
    GHA_FESTIVAL068.JPG
  • Children and young men place bets as they try to guess which face a die will land on during annual Oguaa Fetu Afahye Festival in Cape Coast, Ghana on Saturday September 6, 2008...
    GHA_FESTIVAL067.JPG
  • A girl holds spoon next to her face outside the Ying Anglican Primary School in the Savelugu-Nanton district, northern Ghana on Monday June 4, 2007. Through a partnership between parents and Christian Relief Services (CRS) children a provided with a meal every day. According to one of the teachers, this alone is responsible for a 40 percent increase in attendance.
    GHA07.0604.GIRLSED0099.JPG
  • A boy's face is painted with chalk to simulated white facial hair of an elderly man for a theater production.Northern Ghana, Wednesday November 12, 2008.
    GHA08.1112.UNICEF0007.JPG
  • A boy's face is painted with chalk to simulated white facial hair of an elderly man for a theater production.Northern Ghana, Wednesday November 12, 2008.
    GHA08.1112.UNICEF0023.JPG
  • Ndeye Sarr, 25, shows dermatosis affecting the skin of her face and neck. Sarr was visiting the traditional medicine center in Fatick, Senegal, because she said doctors elsewhere had been unable to help her with her skin problem. The center mixes modern medicine techniques with African medicine provided by traditional healers.
    SEN09.0806.TRADMED0018.jpg
  • A boy's face is painted with chalk to simulated white facial hair of an elderly man for a theater production.Northern Ghana, Wednesday November 12, 2008.
    GHA08.1112.UNICEF0026.JPG
  • A supporter of the Ghana national football team with his face covered in talcum powder prior to a game between Ghana and Cameroon during the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations in Accra, Ghana on February 7, 2008.
    GHA08.0207.CANGHACAM0633.jpg
  • A boy's face is painted with chalk to simulated white facial hair of an elderly man for a theater production.Northern Ghana, Wednesday November 12, 2008.
    GHA08.1112.UNICEF0025.JPG
  • A priestess possessed by spirits chants over past and current shrine servants during a "coming out" ceremony at a fetish shrine in Aflao, Volta Region, Eastern Ghana. A woman was released after spending three months in a small, dark room, hoping that she'd then be able to find a husband. Despite most Ghanaians being adamant followers of christianism or islam, many of them still maintain traditional beliefs. When facing a problem of any nature, some people will visit a local fetish shrine, looking for help. The main priest will consult the oracles and tell the person in need what has to be done for the problem to go away. People will typically be asked to "serve" the shrine for weeks, sometimes months, as their families pay the priest for their upkeep.
    GHA05AflaoShrine0014.jpg
  • Offering of gin made during "coming out" ceremony at a fetish shrine in Aflao, Volta Region, Eastern Ghana. A woman was released after spending three months in a small, dark room, hoping that she'd then be able to find a husband. Despite most Ghanaians being adamant followers of christianism or islam, many of them still maintain traditional beliefs. When facing a problem of any nature, some people will visit a local fetish shrine, looking for help. The main priest will consult the oracles and tell the person in need what has to be done for the problem to go away. People will typically be asked to "serve" the shrine for weeks, sometimes months, as their families pay the priest for their upkeep.
    GHA05AflaoShrine0001.jpg
  • Current and past shrine servants bound with rope during a "coming out" ceremony at a fetish shrine in Aflao, Volta Region, Eastern Ghana. A woman was released after spending three months in a small, dark room, hoping that she'd then be able to find a husband. Despite most Ghanaians being adamant followers of christianism or islam, many of them still maintain traditional beliefs. When facing a problem of any nature, some people will visit a local fetish shrine, looking for help. The main priest will consult the oracles and tell the person in need what has to be done for the problem to go away. People will typically be asked to "serve" the shrine for weeks, sometimes months, as their families pay the priest for their upkeep.
    GHA05AflaoShrine0012.jpg
  • Shrine servant possessed by spirits during a "coming out" ceremony at a fetish shrine in Aflao, Volta Region, Eastern Ghana. A woman was released after spending three months in a small, dark room, hoping that she'd then be able to find a husband. Despite most Ghanaians being adamant followers of christianism or islam, many of them still maintain traditional beliefs. When facing a problem of any nature, some people will visit a local fetish shrine, looking for help. The main priest will consult the oracles and tell the person in need what has to be done for the problem to go away. People will typically be asked to "serve" the shrine for weeks, sometimes months, as their families pay the priest for their upkeep.
    GHA05AflaoShrine0010.jpg
  • A woman helps young men cover themselves with talcum powder as they prepare for wrestling matches during the yearly evala festival in the town of Houde, northern Togo, on Thursday July 12, 2007. The powder, fighters say, makes it more difficult for their opponent to get a firm grasp.<br />
<br />
During the week-long tourney, young men wrestle against peers from their own and other villages. The evala festival is not only a sporting event, but also part of the rites of passage young men from the KabyŽ ethnic group will complete as they become full-grown men. The fighters, called evalo, will wrestle on three consecutive years to show their strength and their worth as they become full members of the community. <br />
<br />
Wrestlers cover themselves with talcum powder to allegedly make it more difficult for their opponent to get a firm grasp. Rubbing hands with dirt is also a popular technique which many believe helps counter the slippery effect of talcum powder. On the eve of the first day of fighting, the father of each evalo will buy a dog for his son to eat. It is believed that the meat of the animal will endow the young man with the strength and courage characteristic to the animal.<br />
<br />
While the wrestling is reserved to young men in their early to mid-twenties, younger boys also take part in unofficial matches as they prepare to become the next evalo. Even though supporters often become infuriated when their fighter is denied the victory they think he deserves, the outcome of the wrestling matches has little importance. Winners celebrate alongside those who are defeated and more than anything else, the evala festival is a social gathering where KabyŽs come to meet each other. Many KabyŽs in the diaspora even come home to attend the event. <br />
<br />
The first day of fighting pits evalos from two halves of a same village against each other. On the next day, fighters from an entire village wrestle against their peers from a neighbor settlement before joining them and facing together a similar gr
    TGO107.jpg
  • Young men covered with talcum powder (used to make it more difficult for opponents to get a firm grasp) wait for wrestling matches to start during the yearly evala festival in the town of Houde, northern Togo, on Thursday July 12, 2007.<br />
<br />
During the week-long tourney, young men wrestle against peers from their own and other villages. The evala festival is not only a sporting event, but also part of the rites of passage young men from the KabyŽ ethnic group will complete as they become full-grown men. The fighters, called evalo, will wrestle on three consecutive years to show their strength and their worth as they become full members of the community. <br />
<br />
Wrestlers cover themselves with talcum powder to allegedly make it more difficult for their opponent to get a firm grasp. Rubbing hands with dirt is also a popular technique which many believe helps counter the slippery effect of talcum powder. On the eve of the first day of fighting, the father of each evalo will buy a dog for his son to eat. It is believed that the meat of the animal will endow the young man with the strength and courage characteristic to the animal.<br />
<br />
While the wrestling is reserved to young men in their early to mid-twenties, younger boys also take part in unofficial matches as they prepare to become the next evalo. Even though supporters often become infuriated when their fighter is denied the victory they think he deserves, the outcome of the wrestling matches has little importance. Winners celebrate alongside those who are defeated and more than anything else, the evala festival is a social gathering where KabyŽs come to meet each other. Many KabyŽs in the diaspora even come home to attend the event. <br />
<br />
The first day of fighting pits evalos from two halves of a same village against each other. On the next day, fighters from an entire village wrestle against their peers from a neighbor settlement before joining them and facing together a similar group on the third day of the event. After one day
    TGO108.jpg
  • Women chanting during a "coming out" ceremony at a fetish shrine in Aflao, Volta Region, Eastern Ghana. A woman was released after spending three months in a small, dark room, hoping that she'd then be able to find a husband. Despite most Ghanaians being adamant followers of christianism or islam, many of them still maintain traditional beliefs. When facing a problem of any nature, some people will visit a local fetish shrine, looking for help. The main priest will consult the oracles and tell the person in need what has to be done for the problem to go away. People will typically be asked to "serve" the shrine for weeks, sometimes months, as their families pay the priest for their upkeep.
    GHA05AflaoShrine0019.jpg
  • Beads worn by members of a local shrine in Aflao, Volta Region, Eastern Ghana. Despite most Ghanaians being adamant followers of christianism or islam, many of them still maintain traditional beliefs. When facing a problem of any nature, some people will visit a local fetish shrine, looking for help. The main priest will consult the oracles and tell the person in need what has to be done for the problem to go away. People will typically be asked to "serve" the shrine for weeks, sometimes months, as their families pay the priest for their upkeep.
    GHA05AflaoShrine0018.jpg
  • Head priest spitting gin on shrine servant to purify her during a "coming out" ceremony at a fetish shrine in Aflao, Volta Region, Eastern Ghana. A woman was released after spending three months in a small, dark room, hoping that she'd then be able to find a husband. Despite most Ghanaians being adamant followers of christianism or islam, many of them still maintain traditional beliefs. When facing a problem of any nature, some people will visit a local fetish shrine, looking for help. The main priest will consult the oracles and tell the person in need what has to be done for the problem to go away. People will typically be asked to "serve" the shrine for weeks, sometimes months, as their families pay the priest for their upkeep.
    GHA05AflaoShrine0017.jpg
  • Current and past shrine servants have their wrists bound with rope during a "coming out" ceremony at a fetish shrine in Aflao, Volta Region, Eastern Ghana. A woman was released after spending three months in a small, dark room, hoping that she'd then be able to find a husband. Despite most Ghanaians being adamant followers of christianism or islam, many of them still maintain traditional beliefs. When facing a problem of any nature, some people will visit a local fetish shrine, looking for help. The main priest will consult the oracles and tell the person in need what has to be done for the problem to go away. People will typically be asked to "serve" the shrine for weeks, sometimes months, as their families pay the priest for their upkeep.
    GHA05AflaoShrine0016.jpg
  • Beads worn by members of a local shrine in Aflao, Volta Region, Eastern Ghana. Despite most Ghanaians being adamant followers of christianism or islam, many of them still maintain traditional beliefs. When facing a problem of any nature, some people will visit a local fetish shrine, looking for help. The main priest will consult the oracles and tell the person in need what has to be done for the problem to go away. People will typically be asked to "serve" the shrine for weeks, sometimes months, as their families pay the priest for their upkeep.
    GHA05AflaoShrine0015.jpg
  • Current and past shrine servants being beaten to purify their sins during a "coming out" ceremony at a fetish shrine in Aflao, Volta Region, Eastern Ghana. A woman was released after spending three months in a small, dark room, hoping that she'd then be able to find a husband. Despite most Ghanaians being adamant followers of christianism or islam, many of them still maintain traditional beliefs. When facing a problem of any nature, some people will visit a local fetish shrine, looking for help. The main priest will consult the oracles and tell the person in need what has to be done for the problem to go away. People will typically be asked to "serve" the shrine for weeks, sometimes months, as their families pay the priest for their upkeep.
    GHA05AflaoShrine0013.jpg
  • Dead chicken sacrificed during a "coming out" ceremony at a fetish shrine in Aflao, Volta Region, Eastern Ghana. A woman was released after spending three months in a small, dark room, hoping that she'd then be able to find a husband. Both chickens lay on their left side, indicating that the shrine servant is free to go. One or both of the chickens laying on their right side would mean the servant needs to spend another three months at the shrine. Despite most Ghanaians being adamant followers of christianism or islam, many of them still maintain traditional beliefs. When facing a problem of any nature, some people will visit a local fetish shrine, looking for help. The main priest will consult the oracles and tell the person in need what has to be done for the problem to go away. People will typically be asked to "serve" the shrine for weeks, sometimes months, as their families pay the priest for their upkeep.
    GHA05AflaoShrine0011.jpg
  • Head priest about to sacrifice a chicken during a "coming out" ceremony at a fetish shrine in Aflao, Volta Region, Eastern Ghana. A woman was released after spending three months in a small, dark room, hoping that she'd then be able to find a husband. Despite most Ghanaians being adamant followers of christianism or islam, many of them still maintain traditional beliefs. When facing a problem of any nature, some people will visit a local fetish shrine, looking for help. The main priest will consult the oracles and tell the person in need what has to be done for the problem to go away. People will typically be asked to "serve" the shrine for weeks, sometimes months, as their families pay the priest for their upkeep.
    GHA05AflaoShrine0009.jpg
  • Head priest about to sacrifice a chicken during a "coming out" ceremony at a fetish shrine in Aflao, Volta Region, Eastern Ghana. A woman was released after spending three months in a small, dark room, hoping that she'd then be able to find a husband. Despite most Ghanaians being adamant followers of christianism or islam, many of them still maintain traditional beliefs. When facing a problem of any nature, some people will visit a local fetish shrine, looking for help. The main priest will consult the oracles and tell the person in need what has to be done for the problem to go away. People will typically be asked to "serve" the shrine for weeks, sometimes months, as their families pay the priest for their upkeep.
    GHA05AflaoShrine0008.jpg
  • Head priest about to sacrifice a chicken during a "coming out" ceremony at a fetish shrine in Aflao, Volta Region, Eastern Ghana. A woman was released after spending three months in a small, dark room, hoping that she'd then be able to find a husband. Despite most Ghanaians being adamant followers of christianism or islam, many of them still maintain traditional beliefs. When facing a problem of any nature, some people will visit a local fetish shrine, looking for help. The main priest will consult the oracles and tell the person in need what has to be done for the problem to go away. People will typically be asked to "serve" the shrine for weeks, sometimes months, as their families pay the priest for their upkeep.
    GHA05AflaoShrine0007.jpg
  • Priestess receiving a gin offering during a "coming out" ceremony at a fetish shrine in Aflao, Volta Region, Eastern Ghana. A woman was released after spending three months in a small, dark room, hoping that she'd then be able to find a husband. Despite most Ghanaians being adamant followers of christianism or islam, many of them still maintain traditional beliefs. When facing a problem of any nature, some people will visit a local fetish shrine, looking for help. The main priest will consult the oracles and tell the person in need what has to be done for the problem to go away. People will typically be asked to "serve" the shrine for weeks, sometimes months, as their families pay the priest for their upkeep.
    GHA05AflaoShrine0006.jpg
  • Shrine servant kneeling during a "coming out" ceremony at a fetish shrine in Aflao, Volta Region, Eastern Ghana. A woman was released after spending three months in a small, dark room, hoping that she'd then be able to find a husband. Despite most Ghanaians being adamant followers of christianism or islam, many of them still maintain traditional beliefs. When facing a problem of any nature, some people will visit a local fetish shrine, looking for help. The main priest will consult the oracles and tell the person in need what has to be done for the problem to go away. People will typically be asked to "serve" the shrine for weeks, sometimes months, as their families pay the priest for their upkeep.
    GHA05AflaoShrine0005.jpg
  • Ankle bracelet and offering of gin at a "coming out" ceremony at a fetish shrine in Aflao, Volta Region, Eastern Ghana. A woman was released after spending three months in a small, dark room, hoping that she'd then be able to find a husband. Despite most Ghanaians being adamant followers of christianism or islam, many of them still maintain traditional beliefs. When facing a problem of any nature, some people will visit a local fetish shrine, looking for help. The main priest will consult the oracles and tell the person in need what has to be done for the problem to go away. People will typically be asked to "serve" the shrine for weeks, sometimes months, as their families pay the priest for their upkeep.
    GHA05AflaoShrine0004.jpg
  • Traditional rituals take place during a "coming out" ceremony at a fetish shrine in Aflao, Volta Region, Eastern Ghana. A woman was released after spending three months in a small, dark room, hoping that she'd then be able to find a husband. Despite most Ghanaians being adamant followers of christianism or islam, many of them still maintain traditional beliefs. When facing a problem of any nature, some people will visit a local fetish shrine, looking for help. The main priest will consult the oracles and tell the person in need what has to be done for the problem to go away. People will typically be asked to "serve" the shrine for weeks, sometimes months, as their families pay the priest for their upkeep.
    GHA05AflaoShrine0003.jpg
  • Arm bracelets worn by the head priest during a "coming out" ceremony at a fetish shrine in Aflao, Volta Region, Eastern Ghana. A woman was released after spending three months in a small, dark room, hoping that she'd then be able to find a husband. Despite most Ghanaians being adamant followers of christianism or islam, many of them still maintain traditional beliefs. When facing a problem of any nature, some people will visit a local fetish shrine, looking for help. The main priest will consult the oracles and tell the person in need what has to be done for the problem to go away. People will typically be asked to "serve" the shrine for weeks, sometimes months, as their families pay the priest for their upkeep.
    GHA05AflaoShrine0002.jpg
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