Capturing Culture Gallery
Photos and captions by Andrew Bale (except where otherwise noted)
Andrew Bale, lecturer in art and art history, captured the majority of these images in May 2014 as part of a National Geographic-sponsored cultural-mapping project.
Learn more about the project in "Capturing Culture."
![Baleshore](/multimedia/8379/8379_320x213.jpg?t=1410358883")
![Balebook](/multimedia/8367/8367_320x213.jpg?t=1410358883")
![Baleworldcup](/multimedia/8381/8381_320x213.jpg?t=1410358883")
![Balelodge](/multimedia/8375/8375_234x320.jpg?t=1410358883")
![Balefeetnet](/multimedia/8370/8370_213x320.jpg?t=1410358883")
![Baledirectv](/multimedia/8369/8369_320x213.jpg?t=1410358883")
![Balemedicine](/multimedia/8378/8378_320x212.jpg?t=1410358883")
![Balebaskets](/multimedia/8365/8365_213x320.jpg?t=1410358883")
![Balebrazilnuts](/multimedia/8368/8368_213x320.jpg?t=1410358883")
![Balehands](/multimedia/8372/8372_213x320.jpg?t=1410358883")
![Balefish](/multimedia/8371/8371_213x320.jpg?t=1410358883")
![Baleboats](/multimedia/8366/8366_213x320.jpg?t=1410358883")
![In this shot Andrew Bale is in the field working on the cultural-mapping project of the Ese’Eja, a hunting, gathering and fishing indigenous people located in the Madre de Dios region of Peru. Photo by Jon Cox, University of Delaware. In this shot Andrew Bale is in the field working on the cult... view Larger](/images/BaleShore.jpg?t=1410357971"){kind=link}
![José Mishaja (left), a local member of the Ese’Eja nation, developed the books and flashcards to teach Ese’Eja children their native language, ensuring it will be spoken for generations. Photo by Lindsay Yeager, University of Delaware. José Mishaja (left), a local member of the Ese’Eja nation... view Larger](/images/BaleBook.jpg?t=1410357635"){kind=link}
![The Ese’Eja are a people equally connected to their ancestral land and bound to the outside world. The result? One would have to travel even deeper into the jungle to escape the madness surrounding the World Cup. The Ese’Eja are a people equally connected to their ancest... view Larger](/images/BaleWorldCup.jpg?t=1410358045"){kind=link}
![Our team isn’t the first to offer assistance to the Ese’Eja. Here Caesar Yojaje sits among the ruins of an abandoned eco-lodge built by developers promising a better future and jobs for the locals. Like so many past promises, this lodge was short-lived. Our team isn’t the first to offer assistance to the Ese’... view Larger](/images/BaleLodge.jpg?t=1410357876"){kind=link}
![In these remote places, things are used, mended and then used and mended again. For fishermen here, it is easier and cheaper to spend a day or more repairing fishing nets than to make the six-hour-long boat ride on expensive diesel fuel to buy new ones. In these remote places, things are used, mended and then use... view Larger](/images/BaleFeetNet.jpg?t=1410357737"){kind=link}
![When told I would be dropped off in the middle of the Amazon, I never imagined seeing satellite dishes in the Ese’Eja communities. The Ese’Eja live in remote places, but maintain one foot in their ancestral past and one foot in the technological present. When told I would be dropped off in the middle of the Amazon... view Larger](/images/BaleDirecTV.jpg?t=1410357704"){kind=link}
![Andrew Bale, seen here photographing traditional medicines at Ñape Botanical Garden, a medicinal garden set up in 1986. Indigenous people visit this spot in search of traditional remedies for everything from a sore throat to cancer. Photo by Jon Co Andrew Bale, seen here photographing traditional medicines a... view Larger](/images/BaleMedicine.jpg?t=1410357948"){kind=link}
![Women continue to weave baskets, fans, everyday items and beautiful jewelry. Most now are created for ceremonial purposes or the tourist market. One of our long-term goals is to help brand these products and help them reach the global market. Women continue to weave baskets, fans, everyday items and be... view Larger](/images/BaleBaskets.jpg?t=1410357504"){kind=link}
![Traditionally the Ese’Eja cultivated very little. They still rely on what the forest provides, like the Brazil nut. It can be harvested sustainably and sold. Here, Thomas Mishaja demonstrates how to peel the inner skin from a Brazil nut. Traditionally the Ese’Eja cultivated very little. They sti... view Larger](/images/BaleBrazilnuts.jpg?t=1410357664"){kind=link}
![Elders, like 104-year-old Elisa pictured here, are the keepers of wisdom for the Ese’Eja, who now have fewer than 1,000 members. We traveled to all three communities in Peru gathering the oral history, daily life and threats they face in the 21st century. Elders, like 104-year-old Elisa pictured here, are the keepe... view Larger](/images/BaleHands.jpg?t=1410357815"){kind=link}
![As a hunting, gathering and fishing people, the Ese’Eja are always in search of their next meal. While hunting for white-lipped peccaries, Jose Ekiney spied a small body of water filled with fish. In minutes his pockets were full, and we resumed the hunt. As a hunting, gathering and fishing people, the Ese’Eja ar... view Larger](/images/BaleFish.jpg?t=1410357785"){kind=link}
![The Madre de Dios, the lifeblood and highway of the Palma Real Ese’Eja community, shows its true strength after a rainstorm, when waters can rise and fall 10-15 feet. Here, three men work to return their boats to the water after it receded overnight. The Madre de Dios, the lifeblood and highway of the Palma Re... view Larger](/images/BaleBoats.jpg?t=1410357578"){kind=link}