Before Tomorrow Comes

• Prize
• Photographer
  Bob Demchuk, United States
• Date of Photograph
  online
• Studio
  Scene East, Ltd
• Website
  http://www.bobdemchuk.com/

Pokot Women:

Pokot wealth is measured by the number of cows one owns. Cows are used for barter, exchange, and most significantly as a form of bride wealth. A man is permitted to marry more than one woman, as long as he has sufficient number of cows to offer to her family in exchange. This is the primary way for wealth and resources to change hands in Pokot society. Cows are rarely slaughtered for meat because they are much more valuable alive.

The position of women in Pokot society is weak. A woman has no voice in any public forums and no authority within her own homestead. She is considered ""foolish"", like the cows for which she is traded.

• Biography
  "Before Tomorrow Comes," are Photographic Essays What ties the inhabitants and animals together, besides their geographic location, is that both are threatened with INEVITABLE change. I have captured a moment in time before this happens. I paint with light and color to create images that are a mixture of wildlife, lyricism and portraiture.