Africa's Colorful Kings by Daniel Lainé

The Globalist PhotoGallery

Africa's Colorful Kings

Photographs by Daniel Lainé

Published by Arthaud

156 pp. Approximately 60 color photographs. Dimensions (in inches): 0.50 x 11.25 x 11.

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Rois D'Afrique

Daniel Lainé's search for the last surviving monarchs of Africa's grandest kingdoms took him all across Africa. He went from Nigeria to Ghana, Zambia to Cameroon — and from the Ivory Coast to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

His resulting photographic tribute to Africa's kings, "Rois d'Afrique," took over three years of investigation, diplomacy — and just plain haranguing to complete.

Although there are hundreds of kings in Africa, Daniel Lainé's book features the kings whose dynasties have had the most impact on African history.

Dressed in their finest clothes in honor of the occasion, these last survivors of Africa's great kingdoms are a living paradox. Few of them live modestly — and most enjoy a life of finery and fame.

But their power is an illusion. Conscious of the fact that they no longer enjoy supreme power, these monarchs nevertheless enjoy a traditional and spiritual power that is difficult for Westerners to understand.

Daniel Lainé portrays the splendor and vitality of these African kings — whose legacy lives on — despite changing times.

About Daniel Lainé

Daniel Lainé was born on April 29, 1949, in Auxerre, France. He worked as a freelance photographer for Libération, Partir and Grands Reportages before joining the staff of Gamma magazine in 1980.

From 1981-1993, he worked for the photography team at L'Actuel, taking a six-month leave of absence in 1985 to correspond for Agence France Presse from Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

In 1988, he won the Villa Médicis photography prize for his "Rois africains." His photography has also won first prize at the World Press Photo for the "People in the News" category. Today, he works in collaboration with numerous magazines, including Geo.

Prior to his career as a photographer, Mr. Lainé held a multitude of positions — including stock clerk, office worker, French teacher at the University of Lima, Peru and sailor in the Antilles. He also did a stint as a maître d'hotel in Martinique, an agricultural worker in Canada — and a travel guide in Afghanistan and India.

Igwe Kenneth Nnaji Onyemaeke Orizu III (Nigeria)

Nyimi Kok Mabiintsh III (Democratic Republic of Congo)