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Traveling in a hammock, Belgian Congo
Photograph taken or provided by Émile Gorlia (1887-1966)
c. 1912, silver gelatin print
Gift of Sanford M. and Nancy H. Harris
Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives
National Museum of African Art
Smithsonian Institution
1977-0001-171

Hammocks carried by African porters were an important means of transportation for Europeans during the colonial period. Some African leaders also used palanquins and other carrying devices as symbols of their status.