Women winnowing grain, Al-Jazirah province, Sudan

"Two women winnowing grain in the Gezira district, between the White and Blue Niles. The kernels settle in the trays while the chaff flies off. The Gezira Scheme, begun in 1925, was one of the most far-sighted agricultural projects undertaken in colonial Africa and is today the backbone of the Sudanese economy." [Elisofon E., Van Der Post L., 1964: The Nile, The Viking Press].

"Threshing is often a community or village activity. The harvest of several households is combined and processed, usually by flailing. After flailing, grain and chaff are separated by winnowing, sometimes aided by screening." [Vogel J., 1997: Encyclopedia of Precolonial Africa, Altamira Press]. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon was on assignment for Life magazine and traveled to Africa from January 8, 1947 to end of June 1947.