Daimon Xanthopoulos
Amsterdam, Nederland
I'm a photographer, specialized in documentaries and visual storytelling. I focus on border conflicts, human rights issues, post-war emergencies, social issues, humanity and injustice with a strong focus on the human impact. In my portfolio you can find stories like the impact of the financial crisis in the US to the secret societies in West Africa. Within my company I also create short-films, multimedia and web documentaries for a wide variety of clients.
My work is published worldwide and over the last few years, I have expanded my storytelling with short films and web-based multimedia publishing.
- Breaking news
- Conflict
- Crisis
- Editorial
- Military embed
- Portrait
Devil dancer from Zigita.
Daimon Xanthopoulos
The secret society Poro can be found on all levels in Sierra Leone and Liberia and is the biggest and most influential secret society in west Africa. The poro society has bush schools and dancing devil ceremonies as well as magical healers and herbalist. The dancing devil is evil and when the sound of his arrival is heard everybody runs home. The old man Forkpayea Argba is one of the secret poro devil dancers in Zigita.
healing ritual
Daimon Xanthopoulos
This traditional healer works with 36 devils. His body shakes as he tears the head of a chicken of the body and lets the blood drip into a bowl of water. There are many rituals he performance to help the girl who requested his services. There are many traditional healers in Sierra Leone and most people prefer local medicine or healers over a western hospital. Most healers are also involved in the secret societies known as Poro and are fighting witchcraft.
Witchcraft hunter
Daimon Xanthopoulos
This traditional healer uses his skills only for fighting witchcraft. He is like a bounty hunter and with his magical weapons and cloths his tracks down witches and kills them without any trail. He uses a special type of wood to smash their skull into pieces. His suit is specially prepared by a albino healer who also makes amulets for the rebel movements during the war. His house is filled with weapons specially prepared by healers for the witch-hunt.