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ART
Intricately beaded art, like a kaleidoscopic spiderweb, has become an emblem not only of the Maasai tribe’s East African homelands, but even of the spirit of adventure that encapsulates Africa itself. Words and pictures by Mark Eveleigh
T
he statuesque warrior with the shimmering earrings, bangles and shining assegai (spear), and the dark maiden with the undulating necklace framing her face have become East African icons. Yet these colourful images are a relatively recent import. Traditionally, the Maasai created their jewellery using natural materials such as grass, shells, seeds, clay, wood and bone. Cowrie shells from the Swahili Coast were (and still are) particularly sought-after, and later, explorers and slavers – both Europeans and Arabs – brought trade-goods in the form of copper, brass wire and eye-catching glass beads that captivated the Maasai, all too often literally. More recently, as trade spread into the interior, backcountry dukas (general stores) opened – often run by entrepreneurial Indian immigrants – and production of Maasai beadwork became even more prolific as a result of a profusion of more readily available and inexpensive plastic beads. The dukas also supplied cheaper versions of the checked red and black blankets that replaced the traditional Maasai shuka robes. To this day, Maasai will recognise fellow clansmen by their blankets much as Scotsmen will celebrate the sight of familiar tartan (although in the case of the Maasai, it is less a tribal emblem and more simply the fact that a particular blanket has become popular at the local duka). At 72 years old, Kipinketene Sankaire is old enough to remember a time in her remote manyatta (village) near NairagieEnkare when most jewellery was made from less colourful natural materials. “Those were happier days,” she says. “The materials we used were strong and bones were plentiful. The land gave us what we needed; we collected scented grass to make perfumes and we made belts 88
NG'AALI
DECEMBER 2020 - FEBRUARY 2021
out of hides. It’s unlike now when everything has to be bought and many Maasai just produce their beadwork as a stepping stone for other people’s businesses.” As in Western culture, the use of more intricate and abundant jewellery will show a person’s status, but Maasai can decipher a wealth of information about an individual’s class, clan or marital status with just the merest glance at their jewellery. While a married woman will wear a long necklace of blue beads known as nborro, unmarried women will sport a wide and beautiful beaded necklace that, during dances, undulates hypnotically with a movement said to be reminiscent of the dewlaps of the tribe’s precious cattle. When a girl is married, she might wear a necklace that reaches even to her knees. Often there will be long strands hanging from it to represent the dowry of cows that will be paid to complete the union. These marriage collars may become highly prized heirlooms – the possession of which is matched only by the possession of the all-important cattle – and visitors should consider very carefully before tempting local people into parting with them. Throughout Kenya and Tanzania, bead adornments, often now made from cheaper plastic or glass, have become an important source of income for many Maasai, with many visitors wanting to take home a tangible souvenir from their safari that will remind them of the legendary aristocrats of the savannah. The tribe’s northern cousins, the Samburu, have a historical
