Kenya -- Material
Culture
Each
of Kenya's ethnic groups has a wide
range of material cultural products
including architecture, cooking
utensils, clothes, textiles, farming
equipment, hunting tools, baskets,
mats, head rests, shields, art works,
carvings, sculpture, etc. The following
only highlights a few cultural materials.
However, most art and craft production
is for the lucrative tourist market.
A stroll in downtown Nairobi will
reveal the diversity of items and
quality available. Sculpture of
poor quality and low price to museum
quality work can be found in Kenya.
The same goes for art; batiks, which
are common, also vary dramatically
in price and quality. Other items
produced for the tourist market
include sisal baskets, soapstone
sculpture from Kisii, elephant hair
(not real elephant hair) bracelets,
Maasai bead jewelry, musical instruments,
and silver and gold jewelry.
One
aspect of material culture that
is important to Kenyans and not
destined for the tourist market
is the work of craftsmen who transform
waste items into every day useful
things. For example, old oil drums
are turned into cooking pots or
tiny stoves called jikos; used tires
are turned into sandals.
One
of the most visible textiles in
Kenya is the kanga. It is a large
colorful cloth that has a traditional
saying or proverb in Swahili. Women
usually wear a kanga over their
other clothing to keep it clean,
to carry their children, or to carry
things. Some examples of kanga sayings
are[1]:
Tulia
tuishi wazuri haweshi - Calm down
and live with me, pretty ones are
never in short supply.
Hata
ukinichukia la kweli nitakwambia
- Hate me, but I won't stop telling
you the truth.
Moyo
wa kupenda hauna subira - A heart
deep in love has no patience.
Usikumbuke
uovu ukasahau fadhila - Don't remember
the evil things only while forgetting
to be thankful for the good deeds
- Make a judgement based on both,
the good and bad side of everything.
Halua
ya lozi imemshinda mdokozi - An
almond sweetmeat is a formidable
challenge to a petty thief - Sweetmeat
is a famous dessert in Zanzibar
and along the coast of East Africa.
It is made of starch, sugar, oil
and sometimes nuts or sesame seeds.
Depending on the way it is made,
it can be as soft as a jelly, but
sometimes it may be very hard to
cut with fingers. The saying above
is meant to laugh at someone who
has attempted in vain to do something,
especially to win over somebody
else's lover.
Ukiujua
huu, huu huujui - If you know this
one, you don't know this (other)
one - Sometimes interpreted as a
gesture demonstrated by flies when
they rub their legs forward and
then repeat rubbing their legs backward.
i.e if you know the forward one,
you don't know the backward one.
In other words you will always find
that there is something you don't
know.
Mchezea
wembe humkata mwenyewe - He who
plays with a razor, cuts himself
- If you get involved in a dangerous
exercise, you are bound to be harmed
physically or emotionally.
Mchimba
kisima, huingia mwenyewe - He who
digs a well, gets himself inside
- A person who sets a trap often
times finds himself caught in it.
If you have bad intentions against
others, chances are, you'll be the
first to be affected by those intentions
directly or indirectly.
Haba
na haba, hujaza kibaba - Little
and little, fills the measure -
Small things, when combined together
make up big things.
Men
on the coast wear kikoi, a type
of sarong that comes in many different
colors and textiles. However, the
preferred style is stripes.
The
Maasai produce colorful beaded jewelry
which includes earrings and collars.
Another Maasai item is the decorated
calabash. A gourd is dried out by
burning grass in it. The Maasai
use these gourds for keeping milk
and blood, and they add soot to
aid in the fermentation of milk.
The gourds are decorated by carving
figures and geometric designs on
the outside.
[1]
Http://www.glcom.com/hassan/kanga.html
For
Further Reading:
ADDIN
ENBbu Ghaidan, Usam. 1972. Swahili
plasterwork. African Arts 6 (2):46-49.
Orchardson-Mazrui,
Elizabeth C. 1993. Jangamizi: Spirit
and Sculpture. African Languages
and Culture 6(2):147-160.
Todd,
C. 1961. Modern sculpture and sculptors
in East Africa. African Music 2
(4):72-76.
