PI: James Munene | Collaborator: Abdikadir Kurewa, Wanjage Wairimu, and Micheal Basili
Project ID: 2020SG07 | Location of Research: Marsabit County, Kenya
Host Institution: University of Michigan
Ostrich eggshell beads have been used in communities across Africa for the past 300 years and are found in archaeological sites throughout the continent. These kinds of beads are still used in many communities in East Africa, although the only well-documented ethnographic record of their manufacture comes from the San and Bakgalagadi in the Kalahari region of Southern Africa. Their social significance, as well as other body adornment methods in many communities, is not well studied. This project sought to document the production process of the beads and their cultural significance among the El Molo Community in Marsabit County, Kenya. The El Molo live in two villages on the eastern shores of Lake Turkana. Ostrich eggshell beads have been used in the cultural production of this community for a very long time. Their making and use are endangered by the low population in the community, which has affected the cultural transmission, the outlawing of hippo hunting, and the effects of modern education and Christianity in the region. The ostrich population in the area has also declined over time.
Methodology
The project uses interviews, participatory videos, audio recordings, photography, and note-taking to produce the documentation. To record the media, the project used cameras, voice recorders and note books. The resulting collection includes long-form videos and still images documenting the ostrich eggshell bead process from procurement and tool preparation to bead production to the eventual fabrication of socially significant items like the karkarto and rumirumi. During this project, thousands of ostrich eggshell beads were made and later threaded onto and into items.
Through these efforts, the project team sought to help preserve this knowledge and continue the craft, while also ingraining the cultural significance of the beads within the community. The documentation will also help advance the interpretation of ostrich eggshell beads in the region’s under-studied archaeological collections.
Selected Assets
The following assets provide an overview of the project’s topics.
Collecting stones
Women collecting stones for use in the making of obsidian eggshell beads. By Apua Lokwakutuk.
Collecting palm leaves
Journey to a dry river bed for lodopi, used to make arkat (string). By James Koome Munene.
Making tools
The process of making a drill/awl to be used in drilling beads. By James Koome Munene.
Making string
A woman rolls arkat on her leg, which will be used to thread ostrich eggshell beads. By Wanjage Wairimu.
Bead production
An egghsell fragment. By James Koome Munene.
Drilled beads, fragments, and preforms. By James Koome Munene.
A rounded bead before drilling. By James Koome Munene.
Threading the eggshell bead. By James Koome Munene.
Rarak
Finished Rarak. By Wanjage Wairimu.
Lilim
Finished Lilim. By Wanjage Wairimu.
Hippopotamus hunting
A group of men return from the hippopotamus hunt. By Wanjage Wairimu.
Kukuti
Finished Kukuti. By James Koome Munene.
Karkatoni
A girl wearing Karkatoni. By Wanjage Wairimu.
Feasting
A woman distributes ugali and meat for the post-hunt feast. By Wanjage Wairimu.
Acknowledgements from the Project Team
Special thanks go to Gura Pau Group, led by the late Michael Basili, and to the entire El Molo community for welcoming us into their homes, making us feel special, and allowing us to explore and document aspects of their culture. To Safina Lorengele, Luchenzia Lepolote, Picha Lenapir, Kuwam Lepolote, Ranji Erupe, Awesit Sumale, Pia Lemotou, Modesta Lonwa, Ngargashan Lenapir, Apua Lokwakutuk, and Akale Silale, we are very grateful. The many days and hours you spent under the hot sun making the beads and explaining their other aspects, including their social significance, required a lot of commitment and sacrifice. We are also thankful to Ididio Lekulo, Loisara Lemotou, Alfred Lengutuk, Moisiono Lenapir, Alex Lenapir, Kuyoo Lekapana, Phillip Lengutuk, Julius Akoloney†, Mzee Lekorsinte, and Longoi Lepolote for participating in the mock hippopotamus-hunting exercise. The village chief, we are grateful for welcoming us to the village and checking on our work now and then. and Mr. Andrea, who always gave us safe boat rides to Komote Island, and Fathers Mark Gitonga and Lwanzo Jacque of the Catholic Diocese of Loiyangalani for their hospitality and support. Lastly, we thank the National Museums of Kenya and the National Commission for Science, Technology, and Innovation (NACOSTI) for granting us permits for this project (NACOSTI/P/22/14960).