Hairstyle of a Maasai olmurrani warrior, Great Rift Valley, Kenya
Object Details
- Local Numbers
- D 4 MSI 3.1 EE 66
- General
- Title is provided by EEPA staff based on photographer's notes.
- Local Note
- Frame value is 4.
- Slide No. D 4 MSI 3.1 EE 66
- Photographer
- Elisofon, Eliot
- Collection Photographer
- Elisofon, Eliot
- Place
- Africa
- Kenya
- Topic
- Portraits
- Body arts
- Hairstyles -- Africa
- Beadwork
- Photographer
- Elisofon, Eliot
- Culture
- Maasai (African people)
- See more items in
- Eliot Elisofon Field collection
- Eliot Elisofon Field collection / Kenya
- Extent
- 1 Slides (photographs) (col.)
- Date
- 1966
- Archival Repository
- Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art
- Identifier
- EEPA.1973-001, Item EEPA EECL 3307
- Type
- Archival materials
- Slides (photographs)
- Color slides
- Collection Citation
- Eliot Elisofon Field Collection, EEPA 1973-001, Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution
- Collection Rights
- Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
- Genre/Form
- Color slides
- Scope and Contents
- "A warrior (olmurrani) is the embodiment of beauty for the Maasai (Masai). Important ornaments of warriorhood are the blue belt, sword belt, fringe belt, ilmintoni (double ear fobs) or esakankar (single ear fobs) and the enkila narok (cape). Depending on the style of an age set other ornaments may also be important for the warriors. among Ilkipali, enkeene emunt (loose neck band) and olkatarr oolopon (choker) were important. Warriors are expected to spend a great deal of time and attention tending to their appearance, primping and swaggering. They spend many hours in small group doing each other's hair and organizing their ornament assemblages." [Klumpp, D., 1987: Maasai Art and Society: Age and Sex, Time and Space, cash and Cattle. U.M.I. Dissertation information Service]. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon was on assignment for American Broadcasting Company and traveled to Africa from early December 1966 to early February 1967.
- Collection Restrictions
- Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
- Record ID
- ebl-1536870822481-1536871014628-3
- Metadata Usage
- CC0
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