Beads

The Samburu community is a Nilotic subset located in the north-central part of Kenya. This is a handmade neck and headpiece worn daily as an expression of beauty, age, or status in the community. The unmarried girls wear plain red-coloured heavy necklaces while the married women wear colorful, heavy necklaces with a simply made white and red beads necklace The first wives wear the long centerpiece while the second or third wife wears the short centerpiece. The beads, usually referred to as the 'sikirai (cowrie shells), are collected from the ocean and are colored by the manufacturer. Selling the neckpieces is also an income source for the women as they sell them both locally or to tourists.