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1968.20.182.2

Hide sandal with thong ties. [FB 22/11/2016]

1968.20.182.2

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Collection type
Object
Description
Hide sandal with thong ties. [FB 22/11/2016]
Long description
Hide sandal with thong ties. [FB 22/11/2016] These types of shoes used to be the only ones available. They were the only ones worn up until 1970, but now they are only worn on special occasions. For the boys they are worn on the day of circumcision, or from the day before circumcision until they become a moran (warriors). Girls wear them on the day of marriage, and on day when the dowry is paid. [ThW [Living Cultures Project] 17/3/2021]
Geographical reference
Kenya
Africa > Eastern Africa > Kenya
Uaso Nyiro River Magadi Concession
Cultural groups
Maasai
Person
Field collector Jean Brown Sassoon
PRM source Jean Brown Sassoon
Date / Period
Date made: Before 1968
Date collected
1968
Acquisition information
Purchased: 1968
Materials and processes
Material Animal Hide Skin, Process Knotted, Process Perforated
Dimensions
Width: max 101 mm, Length: max 254 mm
Object numbers
Accession number: 1968.20.182.2 Other numbers: M28
Research and responses

'These types of shoes used to be the only ones available. They were the only ones worn up until 1970, but now they are only worn on special occasions. For the boys they are worn on the day of circumcision, or from the day before circumcision until they become a moran (warriors). Girls wear them on the day of marriage, and on day when the dowry is paid.' The information used to describe this object has been reviewed through a process of consultation with Maasai representatives and community elders as part of The Maasai Living Cultures Project. Living Cultures started in 2017 and is a partnership between Maasai representatives from Tanzania and Kenya, the Pitt Rivers Museum and InsightShare, an Oxford-based NGO. The project is working to represent the history and narratives behind artefacts held in museum collections. Over the course of three years (2017, 2018, 2020) Maasai delegates have visited the museum to discuss how their culture is represented and how the Museum speaks about Maasai communities in its displays, databases, and education programmes.  [ThW [Living Cultures Project] 16/3/2021]

Search terms: Clothing Footgear, Status, Marriage, Sandal

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