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Ekaale Lowasa making an Akalach decorative belt

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posted on 2023-11-30, 18:56 authored by Joseph Ekidor Nami
In the present day, akalach belts are worn by many women at celebratory events, most notably weddings, and sometimes at Asapan ceremonies. Here Ekaale Lowasa begins the process of sewing small plastic beads into a rectangular strip of jerrycan.

Funding

Endangered Material Knowledge Programme

History

Session

C010

Rights owner

Samuel Frederick Derbyshire

Cultural group

Turkana

Participants

Ekaale Lowasa

Country

Kenya

Place

Nakurio, Turkana

Item/object

Akalach belt

Social group setting

Craftsperson at work alone

Location

Home

Temporality

This object took a year to make, although if there was an urgent need for one it could easily be completed within a month or two. The akalach is generally considered to have replaced older forms of decorative belt, which were comprised of skin and ostrich eggshell beads. It performs a similar role to these older belts in many contexts.

Date of creation

2020-05-26

Unique ID

2019LG02-C010-0714

Usage metrics

    Endangered Material Knowledge Programme

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