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Eturi, Lodungo and Nawoi make adwel and abwo skins, historically worn by women throughout Turkana but now worn only on ceremonial occasions.

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posted on 2023-11-30, 18:56 authored by Lucas Lowasa
The women apply the burnt dung to the skins. This is a form of dye. The skins that have been used are white in colour, abwo skins must be dark. The burnt dung is mixed with animal oil and applied by hand. Had the skins been dark in colour, the hair would have been left on and no dye would have been applied. Fresh milk mixed with water is then poured onto the sides of the skins that have been smeared with burnt dung. The skins are stretched and kneaded in the hands to make them smooth and pliant.

Funding

Endangered Material Knowledge Programme

History

Session

C013

Rights owner

Samuel Frederick Derbyshire

Cultural group

Turkana

Participants

Adwer Eturi , Mary Lodungo , Nawoi Esekon

Country

Kenya

Place

Adap, Turkana

Item/object

Abwo and adwel

Techniques of production

Scraped, Applied

Materials

Animal-dung, Eleu a akine, Skin-goat skin

Materials alt

Ngachin a ngibaren

Social group setting

Craftspeople working together

Location

Home

Temporality

Work continues on the skins all day, from mid morning to dusk. In total the skins take around two weeks to make. These items of clothing were once worn ubiquitously throughout Turkana, the abwo playing a central role differentiating married from unmarried women. In an akinyonyo ceremony undertaken near to Nadoto (2019LG-02-E001-0001) Louren Engatuny is adorned with an abwo once her ngakoroumwa beads have been dispersed and an alagama metal torc placed around her neck. Historically, a married woman would have continued wearing an abwo in everyday life from this moment onwards. Some women from older generations still wear such skins, but very few. As with many other items of clothing and ornamentation, many argue that the abwo began to radically decline in popularity from around Ekaru Asur (The Fleeing Year, c. 1981).

Date of creation

2021-07-24

Unique ID

2019LG02-C013-0871

Usage metrics

    Endangered Material Knowledge Programme

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