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Ewar Kulany carving an ekichielong headrest/stool from elim

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posted on 2023-11-30, 18:55 authored by Joseph Ekidor Nami
Several weeks after collecting the wood and beginning the crafting process, Ewar finishes work on an ekichielong made from elim. He uncovers a piece of goat hide he buried the previous day and cuts strips out of it with a knife. He scores them to make them supple and then plaits them together into a handle, which he attaches to the foot of the ekichielong. Once the handle is attached and the ekichielong is finished, he coats it in animal oil to give it a rich sheen.

Funding

Endangered Material Knowledge Programme

History

Session

C003

Rights owner

Samuel Frederick Derbyshire

Cultural group

Turkana

Participants

Ewar Emeri Kulany

Country

Kenya

Place

Morusipo, Turkana

Item/object

Headrest/stool (ekichielong)

Techniques of production

Plaited

Materials

Wood-persimmon (Diospyros scabra), Skin-goat skin

Materials alt

Elim

Cultural context/event

General production

Social group setting

Craftsperson at work alone

Location

Home

Temporality

The form of ekichielong made by Ewar on this occasion is more or less ubiquitous across Turkana today. In the deeper past, other forms of ekichielong were made, such as those reffered to as emakuk and aporokocho in contemporary times. Neither of these two past forms of headrest/stool are common today.

Date of creation

2020-04-22

Unique ID

2019LG02-C003-0361

Usage metrics

    Endangered Material Knowledge Programme

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