Several weeks after collecting the wood and beginning the crafting process, Ewar continues work on an ekichielong made from elim. He begins by scraping the surface of the object with a blade and then a broken piece of glass in order to make it smooth. He then buries a piece of goat hide for use the following day in constructing a strap, before starting a fire and using a heated metal spike to burn two holes in the ekichielong foot where the strap will be attached.
Session
C003Rights owner
Samuel Frederick DerbyshireCultural group
TurkanaParticipants
Ewar Emeri KulanyCountry
KenyaPlace
Morusipo, TurkanaItem/object
Headrest/stool (ekichielong)Techniques of production
Burned, ScrapedMaterials
Wood-persimmon (Diospyros scabra)Materials alt
ElimCultural context/event
General productionSocial group setting
Craftsperson at work aloneLocation
HomeTemporality
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. In this video, Ewar uses a razor blade and then a broken piece of glass to scrape the surface of the ekichielong. In the deeper past, such scraping may have been carried out using obsidian flakes or blades along with other sharpened pieces of metal.Date of creation
2020-04-21Unique ID
2019LG02-C003-0310
