Thursday, March 24, 2011

Shackled

Lucy is Michael's sister. She comes by every once in awhile for afternoon chai and to help with laundry. I found out recently that she makes traditional Pokot jewelry for a hobby. I was admiring her Pokot marriage bands (bracelets) one day (the Pokot version of a wedding ring); the next time I saw her, she brought the piece of metal from which one of the bands had been cut. She cut 2 bands from it and fit them to my right forearm, so now I am pestered less when going into town with Nelly because men recognize that I am a married woman.

The traditional marriage bands are less common in the more "urban" areas, such as Kapenguria, but everyone still recognizes them for what they are. They are still very much in use in the rural, nomadic areas. Lucy just wears 2 bands on her arm, but when I was in Ombolion, many of the women had over a dozen. Michael said I will acquire more in Alale.

This is Lomaler. He was the one who actually
did the hammering while Lucy oversaw and
directed his work.
These bands are permanent, and require a hammering device to get them on. I could remove them if I really wanted to, but it would be a hassle...requiring at least one other person, and if I wanted to put them back on, it probably wouldn't look or fit quite right. I doubt I will have trouble at the Nairobi airport, but I'm sure TSA is just going to love me for my future domestic and international flights.

Between the jewelry I was gifted at Mtelo Hall during the County Government meeting, and the jewelry I purchased from Lucy, Michael said I will be presentable for our trip to Alale.

We actually left Sunday morning for the trip to Alale, and are planning to stay a week or more. Because I wasn't sure about my internet connection in Alale, I prepared this post ahead of time and asked Luke to publish it for me. I know, I'm cheating a little bit, but I hope it keeps you entertained in the mean time. I look forward to updating you about my adventures in Alale upon my return to Kapenguria next week.

For those of you who are planning to visit Michael and Daylight in the upcoming months, and are interested in purchasing jewelry while you are here, I highly recommend that you commission Lucy to make the jewelry for you. Especially if you will not be going to Alale where there are quality jewelry shops. I've done a lot of searching in Kapenguria, and the few pieces I've found are very low quality.

Lucy was trained by her aunt, and even knows how to make jewelry that Pokot no longer wear (phased out due to scarcity of materials). Lucy would like to open a Pokot jewelry-making business (in order to support her children), but hasn't been able to pull together the up-front costs (because she spends what she has to support her children). It takes Lucy about 2 days to complete a large project, such as a necklace. She (and others) charge about $16 (KShs 1300) for a necklace. To put this in perspective, a loaf of bread here costs KShs 86.

If I had figured this all out sooner, I would have been open to taking orders from those of you who are interested in supporting Lucy and acquiring some traditional Pokot jewelry. But I won't be in Kenya much longer!

I will post a picture of Lucy when I return from Alale.

1 comment:

  1. Can you tell stories at The Beat in Uptown on Thurs April 14th. Cute bracelet. Let me know asap

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