Dress and ornament in Gusii tradition

Historical photographs from the early twentieth century — like the portrait of a Gusii woman in native attire shown here — record a rich vocabulary of dress. Everyday clothing centred on prepared goat and sheep skins, softened and sometimes coloured with red ochre (ebiasi), worn over the shoulders or about the waist. Married women, warriors and elders each had recognisable styles.

Ornament carried meaning too: coils of iron and brass on arms and legs, bead necklaces and girdles, ear ornaments, and scarification patterns that belonged to particular stages of life. Warriors added ostrich feathers, monkey skins and the ox-hide shields of the age-set.

European cloth arrived with colonial trade in the 1900s–1920s and layered over, then largely replaced, skin garments — though ceremonial occasions, weddings and cultural performances still call for traditional dress and ornament. Artisans still make beads, sisal ornaments and leatherwork, and our collection documents both the historical photographs and the pieces themselves.