Iron, brass and bead: ornaments of the Gusii

The ornaments worn by Gusii men and women in early photographs were the products of skilled local smiths working iron and, where trade supplied it, brass and copper. Coiled armlets and leg rings, neck circlets and ear ornaments signalled status and stage of life; heavy coils on the legs of a wealthy woman marked her husband's cattle wealth.

Beads — glass beads arriving through coastal and caravan trade, alongside locally made seed and ostrich-shell beads — were strung as necklaces, girdles and head ornaments, with colour patterns carrying meaning. Warriors added the most spectacular ornaments of all: feathers, monkey-skin head-dresses and the decorations painted on shields.

Examples of these pieces survive in family keeping and museum collections abroad; our own collection includes representative regalia and we continue to document ornaments held by families. The smith's craft that made them — the abanyangi of iron — is documented alongside in our ironwork collection.