Samburu Washday
Original painting measures 89 x 59 cms. and is painted in oils on canvas
This is a village of about 90 people located near the Samburu Wildlife Reserve. When I was there they were very excited because they had finally managed to raise enough money to install a generator to pump water from the river for drinking. The women still have collect water for general use from the nearby Ewaso Ngiro River. Normally, this group of Samburu would be semi-nomadic within their tribal area but, due to the fact that they have been able to raise additional income from the tourists visiting their village and buying necklaces etc., and from their supplying dancers for the nearby Samburu Serena Lodge, they have been able to build a small classroom and pay for a teacher for the children. The school is called Kipepeo Nursery School, ‘kipepeo’ being Swahili for butterfly.
The woman in the painting was about 25 yrs. old, had been married at 15, and had 2 surviving children. Samburu women wear these masses of long colorful beads which they accumulate from childhood. They have a saying that a Samburu girl is not ready to be married until she has enough necklaces to support her chin. They use the acacia trees to make enclosures for their animals at night and as clotheslines, with the thorns being readymade pegs.
Their houses, while traditional in design, are stlyed with more modern building supplies such as corrugated iron, cardboard and plastic.
