Crowning Glory 1
Original painting measured 29 x 60 cms. and is painted in mixed media
These young women were among the Samburu dancers that came to the Samburu Serena Lodge, Kenya. The Samburu are a proud cattle herding people that have age set rituals similar to the Maasai tribe. The women adorn themselves with a multitude of brightly colored, beaded necklaces, headpieces, belts and bangles which often include modern materials like these artificial flowers and feathers.
When dancing, they may also decorate themselves using red ochre around their neck and rub fat into their beads to make them glisten. As they dance, these beads and headdresses flash up and down, presumably to dazzle the eye of the young man with whom they are dancing, and the high, individually styled headpieces, help the women stand out among the tall warriors.
When a row of dancers are in motion, singing and bobbing and leaping they also display the unity of the group and the excitement of the interaction between one another as in this dance, the young warriors come forward to touch the headpieces of their chosen young woman.
