Samburu Moran
The original painting measured 42 x 56 cms. and was painted in mixed media
The Samburu habits, dress, custom and language are similar to the Maasai. Some say their name derives from the Maasai word for butterfly, because of the beauty of the body decorations adopted by the warrior age set, but the Samburu refer to themselves as ‘lokop’, a term which means people of the land.
Warriorhood, can be the most glamorous time of a Samburu man’s life . They are young men at their peak of physical prowess and, while they spend an inordinate amount of time on body care, they are viewed as guardians of their community and its herds. They compete for the attention of young women and a certain amount of sexual permissiveness is permitted but pregnancy is taboo. Red ochre is used to decorate the face and hair and nowadays they often incorporate modern embellishments such as artificial flowers and pearlescent buttons with the more traditional beads and feathers. This fellow has also attached a plastic soldier to his headress and a silver bird that may have come off a Xmas decoration! As in any society, singing and dancing is a major form of relaxation and brings the Moran in regular contact with young women. At the Lodge they dance for the tourist dollar to raise money for the village, but the interaction between the Moran and the young girls was very much evident, especially when they performed a dance in which a warrior selects the young woman he likes best. First he impresses her with tall, strong upright leaps and then he places his hand on the head of the girl who is dancing in front of them. There was much flashing of eyes and giggles from the girls.
