Just for fun -- Masai tartans

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Check out my latest blog post:
http://blog.albanach.org/2005/12/masai-tartans.html

[toadinakilt]

Sweet.

I'm loving the kilt pin I got at the museum, by the way

[Southern Breeze]

Thats a very interesting article. I've seen lots of pictures of Masai,yet I never thought of the cloth as tartan.

[John M.]

I think that first one would make a nice kilt.

[chasem]

I always enjoy your's and Bear's blog posts. Keep it up! ;) (both of you)

[M. A. C. Newsome]

The tartan in the first picture looks remarkably like "the American" tartan:

[jfellrath]

Matt (and all),

Apparently, red garments are the symbol of warrior-dom in Masai culture:
http://www.sfu.ca/mediapr/sfnews/2001/Nov15/poster.html

Jamie

[cloves]

necroposting again...but, Greg's post reminded me that I never did get an answer to my question about what those beautitful Masai tartans are made of. Anybody?

[sydnie7]

No clue about the fabric content, but here's what Wikipedia has to say about color and pattern. Being a newbie to this forum, I'm debating whether or not to place emphasis on the sentence "Pink. . .is not shunned by warriors."

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Clothing varies by age, sex, and place. Young men, for instance, wear black for several months following their circumcision. However, red is a favored color. Blue, black, striped, and checkered cloth are also worn, as are multicolored African designs. The Maasai began to replace animal-skin, calf hides and sheep skin, with commercial cotton cloth in the 1960s.[58]

Shúkà is the Maa word for sheets traditionally worn wrapped around the body, one over each shoulder, then a third over the top of them. These are typically red, though with some other colors (e.g. blue) and patterns (e.g. plaid.) Pink, even with flowers, is not shunned by warriors.[59] One piece garments known as kanga, a Swahilli term, are common.[60] Maasai near the coast may wear kikoi, a type of sarong that comes in many different colors and textiles. However, the preferred style is stripes.[61]
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Somebody like this http://www.africanfabric.co.uk/Fabrics.htm might be able to answer the question and advise about availability.


Sydnie