Beautiful photos of Luo history

A group of Luo women in a line before the
camera, with a large number also gathered as
a crowd behind them. They are wearing
numerous body ornaments, such as metal leg
rings, anklets and armlets (minyonge), bead
necklaces (tik ng'ut), waist beads (tik nungo)
and cowrie shell (gaagi) necklaces. They also
wear different kinds of aprons (olemo). One
woman (3rd from right) seems to have an
ostrich egg shell waist bead (rek). Small
woven baskets for daily use are carried
together with walking sticks and the hair
styles also vary. The women are named in the
original notes as of 'Sani tribe' near Kisumu,
which may be Seme clan. Seme is in Kisumu County.

By the close of the 19th century, European
cloth and other foreign items had reached
Luoland through trade. However, many Luo
people at first did not admire them and few
people could afford them. Imported cowry
shells and glass beads from West Africa
however were already being incorporated into
Luo personal objects. These photographs offer
a glimpse of a period when this shift in
cultural influence through trade was gradually
taking effect. Many ornaments were still made
of local natural products including animal and
wood products. They ranged from headdresses
and necklaces to armlets and other items such
as leather aprons ( pien nyadiel ), waist
aprons ( olemo/chieno ), cowry shell belts (
okanda gaagi ), bead necklaces ( tik ng’ut ),
hippo tusks ( lak rao ) armlets and wrist
bangles ( minyonge ). Many of these objects
can be observed in these photographs.