Headdress (Esidai)

Label TextA headdress, spear and shield are essential art forms carried and worn by a Massai moran (warrior). They were collected and documented by Kakuta Hamisi--described in his own words below--as part of our museum's exchange with the Merrueschi community. You can also learn more about this collection at the web site: maasai-association.org. “Women made the headdresses but it is the men’s work to collect the ostrich feathers...According to Maasai people, every man must own a spear from thirteen years of age. Warriors are recommended to carry spears on a daily basis while boys are allowed to carry theirs when herding cattle only...Both the spear and shield are things that I would like to own for the rest of my life. The [shield’s] pigment painting is based on a section, clan, and sometimes region. You have to hold it so a lion can land on it. Then you have to slide the lion over your head, and sometimes the lion weighs about 400 pounds. Do that a few times and you can confuse him.”

Object number2000.7

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Art from Africa: Long Steps Never Broke a Back, Feb. 7 - May 19, 2002 (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Oct. 2, 2004 - Jan. 2, 2005; Hartford, Connecticut, Wadsworth Atheneum, Feb. 12 - June 19, 2005; Cincinnati, Ohio, Cincinnati Art Museum, Oct. 8, 2005 - Jan. 1, 2006; Nashville, Tennessee, Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Jan. 27 - Apr. 30, 2006 [as African Art, African Voices: Long Steps Never Broke a Back]).

Credit LineGeneral Acquisition Fund

Dimensions32 x 26 in. (81.3 x 66 cm)

MediumOstrich feathers, leather, beads, black button, white button, and metal chain