| Naliapu
weaving "suuti":
My friend Naliapu is weaving "suuti" (roof mats) here.
This is a dying art in the highlands, but still commonly done in the lowlands.
After drying the sisal, she has prepared and combed it for weaving. She
had to travel some distance to get the sisal in the first place, so the
whole process takes about a week. In the upper right background you can
see my daughter's back--she was busy engaging in a typical Samburu girl's
play activity, making a house. Girls gather stones and make a house by
designing its layout, with stones to represent the house exterior and
interior walls, house fire, calabashes, even animals. |
