Institute for Biodiversity Science and Sustainability

CAS Anthropology Collections Database


Catalog Number

CAS 0493-0438   CAS 0493-0438; Dress
Category Bead & Leatherwork
Object Name Dress
Culture Gabra
Global Region Sub-Saharan Africa
Country Kenya
State/Prov./Dist. Meikona, Gabraland
County
Other Geographic Data Meikona, Gabraland
Maker's Name Owner’s mother (name not recorded)
Date of Manufacture 1973
Collection Name Torry Collection (Gabra)
Materials Goat hide; Sheep skin
Description Woman’s one-piece wrap-around dress, made in three rectangular panels (2 wide and 1 narrow) that are seamed together side by side; Upper half of each panel consists of a single rectangular piece of goat or sheep skin and the lower half consists of alternating narrow and wide skin strips; When the three panels are laid out along side each other, a narrow strip similar to the ones in the lower half of each panel is laid along the entire length of each panel, extending from the top to the bottom; According to original field notes, this dress is worn by wrapping it around a woman’s body, under her arms, and securing it by a shoulder strap or belt; In pre-colonial times, married women wore this type of dress for daily wear, and might have been buried in it, but now (in 1977), it is only worn at a woman’s wedding and may or may not be worn for burial.
Dimensions (cm) Width = ca. 132.0, Thickness = 0.1, Length = ca. 136.0