Celebrating Adornment in Kenya's Diverse Cultures

Abstract

Self adornment plays a significant role in ensuring the continuity of the political, socio-cultural and ethno-moral principles of communities in Kenya. Whether with permanent marks like tattoos or scars, or temporary decorations like makeups, clothing and hairstyles. Adornment is a way of signaling an individual's place in society, marking a special moment, celebrating a transition in life or simply following a fashion. This paper analyses the history of adornment practices from ancient civilizations in Kenya. The study was informed by cultural history theory. Cultural history focuses on the changes and practices in human agency. Culture is transmitted across generations through the memory which is a faculty of the individual mind. Adornment is part of societal practices and basically the skin serves as a visible way of defining individual identity and cultural differences. It also serves as a text upon which reality is inscribed. Since the nineteenth to the twenty first century adornment in Kenya has been influenced by cultural globalisation and technology where recycling is done to produce ornaments. The study was based on secondary data and observations. The findings revealed that adornment is a means for self expression. It changes the wearer into an object shaped by colour, movement, textures, patterns and designs. Equally artistic growth of individuals can create something beautiful from very little.