SB.1.20
Shield
Shield. Turkana. Pokot. Karamajong. Kenya. No 95. XI.ACD.15. Original list: "Turkana, Pokot, Karamajong. Shield. Buffalo leather wood. Man, warrior, elder". Long rectangular shield, small, made from animal skin which is tied with vegetable rope along a wooden rod arched towards the center. See "Turkana member of Leopard group" (Adamson. 1967: 39). "The classical shield, now rarely seen, is made from the hide of a hippo, rhino, elephant or buffalo. It's a strip just over 20 cent in whidth and over one meter long. The shield for a Turkana has a function of deviating weapons rather than protect by covering the body (as in the case with the Maasai) "(Staff Of Consolata Fathers. Turkana: 17, 21)" The shields are used actively, to deflect and to parry (...). The number of the new buffalo and giraffe hide shields have in many areas dwindled to a precious sequestered few (the ones not yet sold to tourists have been hidden from 'Game'). The new style of shields, made from tin, is not all that common either In an area measurable in terms of one days' steady walking which we crisscrossed in search of shields, we found half a dozen, all but one made from tin "(Fedders, Salvadori. 1977: 65). and shield from hide "(Fedders, Salvadori. 1977: 75-76).
Category: Shield
Material: Buffalo leather. Wood.
Location: Kenya
Size in Centimeters:
Length: 29.5
Width: 14
Height: 7