The Maasai Beaded Stick or Beaded Rungu is a long piece of wood with a knob at the end. It very much resembles a cane, and the Rungu has hundreds of rows of meticulous beading everywhere, except the knob which was sometimes used to hit people. While it is a weapon, it is also so much more as it is used to signify power and leadership. (The Maasai Beaded ). Maasai Beaded Sticks are only presented to men by women who make them and bead the sticks by hand after carving them out of one large piece of wood. It is most commonly presented when a man becomes the head of a household. Men carry them to important ceremonies and events and some people also dance with them (The Maasai Beaded ). It’s one of the most culturally significant items for people …show more content…
“But for the Maasai themselves, the beads capture their whole world.”(The Secret Life) In this particular one, the black signifies unity and harmony, the white signifies purity and health, the red signifies bravery and strength, and the green signifies nourishment and putting down roots. “The Maasai used items such as sticks, shells, seeds, dried grasses and other natural materials to make beads” (Symbolism of Maasai) whereas, now they use actual recycled glass ("Maasai Story." Beads). Beads are used on dresses, necklaces, and other items used in wedding and other culturally significant events. But as time has gone on, African culture has been taken on by many people for example, beading can be seen on the runway worn by people with an array of ethnicities, not always having consideration for the purpose of that item in its original culture (Richardson, Whitney. …show more content…
"Home." National). Although this is true, the majority of clothing in Kenya is a mix of traditional fabrics and modern fashion. Even though modern fashion hasn’t made a large appearance in the majority of regions in Kenya, there are Kenyans on Instagram that are shown wanting to influence their community into more modern styles similar to those in America (Modest Fashion: A). A woman by the name of Mercy Makena, living in Kenya, even created her own clothing line with a clear African influence, but not very different than a lot of clothing in America (Kyama, Reuben. "Kenyan). While Kenya fashion may be slowly modernized in various regions, it is definitely up and coming which could be construed as good or bad depending on who you ask. And while girls in Thika, Kenya generally have few dresses, gifted to them at Christmas most often, they are usually things people in America would consider stylish (Interview with Irene). Fully traditional clothing for any region in Kenya is becoming less common as time goes on, but there are still small traditions they carry with them as their clothing becomes more modern. Traditions such as, beading and certain patterns significant to their culture. And as a result of Kenyans carrying on these traditions to the modern world, Kenyan culture is shown publicly, for instance,