Maria Majuri, Maasai beadworker

Maria Majuri, Maasai beadworker in Ngong Hill, Kenya. For hundreds of years the Maasai people have used beadwork to embody their culture. Beaded jewelry is used as everyday adornment to represent wealth, beauty, strength, warriorhood, marital status, age-sect, children-borne, social status, and other important cultural elements. Maasai beading helps the women to support themselves and sustain old traditions. Maasai people's introduction to beading dates back as far as the first millennium AD, when glass beads first began arriving from India. It is considered the duty of every Maasai woman to learn the jewellery making craft. Traditionally the beadwork is made by women but is worn by both sexes, and has important cultural significance. The beadwork an individual wears reflects their age and social status.