ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCE ON KENYAN TRADITIONAL DRESSING ACCESSORIES: THE NEED FOR PRESERVATION IN THE POSTCOLONIAL ERA
Abstract
The concept of art in African society is highly valued and has played a significant role in the lives of indigenous people. In most African states, creative art and fashion serve a functional purpose and reflect religious, cultural, and traditional values, including accessories. Accessories are items that complement our dressing for the purpose of attraction, beauty, sanity, and completeness. However, environmental changes such as global warming, western culture's influence, and technological advancements have impacted African cultural values and indigenous traditional dressing accessories usage. This has led to a significant transformation in recent years. This paper identified the dressing accessories and body decoration of Kenyan people belonging to different sociocultural groups. It reviewed their historical background and traditional purpose in line with contemporary fashion and the impact of seasonal variation on indigenous dress patterns due to climate changes. The paper presents traditional dressing accessories worn and carried by various sociocultural groups in Kenya, such as the Kikuyu Kamba and Massai. Furthermore, the research investigates the factors that led many Kenyans to adopt Western styles of dressing and give up their customary customs of using accessories and decoration to achieve a more beautiful appearance and communicate their identity. The study also sought people's perception of the importance of traditional body adornment for cultural unity and the effect of environmental changes on the Kenyan clothing system. Data were collected through structured questionnaires and interviews. The study adopted a mixed research method to analyze data. The findings were then used to draw a conclusion.
Keywords: Traditional, Dressing, Accessories, Tribes, Cultural Unification.
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