John Kenny

Samburu Shepherd by John Kenny, C-type Print with Acrylic Face

2009

Every Friday the highest mountain pass in northern Kenya comes alive as its normally wind-battered and deserted shacks become the focus of a market. It is the only place in West Samburu where Pokot and Samburu tribal groups are able to meet in a tense and uneasy truce. From a cliff top, looking out over northern Kenya’s rugged scenery, a nervous Samburu trader pointed at small moving objects...

I met this young married Samburu in the middle of a busy market in western Kenya. She was with a group of young women browsing the wooden stalls dotted across the dusty red earth in the lowlands of the Matthew’s Range. In Samburu communities young men spend years as warriors – a wandering lifestyle which make it impossible for them to marry. Instead they take girlfriends and give them beads and necklaces to indicate their relationship. Samburu girls adore receiving these presents and adorn themselves in more and more necklaces. The girl in this picture, although now married to an elder, still shows her beads from the time of being promised to a warrior: they are the band of 8 or so thin necklaces...

I met this young married Samburu in the middle of a busy market in western Kenya. She was with a group of young women browsing the wooden stalls dotted across the dusty red earth in the lowlands of the Matthew’s Range. In Samburu communities young men spend years as warriors – a wandering lifestyle which make it impossible for them to marry. Instead they take girlfriends and give them beads and necklaces to indicate their relationship. Samburu girls adore receiving these presents and adorn themselves in more and more necklaces. The girl in this picture, although now married to an elder, still shows her beads from the time of being promised to a warrior: they are the band of 8 or so thin necklaces...

I met this young married Samburu in the middle of a busy market in western Kenya. She was with a group of young women browsing the wooden stalls dotted across the dusty red earth in the lowlands of the Matthew’s Range. In Samburu communities young men spend years as warriors – a wandering lifestyle which make it impossible for them to marry. Instead they take girlfriends and give them beads and necklaces to indicate their relationship. Samburu girls adore receiving these presents and adorn themselves in more and more necklaces. The girl in this picture, although now married to an elder, still shows her beads from the time of being promised to a warrior: they are the band of 8 or so thin necklaces...

"Samburu Warrior" Portrait Photography 40" x 26.5" in Ed. 2/7 by Safaa Kagan Work is signed and numbered by the Artist Comes with COA issued by the Artist From Kenya series 2018 ...

"Trimmed in Grace" A young Rendille woman wears the traditional adornments of her culture with honor and pride in this iconic, award-winning portrait. The print series Desert Son...

"Trimmed in Grace" A young Rendille woman wears the traditional adornments of her culture with honor and pride in this iconic, award-winning portrait. The print series Desert Son...

"Trimmed in Grace" A young Rendille woman wears the traditional adornments of her culture with honor and pride in this iconic, award-winning portrait. The print series Desert Son...