A Barabaig woman imitates the crowned crane in a courtship dance. The crowned crane is a magnificnet bird admired by the Barabaig for its beauty and flamboyant courtship display.Under a cloth canopy, the bride is ushered to a celebration which will be attended only by the women of the community, as part of a series of wedding rituals.Young couples meet and flirt during the courtship season. The girls are beautifully adorned in beaded hide skirts and beaten brass headbands to attract the male eye.If a man is interested in a young woman he may take hold of the beaded strands of her necklace to reveal his serious intentions.At left, a portrait of a young Barabaig man wearing a zebra mane headdress and bracelets, traditionally crafted from ivory but today cut from plastic water pipes. At right, a young Barabaig girl wears a zebra headdress, beaded armlets, incised bracelets, and brass necklaces. Her large Ghijichka necklace made of beaten brass plaques reflects the wealth of her family and the bride price required.Mothers fashion hide skirts for their daughters during courtship season. Ocher is ground and rubbed into the hide skirt to enrich its color.Female relatives spend hours elaborately beading the hide skirts worn by young girls. The skirt is cut into a circular design using many goat hides.At left, a Barabaig girl’s collection of double-spiral brass rings is worn on each finger. At right, a Barabaig girl’s simple beaded jewelry is displayed during courtship.Portrait of a bride from a cattle-rich family wearing beaded hides, coiled brass jewelry, and veil of glass beads and chain.In celebration of the wedding, young people gather together to dance. A young woman imitates the leaping motion of a crowned crane, her back arched and her legs projecting forward.As the dancers elegantly leap, their hides flare like wings, with a fringe of beads flying up, momentarily echoing the crested plume of the craneThe alluring bracelets the Barabaig wear would traditionally be carved from ivory. Today they are cut from plastic, incised with designs, and rubbed with charcoal or ocher to bring out the intricate patterns.Dressed in beaded hides and eye-catching jewellery, a line of unmarried girls look on, awaiting their turns to dance.At the entrance of her mother-in law’s hut, the bride is first blessed with a mixture of butter and chalk slathered over her head by her mother-in-law. Without butter on her head she cannot receive her bride price, which is paid in cattle.In the dark of night, the bride, covered in ocher and butter, is taken out of the hut by female relatives. She is led around the compound by her mother-in-law, who pulls her by a leather cord hidden inside her cape. She leaves only when she has received sufficient cattle from her husband.
