Photo of Ivy, author of The African Gourmet

About the Author

A Legacy Resource, Recognized Worldwide

For 19 years, The African Gourmet has preserved Africa's stories through food, history, and folklore. Selected for expert consideration by the Library of Congress Web Archives, the world's premier guardian of cultural heritage, ensuring our digital timeline endures for generations.

Trusted by: Wikipedia • Emory University African Studies • University of Kansas • University of KwaZulu-Natal • MDPI Scholarly Journals.
Explore our archived collections → DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17329200

View citations →

Start Your African Journey

From political insights through food to traditional wisdom and modern solutions - explore Africa's depth.

Maasai Wedding Jewelry

Explore More Content

📁 African Art 📁 African jewelry

Popular in This Category

Wearing gorgeous Maasai beaded wedding collars, bead working has a rich history among Maasai women on their wedding day.

Bead working has a rich history among the Maasai women
Bead working has a rich history among Maasai women.

The Maasai community in East Africa is renowned for its unique and colorful jewelry, particularly among its women. This jewelry carries great cultural and symbolic significance and plays a crucial role in their traditions, ceremonies, and daily lives. Maasai brides wear an elaborate beaded wedding collar or inkarewa on her wedding day. African jewelry, such as the inkarewa is created from a wide variety of materials, including beads, seeds, woods, gourds, bone, ivory, copper, and brass.

Maasai Wedding Jewelry

Generally, African jewelry is made from materials that are immediately available to the artist in their community. White beads created from clay, shells, ivory, or bone. Black and blue beads fashioned from iron, charcoal, seeds, clay, or animal horns. Red beads came from seeds, woods, gourds, bone, ivory, copper, or brass.

The style of African jewelry is as wide and varied as the continent of Africa. African jewelry is created for more than personal adornment by the wearer; it also designates rank, class, affluence, rites of passage and tribal association. Certain kinds of jewelry are worn only by men or by women.

Bead working has a rich history among the Maasai women. The Maasai communicate their identity and position in Maasai society through body decorations and body painting. Maasai women wear elaborate ensembles of beaded clothing and adornment, including necklaces and ear ornaments. 

Marriage in traditional Maasai tribes is an arranged event. The elders arrange marriages and brides are married off for a dowry of cattle which is the measure of wealth in Maasai society.

Maasai Women photo by neate photos

In traditional African jewelry, bones are commonly used to make jewelry. Maasai cultures throughout Africa have passed down the process of bone carving from generation to generation with each elaborate beaded wedding collar or inkarewa using bone carving as a handmade art.

The bride wears her marriage collar or inkarewa on her wedding day. The Maasai inkarewa is created with a sense of honor and fine artistry since the bridal collar is thought to be a reflection on the bride. Similarly, in the United States a brides wedding dress sets the tone for the entire wedding party. 

Maasai women inkarewa wedding collars are worn on the brides wedding day and is one of the most important piece of wedding day attire. African jewelry such as the inkarewa is created from a wide variety of materials, including beads, seeds, woods, gourds, bone, ivory, copper, and brass.

Maasai women are known for their distinct and vibrant jewelry, which holds cultural and symbolic significance within the Maasai community in East Africa. Jewelry plays an essential role in their traditions, ceremonies, and daily life. 

Maasai women also wear beaded waistbands and body beads. These beads are worn around the waist and sometimes extend across the stomach and hips. The waistbands are worn as a symbol of femininity and beauty, and they may make rhythmic sounds as the women dance.

  1. African Country Names Your Saying Wrong
  2. What do Waist Beads Symbolize in Africa?
  3. About African Healers and Witchdoctors
  4. Hurricanes are Angry African Ancestors
  5. Highest Temperature and Lowest Temperature in Africa
  6. About African Night Running


Chic African Culture and The African Gourmet=
The African Gourmet explores how African food, history, and science intertwine. Here, a plant is a healer, a story is a map, and the kitchen is a laboratory. I’m Ivy — a writer raised by historians, now sharing Africa’s wisdom from the U.S. through cookbooks, cultural research, and storytelling. If you’re curious about where flavor meets memory, you belong here.

Recipes Explain Politics

When Rice Recipes Become Revolution

What if your grandmother's rice recipe could explain the Liberian Rice Riots of 1979?

"In Liberia, rice isn't just food—it's life, identity, and sovereignty. When the government proposed raising rice prices in 1979, they weren't just adjusting economics; they were threatening every grandmother's ability to feed her family according to traditions passed down for generations."

The riot that followed wasn't about politics—it was about the sacred right to cook your family's rice recipe.

The Deeper Recipe

  • Ingredients: Colonial trade patterns + Urbanization + Economic inequality
  • Preparation: Political disconnect from daily survival needs
  • Serving: 40+ deaths, regime destabilization, and a warning about ignoring cultural fundamentals

This is African Gourmet analysis: understanding how the food in grandmother's pot connects to the protests in the streets. The recipes we inherit carry not just flavor, but the entire history of our political and economic struggles.

Read the Rice Riots Analysis → Try Liberian Rice Bread Recipe
Understanding Africa through the stories our food tells • Since 2006

Africa Worldwide: Top Reads

Africa × World: Editor's Picks

Cross-continental food, science, history, and cultural exchanges from the archive

African Gourmet FAQ

Archive Inquiries

Why "The African Gourmet" if you're an archive?

The name reflects our origin in 2006 as a culinary anthropology project. Over 18 years, we've evolved into a comprehensive digital archive preserving Africa's cultural narratives. "Gourmet" now signifies our curated approach to cultural preservation—each entry carefully selected and contextualized.

What distinguishes this archive from other cultural resources?

We maintain 18 years of continuous cultural documentation—a living timeline of African expression. Unlike static repositories, our archive connects historical traditions with contemporary developments, showing cultural evolution in real time.

How is content selected for the archive?

Our curation follows archival principles: significance, context, and enduring value. We preserve both foundational cultural elements and timely analyses, ensuring future generations understand Africa's complex cultural landscape.

What geographic scope does the archive cover?

The archive spans all 54 African nations, with particular attention to preserving underrepresented cultural narratives. Our mission is comprehensive cultural preservation across the entire continent.

Can researchers access the full archive?

Yes. As a digital archive, we're committed to accessibility. Our 18-year collection is fully searchable and organized for both public education and academic research.

How does this archive ensure cultural preservation?

Through consistent documentation since 2006, we've created an irreplaceable cultural record. Each entry is contextualized within broader African cultural frameworks, preserving not just content but meaning.