Masai magic

Arts & Activities, Jan, 2005 by Gopika Parikh

Constantly on the lookout for ideas and strategies to integrate multicultural art projects with my elementary art curriculum, I was fortunate when one of my friends who had visited East Africa brought back for me beautiful artifacts, cords, literature and photos of the Masai tribe that lived in Central Kenya and Tanzania.

I shared these articles and as many books on the Masai as I could find in the library with my fifth- through eighth-grade students. They were fascinated and amazed at the simplicity and beauty of the photographs of paintings and the artifacts.

We talked at length about the Masai tribe's rituals, ceremonies and social life. The students started with no knowledge about the tribe, but after four weeks they were enriched with many details.

I started our art project by sharing photocopies of various Masai artworks that were brought back from East Africa. Each student was given a choice of artwork they liked. After they selected one, I explained the characteristics of folk art and students looked for special characteristics of facial features, headdress and jewelry.

Each student was then given an 8" x 11" sheet of white paper on which to draw his or her sketch. We went over the details of where the eyes and mouth should be and I told them to measure the size of the head to the body to make sure the proportions were correct.

After the students finished their black line drawing, I gave them permanent black markers to outline their drawings. Afterwards, we stapled madras tissue (it's variegated with beautiful colors) over their line drawing paper. They then outlined the tracings that showed well from under the tissue.

Then they drew the details on their picture. For example, the Masai warrior had hair braided down to the shoulders, with beautiful jewelry in the hair and beads around their neck. The young Masai bride is shaven, but wore cowrie shells and beads to adorn her. The young Turkana boy stood by his prized possession--a gourd. They used a carved gourd to store milk and water. The students used ultra-fine permanent markers to do the details on the jewelry and patterns on the gourd.

Finally, leaving a small area around the facial features, the students colored in the body and faces with black permanent marker. The results were amazing. We had every teacher in the school admiring the fabulous artwork. The student art was displayed in a showcase for all parents and students to view as they came to school. As a teacher, it was satisfying to see kids proud of their artistic creations.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Students will ...

* learn about the traditions and customs of the Masai Tribe from Africa.

* become familiar with the arts of the famous Masai artist Daaniel Njoroge.

* discuss the unique qualities of African patterns.

* learn to create their own patterns for their artwork based on African textiles.

MATERIALS

* 8" x 11" white drawing paper

* Pencils

* Madras tissue

* Black permanent markers

* Stapler

Gopika Parikh teaches fifth- through eighth-grade art at St. Mark's Lutheran School in Hacienda Heights, California.