The elegant three-legged African stool

Elegant three-legged African stool (PHOTO: COURTESY)

While still in the Madaraka Day mood, it is good to reflect on the use of traditional African furniture in our living space as a reminder of where we have come from.

The three-legged stool remains a great fascination as one of the earliest forms of seating furniture with its characteristic deep concave surface and elegantly curved legs.

The stool was used everyday by the women in cooking and grinding areas or in the farm when milking cows. On the other hand, royal stools had a designated user and were an indication of status, power and succession of chiefs and kings.

Recently, I got to see three-legged traditional stools designed by Kenyan artisan Fredrick Bundi Raria. Based at the Galleria Mall in Karen, Nairobi, Raria makes the stools from mature Jacaranda tree wood.

“I make the stools using a single block of log from the wood between stem and roots, which has twisted grains that are more durable and cannot break or crack,” he said.

The stool is made without using joints or nails. The tabletop takes the shape of the log and the legs are curved into cheetah hoofs or shaped like the elephant trunk or shaped into an abstract African mask.

Colourful

Colourful Maasai beads are intricately banged onto the surface to provide decorative artwork.

The 2004 Nobel Peace Prize laureate and environmentalist Wangari Mathai often used the analogy of the three legs of the stool as a symbolic representation of good management of our natural resources, a good government that respects humankind and peace.

The base on which we sit is development that gets people out of poverty and conflict. If one of the legs is missing, then the base will be out of balance and unsustainable.

Whether in your living room or at the office reception, find a place in your living space to incorporate the three-legged stool not only for aesthetic functional beauty but as a reminder that we should take responsibility for self-management and to be contributors to good governance.