Woman's pride in dying ear piercing tradition

Naum Chumba, 79, a resident of Nandi County. [Edward Kosut, Standard]

Naum Chumba went through painful ear piercing - the traditional way.

Sixty years later, she still wears her traditional ornaments with pride.

A badge of honour that she acquired through immense pain and endurance. 

Her earrings were made by traditional blacksmiths, who used metal, hide and beads.

Chumba cherishes her looks even with her earlobes hanging over her shoulders. This was the true mark of beauty in the days gone by, and many girls endured pain just to acquire the look.

In today's world, ear piercing is painless (or little pain) thanks to technology. 

Unlike her peers who later went for reconstructive surgery on their ear lobes, Chumba, a resident of Cheboror village in Nandi County, chose to retain her piercing. 

She is among a small number of elderly women who still wear traditional ornaments and serve as a reference point to the young generation.  

"Ear piercing was done by men and women among the Kalenjin. I went through the process during my teenage, prior to initiation to adulthood in the late 1950s," she narrates. 

Chumba, 79, states that the tradition was a mark of bravery, and earned one respect. It was popular until 1970s when it was slowly phased out by modern jewellery. 

"It was compulsory for girls at puberty to possess all the ornaments," she stated. 

The ancient practice was done to initiate girls into adulthood and prepare them for marriage.

Girls from the age of 14 were taken through the process that would last up to six months. 

A section of Kalenjin women in Nandi who still has their ears pierced still cherish the beauty of the eroded culture. [Edward Kosut, Standard]

Chumba, a mother of eight, recalls how her earlobes were pierced at the age of 15.

“It was a painful process since I was left at the mercy of medicine men using knives and scalpels made by blacksmiths,” she says. 

She added: "To achieve the desired earlobes, medicinemen cut below the ears with caution. It was really painful and the only remedy to reduce the pain was the use of cold water to make the earlobe numb." 

The grandmother further said pieces of wood of various sizes were carefully inserted into the pierced earlobes and left hanging for some days as it gradually healed.

"Round pieces of wood known in the community as ‘Kabareiwek’, were inserted to enlarge the pierced earlobes to desired sizes. It was changed every week from smaller to larger sizse to achieve the desired size of hanging pierced earlobes,” she said.

For women, the ornaments were made from leather artistically designed with beads. They ornaments are known as ‘Muiwekab itik’ (ear decoration leather) and ‘Kipseseiyat’, an ornament made for the healed hole. 

The Standard found Chumba and Ann Sawe dancing to a Kalenjin cultural folk song. Their ornaments swaying in tandem with the music. 

"In Nandi and entire Kalenjin, people no longer practice ear piercing. It is the reason many of us have kept our piercing so that the younger generation can see our culture," said Sawe, 73. 

Men's ornaments were different from women's. 

Solomon Cherumbas, a resident of Nandi County, said men wore ‘lemerinik’

"The practice ended with Mainek age group," he stated.

Origin of culture

Ear piercing is believed to have originated from Egypt, where Nilotic communities are traced to come from over 1000 years ago.  

Apart from the Kalenjin, the Turkana, Samburu, Njemps and Maasai also pierced and decorated their ears.