Maasai Shuka Cloth
The shuka is the checked cloth, usually in shades of red, that Maasai wrap around the body as a toga-like garment, a dress so distinctive it has become the visual signature of the Maasai in Kenya and Tanzania. Red is the colour of cattle blood and of the warrior ideal, and the bold plaid stands out in the savannah where the herds graze. The shuka replaced the older dress of hides and skins during the twentieth century, when imported cotton cloth spread through the region, and its adoption shows how a modern commodity was absorbed into Maasai identity. Different communities favour different col