Traditional women's headdress "ekori" ·  Namibia, Herero · ID: 3048621

Description

hide (sheep or goatskin), glass beads,
Consisting of leather cap “ocipa” with three lancet-shaped, pointed leather horns “ozonya”, which are decorated with fine decorative stitches.

The headdress “ekori” was worn exclusively by married women on special occasions.

It was complemented by a veil made of animal skin, which was rolled up and framed the woman’s face.

Only when a young bride was escorted in solemn procession to her husband’s hut did she wear the veil open so that it covered her face. Even when a woman returned to her parental home as a widow, she wore her face veiled in this way.

In the late 19th century, in the course of Christianisation, the “ekori” was replaced by a headdress made of cloth, “otjikaiva”.

The object Traditional women’s headdress “ekori” with the object ID 3048621 was part of the auction 97th Auction on November 6, 2021. The object with the lot number 379 achieved a sales price of EUR 8,500 with an asking price of EUR 3,500.

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Comparing literature

Arnoldi, Mary Jo & Christine Mullen Kreamer, Crowning achievements, Los Angeles 1995, p. 36 f. Szalay, Miklós, Die ethnographische Südwestafrika-Sammlung Hans Schinz 1884-1886, Zürich 1979, p. 48