This bold and colourful necklace would be worn by a bride on her wedding day. It is made from red and green glass beads and cowrie shells attached by wire to cowhide. The number of rows worn is an indication of wealth. Necklaces like this are an everyday adornment for married women.

Jewellery is important amongst the Maasai people who create it for ornamentation and to signify special relationships and occasions, such as a young couple becoming engaged to be married, or the celebration of a successful lion hunt.

The materials and colours all have specific meanings. Cowrie shells symbolise destiny and prosperity. The Maasai are traditionally a pastoral people, so much of the colour symbolism relates to cattle. Red signifies danger, ferocity, bravery, strength, and especially unity, because it is the colour of the blood of the cow that is slaughtered when the community comes together to celebrate. Blue represents the sky, which provides water for the cows, and green represents the land where food grows for cattle to eat. Green also represents the health of the Maasai community because there is a local plant called olari which grows tall and plentiful, as the Maasai hope they will too. White is the colour of milk, which comes from a cow, considered by the Maasai as a pure and holy animal, so white represents purity. White also represents health, because it is milk that nourishes the community. Black represents the colour of the people but more importantly the hardships we all go through in life. It suggests that difficult times occur with everyone because those difficulties are part of the natural sequence of life.