Elegant Daasanach Branch Headrest

The Daasanach are a Cushitic people of the lower Omo Valley. They subsist on pastoralism, post-flood cultivation and fishing. Historically, they have had an antagonistic relationship with the Turkana to their southwest, the Nyangatom to their northwest, the Hamar to their northeast, and the Gabra to their southeast. Much of this is related to cattle rustling, ancient rivalries, and isolation. Branch-style headrests are widely distributed throughout southern Sudan, northern Uganda and northwest Kenya. They appear in historical photographs of the Nuer and Larim ethnic groups, and were field recorded with notes among the Nyangatom, Kara, Anuak, Banna, Chai, Karamojong, Pokot and Rendille. As seemingly simple as they are (a split section of log employing three or more trimmed branches as legs), there are variations in the approach to form and proportion, and the degree of reductive carving and refinement. Daasanach branch headrests have a thin, relatively short platform, and longish legs. As with this example, the wood is from a slow growing acacia with a tight grain that holds details well. This is an especially elegant example of its type. $375

6.5″

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