Pokot Herdsman

NOT FOR SALE

80 x 120 cm  –  Oil on canvas

The pastoral Pokot heard their cattle & flocks across the waterless scrub north of Lake Baringo across the Kerio to the Turkwel river and Karasuk Hills near the boundary with Uganda. Their aggressive search for water and grazing brings them into conflict with the Turkana and the Karamoja and all the other tribes around them.

This painting is from an old photo of my father’s taken in the 1950s when he had the chance to meet and get to know the Pokot. He got on very well with them and was always made very welcome. The Pokot no longer wear their traditional attire and the headdress and necklace like the one in this painting are no longer to be seen.