The Art depicting a Turkana woman, hailing from the Turkana tribe, known as the Nilotic people native to Turkana County in Northwest Kenya. This region boasts a semi-arid climate and borders Lake Turkana to the east. Traditional Turkana attire is modest, typically featuring a cloth knotted on the shoulder for men, resembling a tunic, and for women, a dress fashioned from two pieces of cloth or leather wrapped around their waist and chest.

Renowned for their leatherworking skills, Turkana women craft intricate skirts from animal hide, embellished with vibrant beads and fragments of ostrich eggs. Adorning themselves with elaborate necklaces, often weighing up to 10 kilograms, these women employ animal fat as a lubricant to prevent discomfort from friction on the neck. While historic necklaces were crafted from seeds and shells, contemporary versions utilize colorful glass or plastic beads.

Symbolizing social standing, these substantial necklaces are seldom removed by women, except during illness or bereavement. Men strive to augment their wives' collection of necklaces, signifying prestige and marital devotion. Girls receive brightly colored necklaces from their fathers since birth, accumulating them until marriage at 20, when they reach the maximum wearable quantity. Upon marriage, they trade their collection to younger siblings, thereafter receiving necklaces exclusively from their husbands. Widows replace vibrant necklaces with entirely white ones.

Married women also wear a flat metal necklace akin to a wedding ring. Turkana hairstyles are elaborate, with women shaving the sides and intricately weaving and adorning the central hair with beads and feathers. Animal fat and wood ash serve as fixatives for these hairstyles.

Furthermore, Turkana tradition includes ear and lower lip piercings, the latter performed using plugs from acacia trees. Though this custom diminishes with time, older individuals maintain these labrets.

Observing the necklaces, earrings, and pendants worn by Turkana women reveals insights into their marital status, family dynamics, recent life events, and the absence or presence of their husbands.