Housekeeping: It's official, corruption is rampant and blatant in Kenya as evidenced in the daily papers for Thursday March 24th. http://www.eastandard.net/ Interesting, no?
Today I went to the curio market in a semi-upscale area called Westlands. It's sort of like the mega market that is Gikomba as in you walk through stalls to check out the merchandise but it's more enclosed, definitely more quiet, smells better and they sell curios, artifacts, jewelry etc. rather than clothes. This is where you'll find all those touristy things that people will inevitably bring back after being on "safari" in Kenya. There are wooden carvings that range in size from tiny to large carving and they are shaped in the form of masai tribesmen, wild animals, masks, stools etc. Really quite impressive and what's more amazing is that if you will most likely find them being created right before your very eyes.
There's also the soap stone culture from the Kisii people. There area is popular for the natural soft stone (sorry, didn't research the exact name) and they make plates, bowls, spoons etc. that appear ceramic as they are that delicate. Nearly every stall that I passed that featured this craft had the proprietors actually shaping and sanding the stones while continuously dipping them in water as they made the smooth forms of whatever they were intended to be. One popular and lucrative form they use is making chess sets. The boards are cut to a precise standard and each chess piece is made of the same stone and intricately shaped to match the bases and compliment the board. I asked one of the stone makers how long it took him to make one chess set and he said about 3 weeks and he valued it initially at about $20 but was willing to bargain for it.
There is an art to obtaining these pieces though. Every stall you pass will have someone politely calling out to you to come and look at the wares. They will watch your eyes closely and if you stare at one item for more than a second, it's immediately picked up and thrust in your hands. Lol, I had barely made it through the entrance and was immediately besieged by, "Madam, please come in, make yourself comfortable." The jewelry is amazing, bracelets and necklaces made from extremely colorful maasai beads and copperwires, the earrings are also the same and they have wonderful tiny wood carvings on them. The variety is endless and attractive but the bartering makes them much more appreciated.
E.g., I happened to stare at a large bracelet for quite a while and it was immediately wrapped around my wrist with the seller saying, "How much do you want to spend for this?" If you ask them how much, that's usually what the retort is. But it's hard to bargain if you're not sure what price they typically go for so I insisted he name his first and he said 500 shillings. (roughly $7....btw, what the hell is going on with the dollar? It's doing miserably over here) It was a gorgeous bracelet but I wasn't going to spend that much so I said 250. "Madam, look at that beading, the pattern, the delicate artwork. I spend one week doing one of these, I cannot let it go for that low, I beg you, how about 450. I examined it closely and it was beautiful but I tried to validate the purchase in my mind. How often would I wear it and with what and on what occasion? And the more I thought about that, the more hesitant I became and began to view it as an impulse purchase. He recognized this and immediately dropped it to 300 and that was his final offer. I argued with myself for a while and then reluctantly set it down and slowly backed away, all the time he asking me to name my price and he'd let it go even though it would mean a loss for him. I walked on, now being occasionally pursued by more sellers as I had shown interest in some items.
All around me were tourists doing the same and they knew it was expected for them to bargain or as one Italian I overheard put it incorrectly, "barter" for the items. I got lost while in this maze but it's been absolutely stunning today and even though the clouds have threatened occasionally, it's been hot and humid. I stopped by one stall as I saw a similar bracelet to the one I first found but it wasn't as attractive. I asked the seller how much, "How much do you think it is?" he replied? I said 100 and he hissed through his teeth, "Too low, madam, how about 400?" This one was more persistent than the other. He picked up another set of bracelets and put them in my hands and when I tried to hand them back he backed away, hands in the air, "Please choose madam, I know you like them very much." I started to laugh now as he wouldn't take them back until I'd selected one that I liked. Poor man, I put it down when he finally let me and he made me promise I would come back and make his day.
Lol, was very fun and interesting and in a totally safe place that I would feel comfortable taking "wageni" (guests) to. This weekend, I will be checking out another mitumba (second hand) clothing place that's in a more middle class neighborhood.
Hope you enjoy reading these as much as I love writing them. Laters, and happy Easter to all.
Kenyans celebrate Easter starting with Good Friday tomorrow and most shops and government offices will be closed until Tuesday as Easter Monday is also celebrated.
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