Being that I touched upon West-African culture with Uganda in her Oshun dress a few weeks ago, I thought it would be appropriate enough to touch upon East-African culture with Nuk next.

Here, Nuk is adorned in traditional Masai beaded Jewelry with a vibrant red dress. She seems to be enjoying a gentle breeze or lightly moving to some easy music.

Since Nuk is a Gerenuk, which is an Antelope found within the eastern countries of Africa like Kenya and Tanzania, it makes sense that she would be associated with this particular tribe, since the Masai people themselves are found in the same region.

Clearly a lot more reserved than Uganda swinging about, it reflects a lot on her shy personality, as well as her more slender/delicate form.

It was quite fun researching and looking for good references to make this piece, for I’ve learned that the Masai women weave and bead pretty much all jewelry created. There are literally no two pair of earrings alike! All of them are unique to the individual.

This is why Nuk’s ears are adorned with several kinds. (Her ears are big enough for many pairs!)

There were so many designs to choose from.

The same goes for necklaces, bracelets and anklets as well. The women seem to have endless creativity when crafting such pieces.

Even clothing which is often red in color, can vary with flower designs, stripes and even unusual colors like blue, yellow and green.

It’s really what makes the Masai one of the most strikingly beautiful tribes to see in Africa!

I also learned through watching and listening to various documentaries and traditional music, that they are very soft-spoken individuals, much like Nuk here, but can sing their hearts out when doing traditional dances or welcoming newcomers.

Being that this is a redraw of the Masai Nuk I drew last year, I realized in the process of drawing this one that I actually dressed her as what a male warrior would look like. So, that’s not entirely accurate, as well as being a bit disproportionate.

Glad to have made the proper changes to what she would actually look like. I just love how pretty she looks here.

Hope you enjoy her as well!