Kenyan women often wear khangas, which are colorful fabrics wrapped around the waist like skirts. While many Kenyans dress similarly to those in the United States and wear Western clothes, some traditional tribes like the Masai have kept their unique cultural dress. Masai men typically wear red-checked blankets and carry spears or clubs, while Masai women wear large beaded necklaces and khangas. School uniforms are also common in Kenya, with girls wearing skirts or dresses and boys wearing pants and shirts of a specified color.

1. Kenyan Clothing

2. Compare the way people are dressed in this picture to the way people dress in the United States, India and China.

3. The majority of Kenyans dress similarly to the way we dress in the United States. Many men dress in suits and ties. Women will often wear a skirt and blouse or a shirt on top with a khanga wrapped around her like a skirt.

4. Describe the fabric (khangas) the women are wearing in this picture.

10. You might notice that the clothes the children are wearing are similar to clothes you wear.

11. Many of the clothes that Kenyan people wear come from the United States and Europe.

12. Each school has a uniform. Girls wear a blouse and skirt or a dress and shirt. Boys wear pants and shirts, all in a specified color.

14. Some tribes have kept their traditional dress and life style. The Masai are probably the most well known tribe out of the 70 tribes in Kenya.

15. The men are famous for wearing a red-checked shuka (Masai blanket). They often carry a spear and/or a wood ball-ended club.

16. When males become ‘morans’ (warriors), around age 14, they traditionally dye their hair red with ochre and fat.

17. Masai women typically wear large colorful, plate-like bead necklaces that they make, and khangas.