Mporo beads form a vertical row down the necklace's center.
The necklace has changed over time. The example you see here is contemporary. It is made of doum palm fibers, occasional giraffe hair, which are strung through layers of mporo beads. It is a necessary component of the bride's adornment in the marriage ceremony. Since poverty has forced so many women to sell their beads to local, national, and international traders however, an increasing number of women no longer own their own necklaces.