Area of Male Nudity

Many nomadic herders in East Africa. have worn, if any, a minimal dress, such as a short goatskin wrapped around the shoulders, and elaborate body paint. They also wear beaded ornamentation in the form of necklaces or collars. Traditional dress depends on age and marital status. Young warriors, for example, wear beaded necklaces and earplugs (thick, cylindrical ornaments worn on the earlobe), with special hairstyles and headdresses. There was nothing wrong to display the beauty of the body.
During the European colonization of East Africa beginning in the 1800s, Europeans were shocked by the nakedness of the native nomadic peoples. Traditional African body decoration such as body paint and scarification (patterns of decorative scars) also distressed Europeans. Modern African governments have exerted pressure on nomadic groups to wear modern clothing sufficient to cover the genitals. Dinka men, for example, traditionally wear only a beaded waist corset, the colour of which conveys their age. By the 1980s, however, they were legally required to wear additional clothing when they entered a town.