Maasai Village

We say goodbye to Triona and Amanda before making the transfer to our four wheel drive vehicle for a day in the Masai Mara National Reserve.  Triona and Amanda are off to join a different Kumuka tour for the rest of their time in Kenya and Tanzania while we carry on further south together. 

We have packed a day pack for our stay in the Masai Mara and pile into a smaller truck to make  the long drive to this famous park.  On the way we have a few dramas such as getting bogged on the muddy road but finally make it to the Maasai village!

Ever since I read the White Maasai, I have been fascinated by these people and often thought how wonderful it would be to actually spend some time with them.  Now….here I am!

The Maasai traditional lifestyle has always centred around cattle.  They believe these animals are sacred and provide for many of their needs. This include milk, blood and meat which forms a major part of their diet while the hides and skins are used as part of their wardrobe and for other purposes around their huts.

I love the colour of the Maasai people.  The men  drape brightly coloured blankets around themselves to ward off predators and carry a clubbed stick in case of close encounters. The women are equally colourful and can be seem decked out in the beautiful beaded jewellery which they make and the sarongs or kangas which they wear.

The village headman greets us and invites us in to their compound.    He is keen to share his culture with us and encourages us to ask as many questions as we like.  We are also invited to take photos which is great.  We would not be able to do so as easily outside the village.

They live together in small family units, each family in their own basic hut, built around a central compound where their cattle are housed during the night to protect them from marauding predators.  A stick fence around the compound is all the protection they have.

The houses are tiny and built from mud and cow dung and includes a space inside for their milk cow!  We crowd around inside and wonder how these tall warriors manage to get comfortable in such small quarters! 

Although the Maasai are less than 5% of the population in Kenya and Tanzania, it is this one tribe that all visitors to East Africa associate with this part of the world and wish to visit.  They migrated here from Sudan more than a 1000 years ago.  While they did lose land during the colonial period and their numbers decreased due to decease and famine they have bravely fought to hold on to their traditional way of life.

Both the men and women perform their dancers for us and invite us to join in.  We oblige with a bit of trepidation having just watched the boys trying to keep up with the jumping Maasia.  Fortunately, the women’s dancing is far more sedate and involves a lot of head shaking and basically walking around. 

While this may not be a totally genuine cultural experience I am still absolutely enjoying being here.  It is wonderful to get a glimpse into this ancient traditional culture that still seems to survive despite the pressures of the outside world that calls for modernisation.I wonder what it must be like to live in total isolation without running water, electricity or access to some of the most basic necessities we take for granted.  Many of these people will never leave their little village in the middle of the Masai Mara except perhaps the women who may migrate to a neighbouring tribe after they marry. 

We are invited to buy some of their traditional jewellery and I get a few trinkets and a Maasai blanket before the rain pelts down and we make a dash for our truck!

 Your work is to discover your world and then with all your heart give yourself to it.  ~Buddha