Maasai Village

Dawn over the Masai Mara. In the afternoon, a storm rolled in, creating some interesting lighting.

We went to a Maasai village. Specifically, this is the village Daniel is from. It was a lengthy drive through the park to get there. We have visited similar villages before. They tend to feel like an elaborate shakedown for cash. We weren’t thrilled about going but agreed.

We met Daniel’s brother, Mike. He explained that the village of 200 is all descended from their grandfather. I suspect this means that male children stay in the village and bring in wives from the outside. The females are probably married to outsiders and move away. The going rate for a bride in this culture is 6 cows. We didn’t explore the rules around marrying one’s cousin. A man will often have multiple wives. Daniel has two.

Mike then informed us that the price of the visit was $30 apiece. This was the first we’d heard there was an admission fee. We converted to Kenya Shillings, as we carry very little US cash on these trips. 18,000 Ksh later, the show began. Mike also explained that the cash went to fund their school. I suspect this is partly true, but not entirely. He told us the boys stay in school until they are 14. Then they go through a ritual circumcision, and a group of them are sent into the bush for three months to live and learn. When they come back, they are given jobs. This village does a lot of blacksmithing. By tradition, if the boy can kill a lion, he becomes a warrior. This seems to have changed some, as the population of lions dropped too rapidly.

I asked about the girls’ schooling. We were told they attend until they are 18. From other discussions with and about the Maasai, we know this isn’t true. They are often sold into marriage much sooner.

The performance began with the men dancing. This includes a few ritual dances, including one to celebrate the killing of a lion. One of the dances the Maasai are known for includes jumping. Below is some of the jumping. The man’s hat is a lion mane.

Below is a second man jumping. The game park is in the background.

They typically try to rope a tourist or two into the dancing. This makes it more fun. Cameron was a good sport, as the rest of us refused.

We then all joined the procession into the village for demonstrations. The village is made of individual huts, surrounded by a barrier of thorny shrubs. The shrubs keep predators out so the animals can be brought into the perimeter at night.

Below are Ginger, Cameron, and me.

Claudia.

Below are several men making a fire. They use a flat piece of cedar and a rod of another, harder wood. They were unsuccessful in really getting a flame going, due to wet wood. But we got the process.

Below is one of the huts. These are made of sticks, mud, and cow dung. They last about 7 years. The women are charged with building the huts.

We went inside Mike’s hut, below. There is little light, lots of smoke, no space, and enough heat to bake a pizza. The kids all share one “bedroom”; the parents get a second one. Then there is a “guest room.” Cameron is sitting in the entry to the parents' cubicle.

The Maasai have a difficult culture for me to get comfortable with. The treatment of the women is a big part of it. See the above comments on the men having multiple wives.

In addition, some parts of the culture still support female genital mutilation. It is officially illegal in Kenya but is still practiced. As also discussed above, the girls often are sold into marriage at a young age. This is often preceded by the mutilation. This often happens when the girl comes of age and the father deems she is a financial burden. Better to sell her and get cattle than sell a cow to pay for her school.

Outside organizations often focus on keeping the girls in boarding school and having their school expenses paid by a sponsor, in order to keep this from happening. The girl is out of sight and not costing the father.

One other demonstration we watched in the village was drinking cow’s blood. This is often done as a ritual, but also as a demonstration for cash. The cow is shot with a small arrow to get a stream of blood coming out. This is caught in a pitcher and passed around to drink. The whole thing left us sick, watching it. Not so much because of the drinking, but because of what it puts the cow through. I chose not to include any pictures.

Just to sum it up, the traditional Maasai diet consists of milk, fat, meat, blood, honey, and tree bark.