First Visit to a Maasai Village
We had seen many cattle, sheep and goat herds out in the bush during our games drives along with several isolated settlements of mud huts surrounded by thick, thorny brush; but it had only been from afar. However today, as we left the hills region to return to Arusha, we stopped at one of those Maasai villages. This was not the customary OAT, "Day in the Life" visit, but instead an "impromptu" drop-in by a group of curious Westerners.
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| Although not in view, animal herds are always monitored by one or more young boys or warriors-in-training. |
This is a typical Maasai house (below). A boma consists of several of these mud and cow dung houses, the number of which depends upon the number of wives the elder chief has. In this patriarchal, polygamous society, a chief may have multiple wives each one living in her own house with her own children.
The houses themselves are built by women, and their construction takes several months. Only pregnant and elderly women are excused from building duties. The elder women do, however, instruct and teach the younger generation on how to build good and stable houses.
The basic round or oblong framework is made of closely woven sticks and saplings. Any gaps are stuffed with leaves and grasses, and the whole structure is then plastered with a mixture of mud clay, fresh cow-dung, and human urine. When the mixture dries it becomes as strong as cement and is resistant to termites. The roof is also plastered with cow dung and then covered with grass that is collected in the bush. The cow dung is what makes the roof waterproof.
The houses are generally quite small and short. Maasai men are typically very tall and, therefore, cannot stand upright nor sleep fully extended. Nevertheless, families cook, sleep, eat, socialize and store food reserves, fuel and even small livestock in there. Each woman is responsible for her own hut, and she is also in charge of renovations.
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| In the entrance to this house hangs an aluminum kettle and enamel pitcher. |
The fire--using dried dung as fuel--is the center of the house and is used to cook, deter insects, and to keep the family warm during the rainy season. The only openings are that of the doorway and a small round opening in the roof or wall which allows smoke from a continually smoldering fire inside to escape and some light to enter during the day.
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| It took several moments for my eyes to adjust to the darkness, while my nose stung from the smoke-permeated air. |
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| There are usually 2 beds--one for the parents and the other for the children-- located close to the door. Typically they are made of woven branches cushioned with dry grass and animal skins. |
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| What little clothing they have is hung inside on clotheslines or branch hooks. |
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| This interior view of the roof shows the weaving and lashing of sticks and saplings. |
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| The thorny brush stockade is built by the men and serves both to keep livestock in at night and raiders and other predators out. |
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| Additional thorny stockades are used withing the interior of the boma to create smaller corrals to separate and maintain the animals. |
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| A herd of donkeys is tied to a tree and are used to carry plastic water jugs to and from the closest water hole. |
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These donkeys led to yet another opportunity for learning and discovery. After waiting what I considered a polite amount of time for others to volunteer (which they did not), I eagerly stepped forward to load a donkey with a pack of empty water jugs. Giving a quick look at the other donkey who was already loaded, I could see there was a front and a back to the pack. So as if I had done this before, I turned the pack around and placed it on the donkey's back.
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| Apparently, the chief (in red) and one of his sons must have thought I needed help. |
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| Tah-dah! Look Ma! I did it myself (almost). |
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The Maasai are traditionally nomadic cattle breeders moving with their animals to ensure good pasture, water and salt supplies. In recent times, however, due to pressure from the Tanzanian and Kenyan governments to adopt a more sedentary lifestyle, they have become semi-nomadic while demanding grazing rights to many of the national parks. In addition, a combination of recurrent drought, loss of grazing lands to wildlife reserves and large-scale agricultural investment has forced increasing numbers of Maasai to migrate to cities.
Traditional Maasai culture still revolves closely around the tribe's cattle herds. In fact, the measure of a man's worth is measured in the number of cattle he owns and the number of children he fathers. Cattle products are a central part of the Maasai diet as they only eat the meat and milk that they produce themselves and few, if any, fruits or vegetables. Other animals such as sheep and goats are slaughtered more for special occasions than for day to day use.That said, more recently with their cattle dwindling, the Maasai have grown dependent on food such as sorghum, rice, potatoes and cabbage (known to the Maasai as goat leaves).
The central unit of Maasai society is the age-set. Young boys are sent out with the calves and lambs as soon as they can toddle, but childhood for boys is mostly playtime. Girls are responsible for chores such as cooking and milking, skills which they learn from their mothers at an early age. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maasai_people)
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| From an early age, boys are sent out to mind the herds while their sisters work with their mothers to learn skills such as cooking and milking. |
Older boys and young men who have undergone the ritual circumcision tend the cattle.
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| These three young men may very well be junior elders which is the transition age-set between young warrior and senior elder. |
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From all appearances, childhood for both young boys and girls is all about playtime. And these children were oh-so-eager to play ball with us. In this case the "ball" was a Social Weaver nest from one of the nearby thorny Acacia trees.
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In addition, the bead-work for sale in this village, and that which we would see nearly everywhere in Tanzania, is also made by women. Bead-work was traditionally used to decorate animal hides, gourds, and to make jewelry including arm and leg bracelets and amulets. Women spend much of their spare time doing bead work, and both men and women often adorn their bodies with their beaded jewelry.
(http://www.bluegecko.org/kenya/tribes/maasai/family.htm)
It was nearing the end of our visit that the women displayed their creations on cloths spread on the ground. It was daunting to have so many necklaces, beaded collars, bracelets, cuffs and other crafts from which to choose. And since this was our first shopping experience, Lenny forewarned us that there would be more opportunities during the trip, so don't spend all our money here.
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| Another responsibility of women is to pick and clean gourds from vines to make containers like the one held by Lenny. Milk, blood, water, honey and cornmeal are stored inside them. They are often decorated with leather and beads. |
I don't know about the others in our group, but I had a difficult time choosing something to buy. However, it was not because I felt pressured or because nothing caught my eye. Rather, I didn't want to offend the women by looking at everything first, and then going back to something that interested me. But that anxiety was relieved when Lenny told us that even though you buy from a particular woman, the money goes into a communal pot.
It was also difficult to bargain, which is expected, being unable to converse in Swahili or in Tanzanian shillings. Thank goodness Lenny and Salum were at our sides not only to translate but also to help us understand the money.
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| With the help of our local guide, a transaction appears to be in progress. |
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This is the chief of this village. He greeted us when we first arrived and was present throughout our visit. After purchasing my necklace (which I can be seen wearing), I thanked the chief for our visit and posed for a photo with him. I noticed, however, that he had amended his ear adornment since we arrived.
In fact, if you look closely, his left ear lobe is quite stretched with a gaping hole. But if you look even more closely at what he is holding in his right hand, you'll see a miniature liquor bottle like the kind you get on an airplane. When we first arrived, I had noticed that bottle inserted in his earlobe, silently commenting to myself. Why he removed it, I have no idea, but I later learned doing research for this blog, that it has been customary to use "thorns for piercing, twigs, bundles of twigs, stones, the cross section of elephant tusks and empty film canisters." That explains it.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maasai_people)
