Visiting The Maasai People in Kenya

July 18, 2021

While staying at Amboseli National Park, I set up a visit to the nearby village of the Maasai people. I have always had wonderful interactions with the different tribes here in East Africa. Going into their home and seeing the traditional way of life of tribes like the Maasai can have lasting effects on how you prioritize things in your own life. It can be a powerful reminder of what is important. So I was happy that everyone in the group was up for the adventure.

Rod jumped even higher a minute later

As we parked near the village we could see the spokesman waiting for us. His name was Joel, and he gathered us in front of the entrance for a quick welcome dance and prayer from a few of the Maasai. The village was surrounded by a homemade wall of acacia thorn branches. The cows and goats could not escape and hopefully the big cats would be deterred enough not to get in. Inside the ring of thorns wall were enough mud hut dwellings for all 160 people that lived there. Then the inner of the circle was reserved as a cattle pen with some smaller pens for the goats. This is where the cows were kept every night, under the watchful eye of a village member. One of the young men of the village, Daniel, told me that once a lion did jump into the village at night and ate one of the cows. They were able to call the rangers to come get it. When I asked about the tradition of young boys having to kill a lion during their coming-of-age time, he said that they no longer practiced that...and it was alright with him. The neighboring National Park does employ a large number of the Maasai men and women in the area, so the idea of protecting the wildlife is easily understood here. I imagine the traditions still cling with tribes farther away from the benefits of nearby national parks.

Creating fire

Then a few of the men demonstrated how to make fire with some dung, straw, and two wooden sticks. I was pretty amazing at the speed and efficiency of the fire makers. They had the wood smoking in no time and the straw lit up soon after. I tried my hand at it afterwards to comedic effect. We asked what the two sticks were made out of and he said, 'acacia and cedar.'

Then we were introduced to the small kids of the village. They showed off some impressive math skills, writing the answer in the dirt with their fingers since no one had paper and pencils. What struck me the most was that when asked a question, the kids all threw up their hand verbalizing 'pick me' in their language. They were so eager to show off their intellectual skills, which meant that the teaching their not only taught them answers, but the desire to perform and utilize their skills.

The Eldest

We were able to ask lots of questions on our tour, and take photos as well. One of my favorite subjects was the eldest woman in the tribe. She didn't seem to speak much English, but allowed me to take her portrait. She had the look of a very tough woman who had seen a lot, and outlasted all those around her age. Her jewelry was beautiful, her earlobes hung low in the Maasai style, and she didn't even flinch as two flies searched for water at the corner of her eyes. The next time I come back to this village there is a good chance that she will not still be there. In that case I would love to show the villagers this photo of her and see their reactions to remembering her most amazing long life.

Rod and Sarah around the embers

Also of great interest was discovering what the inside of one of the dwellings was like. Joel invited us into his family's hut. It was constructed out of mud, dung, straw, and sticks. It seemed quite sturdy to the touch, and the opening reminded me a little bit of that of an igloo. After squeezing through the opening and letting our eye adjust to the intense darkness, I could see the hut had two separated rooms. One room was for the adults, and the other the children. A cows hide was stretched across some stick creating the bed, and warm red embers burned from the little cooking fire that always burned inside. The air was only a little smoky, which Joel said kept the mosquitos out. I think all of us were surprised that we could all fit into the hut. I could even stand up straight.

We spent some time checking out the amazing beadwork and crafts that the women of the village had created. The biggest surprise of this was not how much Sarah and Lindsay walked away with, but that Sarah B somehow found one of the Maasai men who was a fellow yoga teacher. So I had to get a few shots of them doing some poses together. You just never know.