[Previous entry: "July 26 - Masai Mara, Kenya (Balloon Safari)"] [Next entry: "July 26 - Masai Mara, Kenya"]

Visiting the Masai village was another very worthwhile thing we did today.

A Maasai named Alex was our guide - he was the son of the clan's chief (he said he was one of 7 brothers, and he also had 4 sisters). He explained so many things to us. The "manyatta" or group of homes are surrounded by a spiky fence made of spiky acacia branches and "sandpaper tree" branches (the leaves really feel like sandpaper). There are several animals pens inside the exterior fence, the largest is right in the center. The ground throughout the complex was covered in manure, so you can imagine how many flies there were!

Each family has their own entrance through the fence that they cover at night. Near their entrance is their house. The houses are made by the women, and consist of sticks and dried cow dung. The houses last for 9 years, then the entire village moves someplace else and rebuilds their homes. He took us into one of the houses, and it is very hard to imagine that people really live in there. It is very dark, very hot (the weather has been great too, so I'd hate to feel it during hot weather!), very smoky (they cook on a fire inside the house) and very cramped (it's only about 8-10 foot square). In the one we were in there were 4 rooms (2 bedrooms, the kitchen/living area, and a calf pen). Masai life is dominated by their cattle....this is their food and livelihood, and it is used to pay dowry's. When a boy is young, he gets to take care of his own herd of baby cows, sheep, and goats, and as he gets older, he will care for larger animals. At 13, a boy gets circumsized, and around 15-17, he must go out into the wilderness to kill a lion. Alex showed us the spears that they use to kill the lion, and he let us touch his own lion tooth. At some point a young man is expected to live away from the clan, alone in the wilderness. Alex said he went to Tanzania, during his turn. At 23, men are expected to marry, and all marriages are arranged. Alex was 21, and said he knew who he was supposed to marry, but said he had never talked to her. Mike asked him if she was "cute," and Alex laughed and said yes. Maasai men are allowed to take more than one wife, but they must pay a dowry for each one. Girls are expected to marry around the age of 16, and they wear silver ankle bracelets to signify that they have done so. As wives, they work in the home, cook, take care of the children, fetch the water, and build the homes. Boys and girls who do not go to school must pierce/stretch their ears...sounded very painful.

While we were there, we saw a traditional male dance performance that included jumping up and down...the higher you could jump, the smaller dowry you'd have to pay! They invited Mike to join in, and he had a great time, but he didn't jump very high....haha, he'll have a high dowry!! :) They put a lion headdress on him...apparently these are made after a boy's ceremonial kill. We also saw a female dance performance, and they invited me to join in. I was shy to try, but I did anyway! All of these girls looked to be very young, but they all had the silver ankle bracelets signifying that they were married. A couple of the men also showed us how they make fire. It took them about a minute...I'm not kidding...they just rubbed a stick on a piece of wood, then put some hay on it and blew...and there the fire was!