Visit to a Maasai village

While staying at Il Ngwesi Ldoge, we were invited to visit a nearby Maasai village to experience life there and to learn about the history of the Maasai traditions in this particular community. For the most part, Maasai are pasturalists, meaning they raise cattle, donkeys and goats, which is ultimately the measure of wealth since it determines how well a man can marry and how many wives he can afford. Even today this is the way it is, although it seems that more educated Maasai only see the need for one wife.

This particular community had the misfortune to lose their livestock to neighboring Somali tribes some years back in battles and had to find alternative means to regain their wealth. Their solution was to become hunters, but only long enough to buy enough livestock to live on. Ingeniously they disguised donkeys as oryxes (with long horns) and hid behind them in order to get close enough to buffalo in order to fatally spear them. They also keep beehives.

The village consists of several men with his 1-3 wives and many children. Each wife has her own hut, traditionally grouped with the first wife's hut on the right and the second and third to the left. Each hut has a bed (made of dried mud with goat skins as blankets) for the wife and man (when he is there) and another bed for the children. The cooking is also done in the hut resulting in very smoky sleeping environments. But, that prevents the mosquitoes from coming in and thereby helps prevent malaria.

This was our welcome to the village:

The Maasai drink the milk from the goats and cows. The milk is stored in 'bottles' made of special hollowed out fruits like the one in this woman's hand. It is sterilized by burning and heating the inside with a burning stick, as this woman is doing. The young children are tied onto the woman's back with a cloth and that is where they spend most of their time in the first two years.

The elders (all married men) have many privileges like being allowed to play games like Bao. They are also allowed to drink honey beer on special occasions. They are responsible for making the decisions for the village. Specially appointed elders representatives from each village get together regularly to decide questions that involve the entire community.

playing bao (while the women work)

A mother with daughters bringing in the goats and calves for the night.

Of course Sascha was thrilled with the baby goats in their pen.

The animal pen for the nights. Each man has one padlock in the middle of the complex.

Children, especially young boys, are responsible for watching the herds of goats and cattle during the day. The girls stay mainly in the village vicinity unless fetching water.

Bringing in the goats for the night.