On our second day at the Mara we went to visit a Masaai Village located in the reserve. There are a few or even many and our driver took us to the one closest to our hotel-maybe a 20/25 min ride. Throughout our time in Kenya we have seen many Masaai people hearding their cattle and have learned lots of things about their culture. We have learned from many of our drivers that this group of people stay true to their roots, don’t like to educate their kids much beyond primary school and they tend to do things the way they’ve always been done. We were also told not to think of them as poor, because the government gives them some money AND they get paid from tourist who buy items from them as well as being paid for showing off their village to tourist, like us! Sometimes they raise the prices to visit their village to as high as $80 USD per person, so they are making a killing, especially since they don’t spend much money at all! We weren’t charged that amount, and if that was what they wanted we would not have gone in to visit.
Our driver dropped us off at the entrance of the village. We were greeted by two elders who told us the “program”. We were going to go inside, be greeted by people in the village with a song and dance, see how they start a fire with a stone and knife, tour the inside of a house and then shop at their market. This all would occur after paying a fee. Now, this elder was not old by any means and his English was perfect. He was maybe in his 30’s and there was an older man not far away from him that may in fact been the actual elder. Anyway, we paid them money and in we went. Before we went in I couldn’t help but to notice children maybe aged 6-10ths old hearding larger number of cattle down the road. Many animals were walking around including goats and chickens.
We walk in the village area with the houses and singing begins. The men and women are chanting/singing/dancing and using instruments/animal horns and other items to make music. It was quite interesting and all of us were a little caught off guard. We were told they were singing a welcome song for us. As the music continued all the singers began walking closer to us. When I say close, I mean, to the point where we started backing away because it seemed a little too close- like COVID 19 close! We didn’t want to be rude, but also didn’t know when they would stop getting closer so we backed up a little more. At one point I think we all realized they weren’t going to stop so we just stood still and eventually the song ended and they backed away. This is funny now, but at the time it was a little creepy lol. We were taking pics and video like typical tourists so we could remember this moment.
There seemed to be a few more songs sang by the men and then songs by the women. We were told the women were praying for us to have a safe journey and they were also praying for rain, among other things. All during these performances there was a group of cows, yep a group, just chilled in the middle of the village area. All of this noise was normal to them. We later learned that many of their cattle are kept inside that area to prevent them from getting killed by lions or other predators. They also have dogs that help scare away some animals and alert members of the village if trouble is near. Their cows are their wealth. The more cows they have, they more rich they are. They are used for food as well as dowry.
Questions were encouraged, but honestly I was speechless lol. I think I was so thrown off by all of this I forgot all my questions lol. I was really observing and taking in the sights, smells and random other things around me. The ground was dirt, had lots of cow poop on it so we were all watching where we were stepping, meanwhile the teenager showing us around was walking through it without shoes, as though this was the everyday thing. Some others had on shoes. One thing the girls picked up on was that while many adults were singing and dancing to welcome us, there were younger kids watching along and imitating the dances as well. Reminded me of our culture and that kids are just that- Kids! Although much of this is new to us, we also have many things in common.
We then went into a house, which looked like a little hut. I didn’t think Ajali would be able to duck low enough to get in. Outside it looked very tiny but inside it had 2-3 bedrooms, a kitchen and a holding area for baby calf’s. The parents have one bedroom and the children share the other. There are no lights, running water or anything like that but there is a little opening for a window. It’s like a “tiny house” but on a smaller scale. There was a bench inside where we were offered to have a seat. There was a small fire going as well. The girls sat on a bench and I was invited to have a seat on the bed. Now, I don’t sit on peoples beds because I think its gross, but since I saw wood I figured I wouldn’t be rude and I could sit on the wood. When I shined my cell phone light to make sure i was about to sit on a wood bed “frame” (remember there is no light in here so you can only see light from the front door opening and the very small window) I let out a gasp! It was a baby- a naked baby sleeping in this bed and I was about to sit on him! The guy says “don’t worry, its fine, you can sit”. At this point I wasn’t trying to crush no kids so i just stood up. Ajali was standing as well. The house looked well made considering it was made from cow and elephant poop. I mean- it didn’t smell bad or anything! We were told it takes a lil while to build a house. At one point I thought I was taking notes, but there was so much to take in I barely wrote anything lol. House made of poop? Then the man asked did any of us want to stay for a night. We declined, but the house was really cool. We don’t have pics cause there was no light. Ajali will try to post a video since I seem to be horrible at it lol.
After coming out of the house they showed us how they start fires using spit, elephant and or cow poop and metal. It actually created a legit fire, and that’s what they use to cook with. They appeared to be one with nature. Their diets consist of drinking fresh milk from their cows for breakfast, some type of starch with that at times as well and blood from their cow at dinner. We were told they will just poke the cow with something sharp, let blood fill a object (i.e cup) and they drink it and stop the cow from bleeding. Children eat this diet as well and those younger being breast fed are able to eat more, as they are growing and take in more than two meals a day. They drink the water their animals drink (from the river) and I didn’t ask about their bodily waste or bathing. There was a lot of different odors so I’m not even sure if that was a valid question. I did noticed many had missing teeth. They all wore shukas to cover their bodies. The driver informed me that no underclothes are worn (I had to ask, especially for the men, because they do a lot of jumping and I was concerned something may come out). The driver said if it comes out, it comes out, as its part of nature. Um OK!
Although we walked in one village entrance, there can be more depending on the village. The number of entrances to the village is how many families live there. How many houses in the village indicate how many wives there are, as each wife has their own house. The first wife’s house is on the left side of the entrance, the second wives house is on the right side of the entrance and so and and so forth depending how many wife’s the husband has. The husband can choose to sleep in whatever house he would like.
In the distance we saw a blue top building and were told that was a school for young children. All monies the Masaai community receive go to the entire community. It is shared among everyone. Many Masaai never leave their way of living, although I was told that there has been a few Masaai persons elected to office in Kenya. They Kenyan government continue to try and push the Masaai people to educate their children more, but it has not proven to be very successful.
After our tour we all looked around to see the goods that the Masaai women were selling. The rule was to go to everyone’s space (everyone was sitting in the grass in a large circle) and pick whatever you liked. Once you found something you would give it to the teenager who showed us around the village and when we were done we would discuss a price. Honestly this was the first time we weren’t told “come support me” or “come by my place” or “by from me”. It was nice. at the end it as awkward though, because the guy would hold up the item in the middle of the circle and ask the price. Then come to us, say the price and we would agree or not and barter.
Very interesting experience and one we will never forget.
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