Maasai

Maasai! I love the Maasai…somehow I feel incredibly safe with the Maasai Warriors (security guards) manning the gate. One day I was up and out the door early without Mesha and as I approached the gate to leave all 5 or 6 of our Maasai were out there. “Asubuhi” (Good morning) I said, and as a chorus they replied “Salama” (safe – good). Something about that made me feel good. I always think that if you wanted to know anything about anyone at this hotel you need only ask the Maasai because they see everything and don’t do much talking. They know who goes in and out, when they go and with whom!
It’s also nice to have them around because they’ll do anything for you. We send them to do all sorts of things…mostly to go buy things that we don’t want to make the trip for like buying mobile credit vouchers, water we forgot to buy on the way home, sending mail to the post office, pick up some chicken for dinner, etc. I guess it sounds awful like we abuse their service but its part of their job to basically just do stuff. Of course when I say “we” I mean the hotel staff sends them to do all of this. The most I’ve done is made one of them come help Mesha kill a bug. Hahaha.
What’s really cool about the Maasai is that they are so deeply rooted in their tradition. It is incredible that as a community they have managed to keep their culture so intact. Of course this is a double-edged sword…where tradition encourages them to increase their head of cattle, modern economics demands they sell cattle before the drought. And drought is a serious issue these days, the rains come late more frequently and people go without food. I am always in awe that anyone in today’s society ever goes hungry.
We spent some time visiting the villages of Lepruko and Mti Mmoja in the Sepeko Ward. When we dropped in on Mti Mmoja it just so happened that the leaders had scheduled a meeting to being shortly and so they were able to convene early to hear our proposal for new partnerships. I think we all sensed the good fortune of the situation and took it as a sign that this was a positive development.
I struggle with the idea of so-called development in the Maasai community. It seems obvious that everyone should be educated and have the basic human rights including gender equality. This becomes tricky though when you’re dealing with such a unique group of people. So much of what is inherent to being Maasai depends on traditions that are so counter to the ‘developed world.’ Without a doubt I am against genital mutilation and for women’s rights but where do we draw the line? At what point does rights reform overtake cultural integrity?
Then I look at Mesha who is extremely unique as an educated female Maasai. She has ‘enlightened’ ideas about women’s rights and education but to be honest even she acknowledges she is treated differently when she goes home to her village. So can you be educated and still be Maasai in the truest sense? Mesha will not likely marry Maasai and she doesn’t wear all the special clothing and beads except when she goes home. Although she loves her ugali, smoked beef and milk!
But it makes me wonder if the Maasai culture will fade with development. Even as youth are moving into the city for employment, especially young men, they are missing some culturally essential skills, like how to do Maasai style hair. Maasai style is very tiny twisting or braiding of the hair. The men traditionally do the women’s hair for them in this way.
Regardless, it has been really cool to visit some of the villages. I bought about $65 worth of Maasai jewelry from a group of orphaned women…most of it can’t seriously be worn in Canada or anywhere really, but it is a nice cultural token. Of course in a moment of silly exhaustion I got dressed up completely like a Maasai and did a Maasai dance for Mesha…I think she cried a little from laughter.