Rift Valley

We woke up after our first night camping, having had a pretty rough night. Though, this is somewhat expected the first night as we adjust to life in the wild. We packed up our stuff, once again having to learn how to take down the tents effectively and pack up the big truck. After this, we got on the road to head toward a viewpoint at Rift Valley. This was an incredible view over the area that the Maasai Mara occupy and spans through Tanzania and Kenya. It is incredible to see. After this, though, we headed toward our camp in which the Maasai would be accommodating us. They started by welcoming us with a ritualistic dance and song. Interestingly, the Maasai do not use instruments for songs and instead just use their voices. This is really cool given how rhythmic and fun they are, as well as how long their culture has existed. After this, we organised ourselves and our tents before going to meet the Maasai people in their settlement. This was really cool as along the walk, the Maasai people were teaching us about their routines and day to day life. They explained the processes that the young men have to go through to become a warrior and a man. This mostly involves going out and living in the bush for a few years before they have accumulated enough cattle from other tribes to provide for himself and his family upon their return. This may take many years, but the men undergoing warriorship can return briefly during this time. However, in order to re-enter the village, his mother will have to welcome him in, so if they do not feel they are worthy of entering, they can not. Another interesting fact is that the Maasai do not hunt wild animals, they have a belief system that considers wild animals close to God, and they will starve during large droughts before they will hunt and kill wild animals. It is likely a large reason that the Maasai is rife with wildlife. Instead, they simply rely on animal husbandry. To marry a woman, he requires 3 cows and a sheep, and he will earn her hand. He can marry as many women as he wants, provided he has the cattle to purchase them and sustain their livelihood. It is truly a unique and interesting culture, and their beliefs are very different from other indigenous cultures.

As we continued toward the little village, the children undergoing their warriorship, and some of the older men showed off their spear throwing and archery skills. It was really interesting, with the very young children watching and learning. Eventually, after some ritualistic dancing in which we got to join in, the mothers and women welcomed us into their village. They showed us their houses and their way of living, and it was incredible. The baby cattle were in the centre to protect them from predators, and then the houses surround the perimeter of the circle settlement. It is tiny, maybe only enough for 10 small houses, in which whole families live. They introduced us to the children and showed us their market stalls where they made money to support their tribe. After that we headed back to the campsite for dinner. At the end of the night, we were given a speech by one of the elders in the tribe. She was a remarkable woman who has been attempting to modernise the tribes to improve education, sexual safety, hygiene, and general health. Although being ostracized by the tribe for "abandoning" her culture and their beliefs, she was trying to stop the mutilation of women. This is a process whereby, after the woman was married, she would be cut so as to ensure she didn't have sexualising relations with other men. She also tried to improve the education of the tribes by building schools for Maasai children, implement Western medicines when necessary (Covid), and improve hygiene to increase life expectancy. She is an incredible woman who is trying to protect cultural values while ensuring the tribe isn't wiped off the earth by ancient beliefs and practices. This speech went for a couple of hours, and I could have continued listening for a much longer time had I not been sitting on a very uncomfortable rock.Read more