32. Tanzania: Arusha & Maasai People

On our way inland towards Serengeti, we passed through the bustling town of Arusha, which is in close proximity to Mt. Kilimanjaro, and home to 2.3 million people. We toured a Maasai village, and I took my first camel ride.

Maasai people are nomadic pastoralists, and male and female roles are well defined. The men protect the women and the cattle & goat herds, the women do everything else. They build and take down the home when they move, they have and raise the babies and handle the food, water, washing - pretty much everything.

A Maasai man's wealth is judged by the size of his family and his cows. Women fetch 10 cows each when they get married, so men want daughters. Of course, this is not so hard when you have many wives.

Think you'd rather be male than female? Boys are circumsized at age 14. No anesthesia. They have recently stopped circumsizing the girls.

We stayed at a place called Meserani Snake Park - they had crocodiles there - i added a rew pix.Read more