Samburu

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The young brightly coloured morans crowded round as I showed them my digital photos and videos that I had taken of their dancing. They excitedly laughed and were amazed at seeing their pictures. Although I felt that the Samburu ‘cultural show’ was too staged and far removed from the gentle acceptance that Karen and I had received at the Maasai manyata a few weeks earlier the appreciation and enjoyment of the photos was the same. The moran danced enthusiastically and showed off to the group of young girls in beaded collars that stood shyly nearby.

The Maasai and Samburi come from the same Nilotic tribal origins and share similar practices, ceremonies and lifestyles. The Samburu live in the drier arid regions in North Central Kenya. This area is starkly beautiful, a vast savanna sparsely covered in acacia with large lumps of rock protruding from the plain. Community conservation initiatives area again being discussed here but the situation is complex. I can see that tourists would be fascinated by the landscape and the chance to see rarer species such as Grevy’s zebra and wild dogs but it would be essential to design lodges here that blend into the landscape so that the area is not spoiled if it proves a success. However water here is a precious resource and the need for new forms of water management essential to supply reliable water to the local people and their livestock let alone new tourists coming to the area.

I made good use of the one day I had in the region talking to the Samburu in the frontier town of Wamba and visiting a manyatta with Nick Oguge and Nigel Winser, from Earthwatch who were paying an official visit to their camp in Wamba, where the inhabitants put on the cultural show for our benefit. The Samburu still follow many of their traditional ways. The young men, or moran, still often wear traditional dress with elaborate head adornments and red ochre in their hair, They ’graduate’ as moran within an age groups between 8 and 18. This is the time when they herd cattle and look for wives. They remain as moran for about 15 years before graduating again as elders. The young girls similarly wear large collars of beads around their necks and shoulders until they are married. But many moran are finding the traditional ways too limiting. As they are educated they start to look for new ways and traditions are changing. I spoke to a group of moran in Wamba and they wish for new employment in the town, discontent with their home lifestyle. Girls have less chance to change their lives as few can afford secondary education.

Both the Samburu and the Maasai are at a critical stage of change. How do societies maintain a sense of their cultural traditions whilst embracing changes that can improve livelihoods? Subsistence living offers little scope for development unless some practices change but equally changes can bring about environmental degradation. Each situation is different. Traditional pastorialism can be shown to benefit both people. Their livestock and wildlife but if livestock numbers grow too large land degradation may occur. The Samburu cultural dances can bring an income from tourists and are part of their heritage but then female circumcision is also a part of that heritage and contributes to the high incidence of AIDs in the region. Life is harsh, the need for change important in the eyes of the young, but what changes and how can the y be brought about?

Sadly my time in Kenya has come to an end temporarily. Now I have to plan which communities I will work with before my return in late October. For now I would like to thank all the people I have met and talked to over the last six weeks.

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Photos

Samburu landscape
Boy, moran and elder in a Samburu landscape

Samburu girls
Samburu girls watch the moran dancing

girl
A young Samburu girl adorns herself in beaded necklaces

Grevy zebra
Grevy zebra have narrower stripes, a white belly and larger ears than the Burchell's zebra