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Published: November 18th 2007
The close of our East African safari is in the little Massai village of Engaruka, 60 kilometers down a rutted and dusty dirt road. The sense of isolation is strong. As are the Massai people. They have held to traditional ways of life proudly and belligerently against the onslaught of Western Culture. They are known as fierce warriors who live a pastoral lifestyle, grazing their cattle and goats. They scorn agriculture and do not believe in land ownership. Yet somehow hold to their traditions!
The Massai women are noted for their vibrant artistic traditions. We see these traditions in their striking body decorations and beaded jewelry, particularly their plate like necklaces.
Meanwhile, the men dress in their shukas, red checked blankets, proudly draped over their tall, wiry frames as they walk, for mile after mile, with their herds. Protecting themselves and their herds only with the distinctive balled club that they carry. Their reputation as fierce warriors shows in an amazing way. In the absence of lions! For in this corner of East Africa even lions have learned to fear red, the color of the Massai men's shuka!
The next morning we took a short hike to a
small outlying village. Well, actually it was probably one man's homestead. He had a hut for each of his wives, arranged in circle around a corral. Anyway, we were warmly welcomed and invited into the huts. Each hut was made of sticks covered in a mixture of mud and cow dung. Much like adobe in the southwestern US, this is a wonderfully efficient and environmentally friendly way of construction. We shared a morning of dance and song there before the village turned into a market where many of us picked up some of the beautiful jewelry.
Our visit also included the slaughter of one of their goats, a compulsory act of hospitality. But a process with absolutely no waste. The respectful, gentle and reverent way in which the slaughter took place was touching. This showed even in the act of drinking every drop of blood that was sacrificed as the animal was slaughtered. Vegetarian me had a hard time with the ceremony. Yet even as I became a bit wobbly kneed and sat down in the cool grass away a bit away from the ceremony, I recognized the beauty and the balance of this way of life.
And
that balance was reconfirmed the next morning as the circle of life made another revolution. We awakened to what I decided was the sound of a new baby goat coming into the world!
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leko
non-member comment
peole of engaruka to leave the tradional way
hi, guy the people of engaruka juu/ chini need more support from the government because the main food of maasai people is meat and milk and the some time got a shorty of pasture and water so maasai people need the loans from the government iniorder to control the family problem.