An afternoon with the Masai

          Today we went into Masai Land after spending the morning looking at artifacts Olorgesaille, the famous dig site of Dr. Louis and Mary Leakey- ranging from hippo and elephant bones to human skulls and tools.  After the tour, a long, dusty bus ride into Masailand led us to the ward of Chief Joseph who met us in the middle of what seemed like nowhere in order to spend the afternoon with us.

            From our bus, he took us down a dirt path taking the time to point out the tracks of a leopard and a family of cheetahs.  The weirdest thing- this part of Kenya looks very similar to central California.  To see the foothills and the windmills, I would think myself back at home…except for the fact that our guide was Masai and we were looking for giraffes. Anyways, our first destination was that of a ritual house for the boys of the Masai where they eat meat before the ceremony to become men.  We were lucky to be able to get in, if we had been there in August for the actual ceremony, we would have had to stand outside of the hut.  Well, David and Victor would have been able to watch but where would that leave the rest of us girls?  While there, Joseph showed us where the men slept and how they stored the meat on top of the tree because they do not have refrigerators.  Additionally he took the time to point out several pants that had very sharp thorns- something I desperately wish I had paid attention to as I got cut pretty badly chasing giraffes.

            After looking at the ritual hut, we began the walk to look for the wild giraffes.  Along the way we stumbled across some wild antelope.  Once they began to run, Joseph told David to run and help him herd the antelopes so we could have a longer look.  Joseph is a sprinter- a stereotypical Kenyan and he had no problem running at a breakneck speed to catch the antelope in the blazing sun for a significant period of time.  Watching the two men was a lot of fun- especially as I was not the one running in the blazing sun.  From there we took off into the brush looking for wild giraffes.  It was a long walk until we reached the trees where the giraffes were eating.  It was such an iconic view that I almost feel guilty for describing it: the green trees, white clouds, blue sky, and about twenty giraffes peeking neck and head over the trees.  Once we got close enough we just sat down in the bush and took pictures and watched them.  This was nothing like going to a giraffe center and kissing giraffes (and I definitely did not kiss these wild ones).  This was wild, real, and breathtaking.

            Following our time watching the giraffes, we went back to Chief Joseph’s compound.  Once there he showed us the pen where he kept his cows, goats, and chickens.  Our arrival was greeted by several children running around the compound with the three dogs and women walking en masse singing to us.  After our introductions (including many handshakes, supa!,  ipa!, and patting the children on the head) the women brought out our meal which  consisted of peas, cabbage, goat, mashed potatoes, and chapatti- modern fare according to them- usually they dine on meat, blood, and milk.  After our meal Chief Joseph introduced himself and his wife and four children to us and then explained to us portions of his life as a Masai.  Chief Joseph actually has been to American University to give talks to students so it was awesome to have that connection with him.  He showed us his warrior ostrich head dress which we all tried on (a faux paus I’m sure since the majority of us are women and not warriors) and passed around his leadership staff. Eventually he took back the headdress and joined the women for a song.  They kindly gave us a tour of their home, a mud hit with two beds, a fire, and cooking area housing thirteen people.  Unfortunately, our time there came to an end and after bartering for some Masai goods, we headed back to Njema Court.

            The Masai people and the Masai culture is one of the most iconic facets of Kenya and being invited into the home of Chief Joseph was such an amazing opportunity.  It is days like this that make the stress, dirt, and insanity of Nairobi completely worth it.  Such an amazing day- one that I will carry with me for a very long time.