The Maasai Village

Tuesday April 15

We spent this morning at a Maasai village.
I was hesitant because I had read that such visits were mostly hard sell - the sale of trinkets being so important to the modern Maasai economy.

Fortunately, I can report that the entire experience was very enjoyable and stress-free.
Our guide, Reisi, picked us up from the camp and walked us to his village. This in itself was exciting because the safari camp will not let you wander outside the electric fence that surrounds the camp. Yet here we were walking through bush where 18 hours earlier we had seen two large bull elephants. "They don't come around until late afternoon" Reisi assured us. His English was very good, not because of education (he only went to grade 5), but because of contact with tourists. He is also obviously an intelligent person. Hyenas are the biggest danger, but they too, tend to hunt for food in the late afternoon.

Reisi, our guide

The village was a 1.5 km walk through savanna scrub. We saw storks, monkeys and a few Thompson's gazelle. The settlement is one of 27 such villages. They consist of about 25 huts arranged in a circle, each one touching the next. Around the huts, on the inside, is a fenced off area about 2 metres wide where people sit and children play. In the centre of the compound is an area where the cattle and sheep are penned at night. The four entrances to the village are blocked so that hyenas cannot enter and kill the cattle. Cattle are very important to the Maasai as a medium of exchange and a symbol of wealth.

One of the 4 entrances to the village

Once inside we are welcomed by dance and song from 10 of the men, mostly young warriors. After this comes a jumping dance (yes, they really can jump high), and then a Maasai prayer for our safety and happiness.

We are shown how they start fire by rubbing acacia sticks onto ebony wood. Donkey dung is used as the tinder and seems to work very well!
Next we visit Reisi's house. Acacia wood frame, covered with strong grass and then cow dung. The doorway is only about 1.5 metres high but once inside there is room to stand. The floor is dirt but very firm with no dust.

Reisi's lounge room/kitchen

The house consists of a narrow corridor leading to a sitting room with an open fire for cooking. Off this is the small room where the children sleep. At the end of the corridor is the parent's room - just big enough for a bed made of cow hide stretched across a timber frame. The house is very dark, with very few windows. The windows are small vertical slits, probably to let in air rather than light. Reisi has only one wife, so he only has one house. He has 4 children, and is 33 years of age. He will take another wife when he builds up his herd of cattle (she will cost 10 cows).

Centre of the village, where cattle are kept at night

Lastly we are taken outside the ring of houses. Around a large shade-giving tree the women and some of the younger children have laid out their goods for sale - mostly beaded jewellery and carved figures. Reisi tells is that we will not be pressured to buy, and this turns out to be the case. Some of the stall owners beckon is to look at their wares, but there is no harassment. We are told to choose what we might like to buy and then we will negotiate a price for the whole lot.

The sellers of hand-made crafts

It is difficult not to buy anything when the objects are hand-made and you know how important this honest trade is to their livelihood. We choose a dozen pieces of jewellery plus an ebony peace stick that I really liked.
Reisi then wrote a price in the dirt and asked Des to write down her offer. Des was a good bargainer and while he was reducing his price by 1,000 shillings, she would only up her price by 100 shillings! We were comfortable with the agreed price and so we shook hands on the deal. I will get a lot of mileage out of the jewellery when I show my students at school in Australia.

Des bargaining for a good price.

After this Reisi walked us back to the safari camp, answering any and all questions as we walked together. The tour cost 1,000 shillings each ($24 in total), but we had a great experience. If you really must know, we paid 12,000 shillings for the souvenirs.
The whole village was very happy to have us take photos, and we managed to get some really good portraits.

If you ever get a chance to visit a Maasai village, do it. Although I do hope that the villagers are as friendly, gentle and welcoming as the wonderful group we met today.