Nehemiah 8:10 Then he said to them: "Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength."

On our way to the Maasai Village

Cousins and more cousins.

What is it like to visit an authentic Maasai Village? Most people who visit the Maasai are going with a Safari company to a mostly authentic village but one that hosts many visitors and benefits from the income of the visitors. Kent and I were recently invited to bring our four Maasai girls “home” to visit their aging grandmother in their village. We were, along with the girls to be “guests of honor” for the day. The village we visited was far off the road and not one that a Safari company would visit.  We agreed to come and make a day of the visit. It took us about three hours to reach the village as it is a bit past Arusha. The uncle who had invited us, met us in Arusha to take us “off road” to the village. Once we left the main road we traveled about 45 minutes to our destination.

the girls with Grandma and aunties

An older brother of our girls

Peggy, Kent, and Uncle Lazaro

The Maasai people are a tribe in Kenya and northern Tanzania and are semi-nomadic. The Maasai are very reluctant to educate themselves or their children and their main activity is herding cattle, sheep and goats. You see children of three and four years of age out with a flock of goats. The Maasai dress in traditional shukas which are sheets of cloth tied onto the body. They also make elaborate beaded necklaces and bracelets. You usually see the Maasai women with stretched earlobes with beaded earrings hanging from the lobes. The Maasai practice polygamy with each wife having her own “boma” or house. The houses are typically on a dirt foundation with the house itself framed with some wood supported and covered with mud mixed with cow dung. Many of the houses are round and they have another smaller house that serves as a kitchen for cooking over an open fire.

The village we visited was very typical but also very poor. We were honored by the village killing and roasting a goat in honor of the girls visiting. I would say there were about 100 people in the village and they are all related in some way. We arrived in the village around 11am and the goat had been slaughtered but not yet prepared for roasting so we were free to visit many of the relatives. Only a few spoke English and our girls were able to communicate in Swahili as most of the relatives spoke Swahili as well as their native kimaasai language.

Kent enjoying goat fat with the men

Little sheep and goat hearders

The goat was ready for eating around 1pm and the men were served first and they get the much cherished “fat” of the goat. (Kent was worried that when he got home his “fat” might not set too well, but he survived without intestinal distress). (At this point I was quite happy to be of the female sex). Shortly after the men were served outside, the girls and I were served in the house of one of the wives of an uncle. The goat was really tasty and the girls and I loved it!! They ate and ate and drank fresh warm milk and then we were served rice with goat sauce and chips “French fries”.  As a real treat we were all served soda (Fanta and Coke) which our resident children rarely get.

After our generous meal, we were all honored with gifts before leaving the village. We all received beaded necklaces with crosses and I received a beaded collar necklace. Kent also received a round blue necklace and bracelet which you might see ME wearing J. 

The uncle who invited us to the village managed to get a good education (by working his way through school) and is instrumental in helping to educate many of the other children in the village. He is now planning to build a primary school close by. He is a secondary school teacher and teaches at a school around Arusha. He is so happy that the four children are at Rafiki and they are being educated. He comes to their recitation twice a year to see their progress.

The old grandmother was in tears at seeing the four girls for the first time in two years. She had taken care of the youngest for nearly two years after her mother died in child birth leaving the three girls without parents as the father too died shortly before the last girl was born.  The older girls came to Rafiki soon after the mother’s death. The grandmother is too old to travel to Rafiki to see the children.

"Sherman" with a boma in the background"

I must say that the whole adventure was indeed fun and rewarding. Seeing the children with their relatives is always a blessing. All four of these girls are still in need of sponsors if any of you are interested. You can find more information on them at www.rafikifoundation.org under sponsor a child, Tanzania.