A Noble Savage Or Just One Of The Guys?

Masai Warriors Competing In A Jumping Contest

  As we headed to the village of Savora, I was completely burdened with uncertainty. I was given this incredible opportunity to visit with a group of Masai warriors but was not sure what to expect.  What were we going to encounter when we arrived? Were the Masai going to be open to sharing their unique culture with us and the rest of the world or were they going to be secretive about it? Above all, were we going to experience their genuine culture or something fabricated for visitors? So as I disembark from the jeep, I was quite anxious about what I was going to find.

      For anyone who is unfamiliar with the Masai, they have been considered the most feared tribe in all of East Africa. For centuries, other tribes in this part of the world would stay clear of them. In fact, the British even avoided dealing with them until the late 1800's because of their reputation as a group of feared warriors and exceptional hunters. This isolation by the modern world, until recently, has allowed for them to retain a lifestyle that is quite similar to the one that they have had for centuries. Which as a visitor can provide some great insight on who these people are and the effects of the outside world upon them and their exceptional culture.

A Masai Women And Child

      As I approached the village, I was immediately transfixed by the amazing colors. The color contrasts of bright red, deep purple, dark green, and light tan were striking. They almost took on a dream like quality in their vividness. The Masai are known to wear robes of extremely bright reds and rich royal purples, which I later found out from our guild, were traditionally worn to keep lions and elephants at bay. These incredibly dangerous animals do not care for these colors and will go out of their way to avoid them. Who knew, right? Anyway the village of Savora consists of about thirty adobe style homes that encircle a large courtyard. The courtyard is designed to house the villages cattle at night. They do this in an attempt to protect them from nocturnal predators. These animals are their lively hood and thus are very well maintained  The Masai use them for food, for clothing; they even use them as a mobile bank account. Our driver even went so far as to call these large anorexic cows, "cash on hoofs". Which is very appropriate, since a Masai man can use them to purchase things like building materials, or even wives from other Masai villages. The Masai are a polygamist group and can have up to ten wives at a time, that is if they are financially able to take care of them. Ironically enough, one of the villagers even made me an offer. He said that he would give me ten cows for my beautiful wife, I kindly refused and told him that she was worth at least 20!

      Once we entered Savora, we were kindly greeted by Bryan our guild and son of the village chief. I know what you are thinking, Bryan is an odd name for a Masai warrior. He explained to me that when the Masai come of age, they are allowed to go to school, but the catch is that they have to take on a Christian name while attending. So for our convenience, he went by this more westernized and much easier name to pronounce. So Bryan enthusiastically took us around his village, showing us how the Masai live. They demonstrated how they create fire to cook their food and how they carve wood into beautiful sculptures which are in turn sold to help support their village, and to send their children to school. The Masai truly value a westernized education.  They believe that there is a plethora of things to learn from the outside world. So they send their children off to a boarding school like environment at the age of twelve. These children later return as adults and use this new found knowledge to help improve their village. In case you are wondering, the children do return during school breaks, so they are only gone for a couple of months at a time.

      Eventually we came to this small but well maintained home. Bryan explained to us that this was the home of his first wife. Amongst the Masai, as a young man comes of age, he will typically be married. This happens around his 18th birthday and is arranged by the parents. The girl, who is around the age of 16 will be selected based on compatibility, maturity and wisdom. This way the man will have some stability in his house hold. Each wife the man selects after his first marriage, is completely his choice. Typically, these women will come from a different village and have to be purchased from their father. The father will be looking for a young man who can take care of his daughter both physically and financially. We asked Bryan how many kids he had. He told us that he had two from his first wife and bashfully said that he had a dog with his second. I quickly exclaimed that my wife and I had a cat. This immediately brought a smile to his warm face. He sequentially invited us into his home. For such a tall group of people, the place was tiny. There was a small room for the goat to be milked in, a kitchen with a small griddle to make bread on, and a bedroom for the family of four to sleep in. The whole place could not have been more than twenty feet long, and the ceiling was about six feet tall. The place was sweltering, as the heat of the stove warmed the place up. It was surprising how the adobe walls, which are made from cow dung, keep the heat in. Bryan had us sit on his wooden bed, which we crammed to fit on, and allowed us to ask him anything we wanted to. He told us about how he was studying medicine at school and hoped to one day become a medicine man. He felt optimistic about the future of his community and how the outside world could slowly improve the lives of his people. In fact, he started to introduce fruits and vegetables to his children. The Masai typically start each day with a mixture of cow's blood and milk. This is followed by a lunch of tortilla style bread for lunch and a grilled goat for diner. Because of their value, the Masai only eat beef on special occasions, and traditionally never eat plants. So for Bryan to incorporate these exotic items into his children's diet is a major variation from his culture.

      After an incredible and informative conversation, Bryan lead us to a large grass covered field behind the village, where a group of twelve warriors were gathered. As we approached, The Masai warriors began to chant and move around. They quickly surrounded us and continued to chant something in their native dialect. This was extremely exciting, but a tad intimidating to have these fierce warriors, spears in hand, screaming and grunting away. I was later told that this tradition was designed to make opposing warriors cower before these mighty warriors. After the dance was done, Several of the young men lined up and began to clap their hands in a rhythmic sound. As they continued to clap their hands they began to sing in unison. While this primordial act was commencing, a young man moved out from the line and began to jump. This very tall man jump as high as he could and another man joined him. They tried to see who could get more height in their jumps. This jumping contest continued as each man gave it his all to jump the highest.   Bryan explained to me that this was done to showcase each man's athletic prowess and to win over the hearts of eligible women. After about ten minutes of this amazing exhibition in jumping excellence, Bryan urged me to partake in the fun. At first, I was reluctant to join in. This is their culture, not mine, but I wanted to be a good guest. So I gave it my best shot, and started to jump with the Masai warriors. What an absolute treat to get to experience this foreign and unique culture like this! Granted some of the things we encountered while at the village were designed to captivate the imaginations of westerners, but these were still valuable facets of the Masai culture and help define who they are today. This experience truly gave me a new perspective on this incredible culture and it's remarkable people, and I feel absolutely blessed for having seen it.

 

For a video of The Masai dancing, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37BatjDzK5I&NR=1&feature=fvwp

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, than contact us at thriftyadventurer1@gmail.com

Or friend us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/chris.morrison.507679