Brideprice

Yesterday I went out with a group of people here on base to visit Masai land. We drove north towards the kenyan boarder until we reached Longido, a relatively large Masai village at the base of Mount Longido, and then turned left onto a non-descript dirt road. We traveled along this road, which became more and more rutted and rocky as we went for about 40 minutes. Finally, we arrived at a tiny little Masai village consisting of a large boma (a group of mud and dung houses surrounded by a thick fence of acacia limbs) and a few cement buildings. This area is much less effected by modern cities and so the maasai are more traditional in their dress and lifestyle. The men and women we saw driving out were beautifully clothed in bright, mostly red shukas (the red, usually plaid, cloth that they are famous for) and the women are covered in gorgeous beadwork. They have earings( they strech their earloabes and have quite lavish ear decorations), necklaces, braclets, anklets, and rings. They are stunning. Even though they look amazing seeing them walking through the bush alone, or if they are men with the cattle, brings into focus the harsh reality of their lives, which for the women includes treking for miles carrying firewood and water. Unlike the women in town who carry heavy loads on their heads, the maasai women carry things in rough pouches that have thick straps that are put across their foreheads. Saying that, I'm almost positive the maasai do not lement their lot in life as much as we westerners do, though it is a very hard life they lead. There is alot more to say about the Maasai, but I will move on because that could and does fill many books.
Anyway, when we arrived we met up with one of the few maasai wearing western clothing. he was wearing a winter coat, which seems to be the norm for most africans anytime the temperature falls below 90 degrees, and spoke very little english. We had a traslator who spoke Maasai with us and he interpreted. After introductions, the first thing he wanted to know was my brideprice. He offered our translator cattle to trade for me to stay that day as his wife. Luckily our translator was quick on his feet and said that I wasn't ready to get married that day. We didn't go into details, obviously, so I'm not exactly sure how many cattle I'm worth, but I was curious. After we had met the rest of the village, actually just the men, they continued to speculate amongst themselves about my dowry. I heard my name being used frequently in their conversation which was a little funny. At one point a murani, which is the warrior phase that the men enter after they are circumsized and before they marry, as far as I understand, placed a beaded necklace around my neck which I quickly removed after I was informed by our translator that it meant that he was indicating his intention to start our friendship so we could begin negotiation to get married. Everyone was in hystericas at this point and I was bright red. I was teased the whole way home about preparing myself to live in the boma with my new maasai husband.
Anyway, other than being bartered for I had a great time. The Maasai are very friendly as long as you don't offend them and your intentions are "good". They mostly seem fascinated by how white we are and our cameras. They did refuse pictures and I didn't want to sneak any so I don't have any photos myself. There were a few photos taken so i'll try to round those up from other folks and get them on here.

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I just realized I can reply to your comments. Duh! So, that means you can leave messages and i can respond. Isn't the internet great!

PS Here's another picture from our safari! She was soooo close!

How To Eat Ugali (this is for you Daddy)

Ugali is a very common local tanzanian food. It's basically very heavy grits made from flour and corn meal. The usual compliment to it is mchicha, which is the greens. This sounds very good to a southern person because it is basically what we eat anyway. Greens and grits..mmm. Anyways, here's how you are supposed to eat it. You pinch off a piece of ugali, roll it into a ball, press your thumb into it and then scoop up a bit of mchicha to go with it. One bite of this and I'm full for the whole day. These are not your grandmas grits, these are like cement with a little more flavor. The mchicha is delicious though.

For Mom...

Need I say more?