Gym's Ramblings: November 2023 - In To Africa: The Maasai People

Maasai warriors greet Gym and Mrs. Gym at entrance to village. They jump incredibly high into the air from a standing position.

It wasn’t just the wildlife of Kenya that Gym and his dear wife were introduced to in Maasai Mara. They were also very fortunate to spend a few hours in the afternoon of November 28th, exploring a traditional village of the Maasai people.

After a short drive from the Fairmont, our intrepid safari-goers jumped out of the land cruisers at the gates to the Maasai Village. There, they were greeted by a group of young warriors in colourful Maasai garb. They carried long staffs and were lined up to greet the newcomers with a bit of a line dance that featured each young warrior taking turns jumping high in the air from a standing start. A few minutes later, the women and children of the village came out and took the tourists by the hand. They were then led through the village gate and into the center of a broad open area inside a circular enclosure. With warriors on one side and the women, children and guests on the other, everyone danced together. At the dances conclusion, the chief came forward, introduced himself and personally welcomed the safari-goers to his village.

The Maasai village was an circular arrangement of low conical huts built touching each other The chief led the guests into his own hut and sat Gym, Mrs. Gym and Bree on one side of the central room across from where he then seated himself. Over the next 20 minutes or so, he described life in a traditional Maasai village, how the village and its buildings are constructed and the importance of cattle to the villagers. All huts in the village were built using the most readily available building materials. A mixture of red clay and cow dung worked well to create a sturdy structure that is waterproof. The walls were several inches thick providing insulation from the heat during the day and cold during the cooler nights. Gym had to duck to get inside the front door but the central room was very spacious with a high domed roof, wooden furniture on the periphery and a fire pit in the middle.

The chief explained that cattle were the currency of the Maasai economy. Every young boy was taught to aspire to building a great herd of cattle. If a man was rich in cattle, he could afford to pay the dowry of the most desirable young women and then hopefully build a large family of strong and productive children. However, the cattle business was very difficult here in Maasai Mara, the chief explained. They were losing several cattle to lions every month because the big predators were protected. He therefore asked that his guests consider perusing the village handicraft market before leaving. Gym was happy to comply and he and his dear wife picked up a few hand-made trinkets to bring back to Canada.