Escapade 5-Maasai Tribe

The night before we left from Maasai Mara (the place with animals), we stopped off in a Maasai village, the local tribe.  Now, the guide book gave such a visit a big thump's down, because it felt it wasn't an authentic visit, as they would hope to sell us stuff.  However, I quite enjoyed my time there.  Even though this particular tribe tends to be a bit more acculturated than others, because of its proximity to the place with animals, I had the chance to speak with several nice people from the tribe. The person in charge of our visit happened to have just returned recently from his time in the bush.  At age 19, every boy must leave his tribe and move out to the bush for a minimum of three years., where he will live off the land in complete solitude, with only occasional visits from other boys living in the bush.  This particular man actually spent an extra year for a total of four years alone.  I enjoy my solitude like the next guy, but without cable T.V., I'm not spending that much time alone.  He mentioned that the only real danger came from the elephants.  The lions, rhinos, leopards, cheetahs and giraffe posed no real threat he felt.  Yet a rampaging elephant was deadly.  They are very fast, and if he ran up a tree, the elephant would simply knock it down.

The tribe also practices circumcision.  At age 15, every boy is circumcised in front of the tribe, and if any sound of pain comes from his lips, then he must go into the bush accompanied by an adult for his three year stay.  It is considered a great embarrasement.  I also imagine the father would prefer not to spend another three years in the bush.  That's a lot of father/son time.

The Maasai are now forbidden from participating in two of the traditional customs, the killing of lions to prove ones manhood and female circumcision.  Now, the men must prove their manhood in other ways.  I suggested buying fast cars, perfecting their jump shots, or showing knowledge of sport's trivia.  That, I explained, is how we show our manhood in America.

Jessica, one of the Swedish doctors, mentioned to me that she hated the singer, James Blunt, who I think is terrific.  To test whether James Blunt would be big hit in Africa, I invited some of the Maasai men to listen to my Ipod.  And the results.....Jessica turned out to be in the majority.  They weren't particularly fond of him, but they loved Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.  So, this is an important lesson for everyone planning to visit Kenya or Tanzania.  Download Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers on to your Ipods, just in case you spend time at a Maasai village.