Maasai Boma

10 December 2009

Today was another absolutely wonderful day, as was yesterday. We traveled to a town west of Arusha, known as Monduli, to visit the small village of Olesteti.

This area has been experiencing extreme drought for the last few years and has struggled mightily to produce enough crops. However, we are in the middle of the short rainy season, which has showered the area with an abundance of well-needed rain. As we approached Monduli, we turned off the main road to head to the village only to find a huge mud bog swallowing the road; and if that wouldn’t be enough to stop us (which it was), the bridge just beyond this bog was halfway washed out. But we had no reason to complain as the rolling hills below Monduli Mountain we lush and thriving with vegetation.

Luckily the village was only a few hundred yards from where we had stopped and we were able to maneuver around the muddy trails to the boma of a Maasai man. The boma is the full property of one man and his family and consists of a collection of huts inside a fence constructed of brush, and the establishment where we presented belonged to a man name Ndoipo Migaro. Many of the women from the village (several of the surrounding boma) met us halfway, wearing their ceremonial attire once again, and escorted us to the center of the boma, where they proceeded to lavish us with singing and dancing. These Maasai villages truly know how to make their visitors feel welcome. I hate to say it, but my “dancing face” always seems to crop up in our pictures.

We set up our “classroom” outside in the courtyard of the boma, amidst the odor of animal dung and hoarding flies; goats, chickens, cats, and dogs roamed freely within the bush fences. We presented to a group of more than 40 women with a few younger men and the owner of the boma, and many of the village children gathered as well to simply be a part of the happenings. I was expecting very few questions from the women in the group as they often become tentative when there are men in the audience with them, but we had wonderful interaction with the group. These people are very eager to learn; even though we can’t communicate well with them through words, their expressions say it all.

After a couple hours of presenting, we shared Supa Buns and juice, and then dispersed three large bags of flour among them to help out while their crops recover. They accepted our presence, our knowledge, and our small gifts with extreme thankfulness and shared their small tokens of appreciation (jewelry). They asked for nothing more, and they invited us back whenever we are able. The atmosphere in villages is so much more relaxed than in the touristy metropolis of Arusha, and they never try to exploit us. If we would have chosen a more rural area to stay here, we would have had a much more relaxed first couple of months here. The living conditions would wear on us, but the people are wonderful. This village epitomized the Maasai culture.

On our way back into Monduli, we stopped by the Maasae Girls Lutheran Secondary School, which was built by Dave Simonson. We slid and swerved down a very poor road to get there, but it was such a pleasure to finally see this school that we have seen in pictures. There is a central auditorium at the school that was built so that the roof resembled a Maasai shield. We really wanted to meet the girl that Doug and Kari sponsor here, but they are on December break right now, so we are planning a return trip to present to the students and will hopefully meet her then.

(This photo is of our final dance in the center of the boma (the classroom) before we left. The lady on the far right is Mama Hindu, who runs the CWCD and has translated for us on our village visits.)

Written by Zach