Our tour package gave us an option to include a Maasai Village Cultural Tour to our itinerary. This Maasai community visit would allow us to interact with the Maasai people and learn about their way of life. I thought this would be a great experience for us to have so I included it in our package. We got to do this after we got settled in Mara Empiris Safari Camp, our accommodations in Maasai Mara.
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| Visiting a Maasai village |
It started with what probably was the highlight of our visit - a Maasai dance of the welcome us to their village. They were also chanting in harmony as they danced. It was amazing to see and hear in person!
As if that wasn't enough, midway through the dance, all of the men in our group were invited to join them. We even got to participate in Adumu, the famous jumping dance. My bad knees, made worse by an exhausting trip, meant that I could barely get any decent lift off the ground, but I still did it. (Our guide told us that the jumping dance is a competition and whoever jumps highest normally gets to pay a lower dowry; I've heard and read about Adumu indicates that the winner of this jumping competition gets to marry the woman. Either way, it is an important Maasai custom.)
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| Getting ready to join the Maasai jumping dance |
We were then showed how they Maasai people make fire...
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| The Maasai villagers demonstrated how they make fire |
...before being invited to try and make fire ourselves. My brother and my nephew tried it.
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| My brother trying to make fire |
We were then invited to enter their houses. The houses are made mostly of cow dung, which we were told is pretty water-proof.
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| Inside the house of Tommy, our guide (I believe he is also the son of the chief) |
Once we stepped out of these houses, we were then regaled by another Maasai dance, performed by the women. This time, the women in our group were invited to join them and they did.
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| Dance of the Maasai women |
Afterwards, we visited the Maasai Village Market. We bought several souvenirs here.
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| Maasai village market |
The Maasai Village wasn't too far from our hotel - the Mara Empiris Safari Camp - so we actually walked most of the way back home as our guide Tom talked more about their life here.
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| Walking back to our hotel from the Maasai village |
It was such a culturally-enriching experience. It was great to understand the Maasai people a little better and to have a tiny bit of an immersion into their lives. I absolutely loved seeing their traditional dances and even getting to participate! I'm very happy that I added this optional activity to our itinerary.
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| My family with the Maasai community |
Next: Lake Naivasha and Crescent Island
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