A visit to the Masai Mara Game Reserve in Kenya can never be complete without a brief stopover at one of the local Maasai villages, which are normally built in accordance with the local community’s old-age traditions. Women are the primary owners of the huts while their male counterparts have a strong allegiance to a convoluted system of government that’s governed by each member’s age sets, warrior-clans, elders, and prophet soothsayers.
As you approach the village, you will be treated to a big welcome by the community’s elders who will then introduce you to the young morans. One of the elders will also blow several long notes from an eland horn to summon community members from the nearby villages to come and greet the visitor.
You will then be invited to enter one of the Maasai huts to observe and learn about the community’s way of living. Inside the hut, you’ll notice a central cooking fireplace that is normally constructed from cow dung, a few low stools placed around the fireplace as well as a wooden sleeping platform built from stretched skins. Your host will take the initiative of educating you more about the Maasai way of life in a very laid-back event occasioned by your translator and lots of laughter.
Once you’re done, you’ll emerge from the hut to meet a colorful gathering of women dressed in their finest beading. These women will entertain you with lots of their traditional songs and dance. The young morans on the other hand will also perform for you their own songs, dances, and leaping routines which you’ll be invited to join and challenge them.
Finally, before leaving the village, you will be invited to a shopping spree of some of the community’s modest beadwork and carving that will be presented on the grass. Most of the proceeds from your visits will go directly to the local community’s empowerment projects that include: the construction and maintenance of water towers, health centers, as well as learning institutions.
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