February 12, 2012: The wildlife here is amazing. But it’s important to stop for a second and talk about the people. The Maasai. They are smart, resourceful, warm and welcoming, and without them this entire area would not exist. While much of Africa was filled with tribes and cultures of hunters and gatherers, the Maasai people are herders by nature. As a result, they have protected and preserved this entire region of Kenya and northern Tanzania so that we can enjoy and experience it.
We visited a Maasai village today, and it was amazing to see these people who live on the land, and are essentially one with the land. Their houses made of cattle dung, mud and sticks. Their fences from trees that elephants have knocked down. We saw a fence gate (photo above) where the hinges were made from old shoes. But those old shoes? Made from tires.
It was a pleasure and joy to get to know our guides Nelson and Daniel more and hear about all of their various traditions and culture. I’m honestly glad that they don’t try to be more “westernized”, because we could learn a lot from them. And I did.
No comments:
Post a Comment