Have You Ever Visited a Maasai Homestead?

After working for two weeks in northern Kenya and two days in Nairobi, I had a few days left before my flight during which I could be a tourist.  Having begun to learn about the Turkana tribe in the north aroused my curiousity for learning about other African tribes. I hired a driver recommended by a friend who had spent time living and working in Kenya.

Paul asked me what I wanted to see that day. "I want to visit a tribal village", I replied. "Ah, you want to see 'manyatas' (traditional huts)", he asked, "I don't think that is possible".  Since the word 'impossible' has meaning for me only if someone asks me to jump 10 meters into the air, I ignored his response and we set out in the direction of the Rift Valley.

Paul did not yet know that I did not intend merely to see the manyatas from the road - I wanted to talk to people and learn something about their traditional way of life and culture.

Not long after we had turned left as the merchant had suggested, Paul saw two men standing at the side of the road. He pulled up to them and asked them in Swahili where we would be able to see manyatas. One of the men got into the back of the car and we set off down the road.

I asked the young man if he spoke English and he replied in perfect English that he does as he is a high school graduate and about to enter university in Nairobi to study business administration. James said he would take us to see his neighbour's homestead. His father's home is too far away and impossible to reach by car.

When we turned off the main road and drove into a field, it seemed as if it would be impossible to reach his friends as well. The path through the low buses was pitted deeply and narrow, not much room for maneuvering the car. Paul was enjoying the challenge thoroughly.

Each Maasai man can marry up to four women. The elder brother in the family we visited has three wives and 15 children. To Paul's question regarding how one man managed three wives, we were told that each wife gets a portion of each night.

Each wife has her own house. The husband has his own bedroom in each house separate from his wife's room.

When you first enter the doorway of the manyata you see a storage room for coal. You pass through a small opening and reach the main part of the manyata. In front of you is the kitchen and dining room space (about 2 square meters), off to the left is the wife's bedroom and to the left is a bed for the children. To the right of that is a separate and larger space for the husband.

The inside of the manyata looks a lot bigger than it does from the outside.

It is dark inside. You can see a candle in the kitchen space and there are a few small holes to let in light, but without the flash you cannot really see anything. When I came out and showed the women the photos I had taken, they seemed delighted.

It turned out that James has won several prizes for traditional dancing at annual dance festivals. He is teaching school children in his village and preparing them for the next dance festival. We had the unique privilege of watching a rehearsal. Here is the video that I took.