Augustas Kligys  
  LETTERS FROM AUGUSTAS  
Expedition

Photos

Letters |augustas|

Letters | katja |

Tips & Tricks

Guest Book

Links

Banners

 
TANZANIA
05/07/2004

The Night at Masai Place

 
The night from Sunday to Monday (05-06 July) we slept in Masai tribe village. It was more of a settlement of two families than a village. Our delegation consisted of 7 people: me, 4 Dutch girls and our friends Chris and Abbou, who knew the Masai.

We drove West from Morogoro for about 60 km in a dala dala- that is how they call minibuses in Tanzania. A minibus has seats for 14-16 passengers, though, as a rule over 20 or I would not be surprised if even 30 passengers would pack the bus from outside and inside.

Those four Dutch ladies blabbered all the way... Even at Masai place 1-2 communicated with the others and the rest 2-3 blabbered and blabbered non-stop... :)

We reached the Masai place only at 6 PM. As it got dark during the rest 30-45 minutes, we made very little pictures.

In the evening Chris was our cook and he made rice with vegetables. The rest of us sort of communicated with Masai people. The Masai were impressed when we told that cows in Europe give over 50 liters of milk a day whereas their cows can hardly provide 6 liters. Of course the difference is that their cows have to give a lot of milk to their offspring and in our lands cows get a lot of grass.

After an hour of stay with Masai we started bemoaning on how these people spend their days when there are only sands with appropriate bushes around and they have to drive their cattle every day for 20 km to the water.

There are lots of flies in Masai village. If a Masai child stood still for 10 seconds you could count 100 flies on his face... Flies were sticking around us too but not so disgustingly. As i was told, main liquid for Masai is a cow milk. They use milk to wash themselves too if they wash themselves at all. Many people told this tribe does not wash themselves so they stink immensely. They walk covered with red check fabric and have nothing else under it. Their ears have a big stretched hole where they shove their apparel. They put the apparel – metal glitter on their hands, foot and neck... Masai man always has some 50 cm stick with a knob on the top. The stick with a knob is made of one-piece wood. Masai men and women always eat separately. Children eat with women and when you are a 12 years old boy you join the men.

One boy caressed my soft hair with his soily hand when a Masai woman was showing me her kitchen with special vessels for keeping milk. Those oblong vessels are made of certain fruit. Unfortunately I can't remember the names of the fruits and vessels...

In the morning we were awakened by cows and nasty flies since we slept in an open tent. As girls planned to travel to Dar Es Salaam the same day, we photographed some cows and those several people, paid the Masai some money for their “service” and left their settlement at 8 in the morning. We went towards the road, took a packed dala dala in which my head was leaning upon the ceiling...

Augustas
Morogoro
Tanzania