Tanzania 25 - Maasai Village

26 December 2014

A number of Maasai villages along the road invite tourists to tour their village (for a fee, of course). While we were warned that many of these villages were simply tourist traps, our drivers assured us that this one was authentic and better than most.

Each village is a family: the chief with his wives and children. Each wife has her own hut, where she lives with her younger children. Beyond that, my knowledge of Maasai culture is extremely limited!

A line of Maasai prepare to greet us.

The men come out in formation to welcome us into the dance. Men with men, women with women.

Feeling foolish and uncoordinated is part of the experience!

Lon (as did most of the men) took himself out of the dance, and videoed this brief portion of it.

Our guide shows into a hut. As you might expect, it's dark inside. Except for a smoke hole or two (cooking is done inside over a wood fire), there are no windows -- the better to keep out hyenas and other unwanted visitors. The only light comes in through the doorway.

Looking back out towards the door. While we could take pictures inside, the hut is so small, it was difficult to get meaningful images.

A new hut under construction. Building the hut is women's work.

The corral where livestock is kept overnight. There are beaded goods for sale around the edge.

A Maasai woman and her youngest children.

Louise shares videos on her iPad with two Maasai women.