The government of Tanzania and the Maasai reached an
agreement long ago that, as long as the Maasai don't harm any of the natural
wildlife at Ngorogoro, they are free to graze with their cattle as much as they
please. Being that the crater is surrounded by rainforest, there is plenty of precipitation
to go around. If you would like to call the Maasai primitive, so be it. One
thing I would not necessarily call them is poor.
The word 'poor' is a general term. Rich is the maasai who has plenty of cattle and plenty of children. If one of the two is lacking, the maasai is considered poor. The cattle, obviously, are the key to the maasai's survival. Oxen, sheep, bulls, nothing goes to waste. They drink the blood, milk, and eat their meat.
One of the key traditions of the maasais is the circumcision ceremony, performed without an anesthetic. After the circumcision, they are banned from the village for a minimum of three months. They usually wear black clothes and white face paint or masks. We see dozens of these young boys by the roadside.
Although maasais have killed lions in the past for sport, they rarely do so now. Occasionally, they will hunt down the lion killing their livestock, and such a kill certainly enhances the maasai's reputation within the village. MT, for example, tells us that the predators of the Serengeti carefully avoid the maasai. The maasai themselves rarely shower, so picking them out is not hard if you're a lion or hyena. The lions clearly favor mzungu tourists marinated in sun lotion or after shave.
People will frequently see fake maasais in Dar es Salaam working as parking attendants. They will wear their robes and carry their sticks, but they are scornfully rejected by the real maasai as 'bean eaters' rather than 'goat eaters'. Sure, every now and then you'll see the real maasai with his stretched earlobes and colorful piercings. For the most part, though, it's probably people from Bongo who prefer to be comfortable in the searing Dar heat.
Maasai villages riddle the landscape outside of the crater. On the way out of the crater, our path is blocked by a huge elephant bull. MT backs up the Landcruiser to leave the elephant plenty of space. It is not uncommon for cape buffalo, rhinos, or elephants to charge a vehicle whenever they feel threatened, and MT would rather not take that chance. Amazingly, the elephant vanishes in the brush, and we are left in awe of the elephant's abilities to remain concealed. When we pass, there is a short strip of grassland trampled to the ground, but otherwise no indication than the largest land animal just walked on the road ahead of us.
The word 'poor' is a general term. Rich is the maasai who has plenty of cattle and plenty of children. If one of the two is lacking, the maasai is considered poor. The cattle, obviously, are the key to the maasai's survival. Oxen, sheep, bulls, nothing goes to waste. They drink the blood, milk, and eat their meat.
One of the key traditions of the maasais is the circumcision ceremony, performed without an anesthetic. After the circumcision, they are banned from the village for a minimum of three months. They usually wear black clothes and white face paint or masks. We see dozens of these young boys by the roadside.
Although maasais have killed lions in the past for sport, they rarely do so now. Occasionally, they will hunt down the lion killing their livestock, and such a kill certainly enhances the maasai's reputation within the village. MT, for example, tells us that the predators of the Serengeti carefully avoid the maasai. The maasai themselves rarely shower, so picking them out is not hard if you're a lion or hyena. The lions clearly favor mzungu tourists marinated in sun lotion or after shave.
People will frequently see fake maasais in Dar es Salaam working as parking attendants. They will wear their robes and carry their sticks, but they are scornfully rejected by the real maasai as 'bean eaters' rather than 'goat eaters'. Sure, every now and then you'll see the real maasai with his stretched earlobes and colorful piercings. For the most part, though, it's probably people from Bongo who prefer to be comfortable in the searing Dar heat.
Maasai villages riddle the landscape outside of the crater. On the way out of the crater, our path is blocked by a huge elephant bull. MT backs up the Landcruiser to leave the elephant plenty of space. It is not uncommon for cape buffalo, rhinos, or elephants to charge a vehicle whenever they feel threatened, and MT would rather not take that chance. Amazingly, the elephant vanishes in the brush, and we are left in awe of the elephant's abilities to remain concealed. When we pass, there is a short strip of grassland trampled to the ground, but otherwise no indication than the largest land animal just walked on the road ahead of us.
Finally, our descent out of the crater is complete, and it's
wide open plains around us. The first animal to greet us is a full grown
cheetah resting on a rock. The kitty has a full tummy, indicating that we won't
be seeing any high speed chase with an antelope or gazelle anytime soon. Ahead
of us is the first gang of wildebeest/zebras, thousands of them. We drive right
through the herd as they graze. The wildebeest will lift their heads every now
and then, make a dumb looking face and let out the deep throated nnnnnniiirrrrrrr, while the zebra sounds
like the cross between a horse and a mule.
Like at Ngorogoro before us, we need a permit for the Serengeti. Again, this doesn't take very long thanks to the low season, and we are on the plains in the time it takes for a short bathroom break.
This is where the maasai land ends and the wildlife takes over for good. There will be plenty of it for us over the next few days.
Like at Ngorogoro before us, we need a permit for the Serengeti. Again, this doesn't take very long thanks to the low season, and we are on the plains in the time it takes for a short bathroom break.
This is where the maasai land ends and the wildlife takes over for good. There will be plenty of it for us over the next few days.
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