Maasai

Olduvai Gorge

On our way to Serengeti National Park, we stopped at Olduvai Gorge, sometimes called the Cradle of Mankind. Here members of the Leakey family have found the remains of ancient Homo sapiens and other mammals. We visited a small museum there and heard about the work still going on at the site. The pillar on the right in the pictures above is not naturally-occuring. The area has been heavily excavated.

Maasai Village

Next, we went to a Maasai village that, for a small fee, invites tourists to visit and learn about their way of life. The men greeted us with dancing and noise-making. The women then joined in.

Don't those necklaces look uncomfortable?

Inside the village, we were invited to join in the dancing. Kelly and Linda were good sports. Surprisingly, Jon, the party animal, could not be pursuaded to participate.

Dorothy joined in enthusiastically.

All married women shave their heads.

We broke up into groups of three or four and visited homes so small that we could not stand upright in them. Families have a single cooking pot, a couple of sleeping mats, and little else. The Maasai are pastoral people. Some still migrate with their cattle in search of water and good grazing land. Their diet consists mainly of the meat, milk, and blood of their cattle.

On to Serengeti National Park

Return to the first page

Before leaving, we visited the kindergarten, where children proudly sang songs for us and demonstrated their knowledge of numbers and the alphabet. Although some Maasai leave their villages to be educated, they often return to them to live.

Thanks, Linda, for these two shots!