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| Visiting a Maasai village |
BOMA museum, a Maasai village
Outbound to Iringa, May 25, 2024
By: Ray M
Another beautiful cool morning.
On our way to meet everyone, we are stopped by a policeman standing in the middle of the highway -a license check.
All Ok and we continue.
This museum focuses on local history, culture and beliefs. It spans 3 local tribes the Hehe, the Bena and the Kinga. And Arabs and Germans and British. And our hominid ancestors- including stone axes from several hundred thousand years ago. I had no idea that they were smelting their own iron here in 1000 BCE.
The main event today was a visit to a Maasai boma — a place called “Namanyana” or “Blessings place”. This was NOT a tourist show. In fact, this was the first time our FF Iringa hosts ever got to visit here, so it was a very new experience for all of us.
After a long drive over smaller and smaller dirt roads, a Maasai guide (wearing a red wrap, with a fimbo (small club) and a big knife in his belt) boarded the bus to guide us along even smaller roads. Which turned into a single footpath/cow trail through fields of small dry corn, then through a thicket of small acacia trees scraping both sides of the bus. Maasai young men greeted us.
They chanted and jumped energetically as they ceremoniously led our procession to the village, where the girls and women took over, dancing and chanting.
We then found out that our Maasai guide Junioni was an ordained Lutheran pastor and elected chief of the clan.
We learned a lot from him about the Maasai customs
One custom is that you must drink blood before eating meat. We were served a nice lunch of grilled beef pieces, rice and beans etc - but were excused from drinking any blood first.
Iringa Boma Regional Museum and Culture Center
First stop: Iringa Boma Regional Museum and Cultural Center. It was originally built by German colonial forces and was the colonial regional HQ in early 1900's.
Iringa Boma Regional Museum and Cultural Center
How they used to smelt iron
You can see some funny things at the museum.
To a Maasai village
On our way in the bus on a trail with our Maasai guide
The main event today was a visit to a Maasai boma — a place called “Namanyana” or “Blessings place”. This was NOT a tourist show. In fact, this was the first time our FF Iringa hosts ever got to visit here, so it was a very new experience for all of us.
After a long drive over smaller and smaller dirt roads, a Maasai guide (wearing a red wrap, with a fimbo (small club) and a big knife in his belt) boarded the bus to guide us along even smaller roads. Which turned into a single footpath/cow trail through fields of small dry corn, then through a thicket of small acacia trees scraping both sides of the bus. Maasai young men greeted us.
Maasai procession
They chanted and jumped energetically as they ceremoniously led our procession to the village, where the girls and women took over, dancing and chanting.
We then found out that our Maasai guide Junioni was an ordained Lutheran pastor and elected chief of the clan.
We learned a lot from him about the Maasai customs
One custom is that you must drink blood before eating meat. We were served a nice lunch of grilled beef pieces, rice and beans etc - but were excused from drinking any blood first.
The rice is a new custom for them. Water is an issue - there is none locally. The girls have to carry it on their heads 10 km (6 miles). So we appreciated their meal even more.
Junioni said they are trying to encourage the clan’s families to send their children to school. This is a big ask, since children have to walk 10 km (6 miles. Education will help them prepare for the changeing future — and help end the practice of early marriages. They want to build a primary school so the littlest children would not have to walk so far.
The conclusion of the visit was a chance to go inside a couple of their homes (mud brick), and then to watch 2 elders play Usoro, a classic board game moving little stones/seeds among cups. Fast, mathematical and challenging to play successfully. A few of our hosts tried.
Playing 'Usoro' ('Bao')
This was truly a new and wonderful experience for all of us (FF US and Iringa).
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