Maasai Adventures
Upper David Shepley spent two months of this past summer on a remote campsite in Tanzania with an organization called the Tanzania People and Wildlife Fund. He lived with the Maasai people and kept a journal in efforts to later share his experiences, and this is the first of his series of journal entries.
These entries explore Shepley’s cross-cultural experiences with the Maasai community, his participation in their cultural and tribal traditions, daring encounters with deadly local animals and observations about wildlife conservation and community development in the region.
Shepley has decided to share his accounts with the Exeter community. He believes that they will provide an exciting experiences that will educate the community in the rich and famous culture of the Maasai. He also hopes that his journal entries will encourage and inspire other Exonians to pursue similar opportunities.
Our environmental summer camp learned about wild honey production and bee keeping. We had fresh honey a couple of nights ago, harvested by one of the local “experts.” We were given pieces of the comb and expected to eat it just like that. I quickly realized that it was best to spit out the wax rather than to swallow it; it was my first time ever eating fresh honey, so I had no clue. Tasting the honey, I found that it was probably the sweetest, most rich substance I’d ever eaten. I could not believe some of the children who seemed to eat pounds of the stuff because I could only handle a palm sized piece.
Two nights ago, I tried traditional Maasai head soup. The soup is made from boiling the head of a cow and using it as broth with milk and a traditional plant medicine. Right before I sipped it, I heard that they left out the cow’s head, so I was quite relieved. However, there was no shortage of animal fat; after just a cup, a white layer of fat had hardened around my mouth. The drink looked like cafe au lait but tasted very bitter. I didn’t like it, but the Maasai were going crazy and drinking it out of little plastic tubs.
In Maasai culture, when a female greets a man (usually an elder), he generally gives her a traditional blessing by placing his hand over her head. When the kids arrived on Sunday, one of the non-Maasai teachers went to high-five a young girl, but she just stared at his hand for 10 seconds and then, not knowing what to do, put her head into his hand. It was really funny, so everyone laughed. It was also interesting to see how different cultures perceive an open palm. It was a bit of a culture shock and offered me a lot of perspective.
I met a preacher from Arusha who was staying in the area and wanted me to preach at the Lutheran church this Sunday! I told him that if I could get there I would. How could I say no? It would just be for five minutes. It reminded me of all those times my Dad had to preach on the spot during our past trips to Tanzania. I’m not sure if I can get to the church, but if I can, somehow, then I’ll have to think of something substantial to say.