Maasai village visits

You’ve seen pictures of them – adorned with the brilliant red, blue, and purple patterns of the shukas they wear. The men with their spears, tall and proud. The women were bejeweled with bright beaded earrings and scarves. These are some of the oldest inhabitants of East Africa, the Maasai people.
They live in small mud-thatched villages, surrounded by their cattle and smaller livestock. For hundreds of years, the Masai have roamed these lands of Kenya and Tanzania, living a free, nomadic lifestyle. Their traditional lands now comprise much of Kenya’s national parks.
A highlight of your safari vacation is a visit with these Maasai people. Many tribes welcome visitors to their villages to observe their culture and way of life.

Arriving at the Village – An Explosion of Colour

The first thing you’ll notice as you enter a village is the many vivid colours of the Masai’s garments. The bright shukas or sheets they wear contrast strongly with the greens and browns of the landscape.
Adding to this display of colour is the brightly beaded jewelry – necklaces, bracelets, and amulets – worn by the women and men.
This beadwork, while very appealing, has more than just an ornamental value. The women who create it express their identity and social status with these handcrafted pieces.
You’ll see displays of this beaded jewelry for sale, and you can help support the village with a purchase… as well as bring home an authentic souvenir from your travels.

Music and Dance

You may get to experience the villagers singing and dancing… and you might even be able to join in! The Maasai are known for their rhythmic call-and-response singing. Perhaps their most widely known dance is the adumu or “jumping dance”.
The warriors form a circle with one person entering the center. This dancer will jump higher and higher to the singers’ rhythms. As he jumps higher, the singers will raise the pitch of their voices.
Sometimes guests are invited into the circle, adding to the dancing fun!

The Boma

Standing in muted contrast to the colourful villagers, you’ll see the browns and grays of the Maasai’s houses, called bomas. Small structures with thatched roofs, it is the job of the Maasai women to build these sturdy dwellings with thatched roofs.
The women begin with a framework of timber poles and interweave smaller branches to form a structure. This is then covered with a mixture of mud, grass, cow dung, urine, and ash. The entire structure is no more than 3 x 5 m in area and stands only 1.5 m tall.
Yet the family cooks, eats, sleeps, and socialises in this modest structure – even sharing space with small livestock! You may be able to peek inside to experience a very different lifestyle.
The men also participate in constructing this homestead. It is their responsibility to build the protective fencing around the village to keep lions and other predators away from the livestock.