Day Four - Meet Miriam and Joseph

vq=3349>98:>632>WSNRCG=32376:459897:vq0mrj.jpg"> Is it only me or do cape buffalo remind you of Jane Jetson too? The way their horns curl up at the sides of their foreheads cracks me up. This morning we got up and on the road at 6 a.m. I bring my travel mug with hot cocoa. Migwe checks for tracks as he drives and just outside the gate of our lodge he spies lion prints. I am so glad we have a fence and a guard at the gate of our place. We see gazelles, more dikdiks, impalas, buffalo, hornbills, plovers, a flock of vultures, and secretary birds. Secretary birds are named after the early government secretaries who wore black skirts, white blouses and had a reputation for a self important walk. Secretary birds eat snakes. To kill the snakes they grab them and fly way up into the air and drop their snakes to the ground. We head back for breakfast and I enjoy a spanish omelet, baked beans, passion fruit, pineapple, mangoes, watermelon and toast. We have some time to relax so I head to the pool. I see 4 elephants crossing the river in front of the lodge on the way to the pool. The pool is shaped like a butterfly and ringed with lounge chairs. A 5 foot stone fence surrounds the pool and is covered with vines that flower in vivid dark pink, orange, yellow and purple. A hornbill watches me swim. I look up and see a vervet monkey closing in on my backpack which I was smart enough to zip shut. I holler at the monkey to leave my bag alone. The 75 to 80 degree weather feels wonderful. My winter allergies have gone and my summer allergies haven't kicked in yet. I feel a little apprehensive about this afternoon. We are going to visit a Samburu tribe. I consider not going. I could sit this one out. I decide to give it a try. We arrive about 3 in the afternoon and are greeted by Joseph. The women come out to greet us and sing songs of welcome. A couple women at a time dance close to us and yell, "Sapo!" I get the feeling I am supposed to say something back but I'm not sure what. Later I learn "Sapo" is the same as "Jambo" and I should have repeated it back to them. Wish I had known that earlier. Miriam talks to us about her life. She has six children. She looks to be in her early 30's and she has children 18 years old. She said the Samburu life is changing. She says the tribe is moving away from polygamy. She says a man needs to know that he should be ready to pay for his children to go to school. If he has 5 wives, he could have 30 to 50 children and unless he is willing to pay for that many children to go to school, he shouldn't have that many. Miriam thinks education is very important. She insists her daughters attend secondary school (boarding school) several hours away in Isiolo. She wants them to go to college. She won't allow them to marry yet even though they are 16 and 18 - past the age most girls get married. She said the tribe is moving away from female circumcision too. Miriam is a feminist and we all nod our heads in agreement with her. She says the Samburu culture can remain strong even with the changes. The young men give us a fire making demonstration. They rubs sticks together to make sparks. The tinder is dried donkey dung. Within a few minutes they have a flame going. Then the young men dance for us. During the dance, they take turns jumping straight up and down, seeing who can jump the highest. Joseph takes us into his house. The walls and ceiling are made of woven sticks and cow dung. The sleeping area has cow hide covering. When it rains the cow hides are put on the roof to keep the rain out. Mom and baby have a separate sleeping area and I'm glad to see they have a mosquito net in there. The cooking area is inside too and it feels dark and smoky inside. Everyone looks clean and wears brightly colored clothes and flip flops. The smallest kids, probably those who are not potty trained yet, go without pants. Everyone is quite slim. They eat twice a day and their diet is mostly meat, milk and blood. They use thorny acacia bushes as a fence to keep the cattle and goats in at night and the lions and hyena out. Joseph, in plain language, tells us that the women of the tribe are stronger than the men because they do all the work. Women prepare the food, they build the houses, and they care for the children. When someone in the tribe dies, their body is left in the bush for the animals to devour. In this way the Samburu honor the dead by allowing them to be used to continue life. They feel the soul would wither if the body was left to decompose in the ground. At the end of the visit we shop. We can buy necklaces and beaded bracelets, metal bracelets and wood carvings, spears and masks. I buy a mask with giraffes. Emily helps me negotioate. She has studied Swahili at the U of M and I listen to a negotion that sounds very heated and goes on for a long time not having any idea what is being said. I get my mask and a bracelet for 700 shillings. I feel a little guilty because these people have been so welcoming and gracious and they have so little. We leave to get back to the lodge before sunset. Tonight a crocodile has come for feeding. The croc sits with his mouth open so wide you could roll a bowling ball down his throat. His head moves side to side a little bit but the mouth remains wide open for the 45 minutes it takes us to eat our 5 course meal. I have had another marvelous day in Africa.