Lake Manyara National Park is famous for elephants, as Gombe Park is famous for Dr. Jane and the chimpanzees. Today the elephants were tumbling out of the forest! Water, walking, wind, warmth and wild bushes moved these creatures around Manyara's beautiful flood plains and jungles.
A few old spirits kept watch ( buffalo )
( giraffe and gazelles )
over this magical land of Africa.
The day warmed up, families moved around,
tails flicked the flies,
ear flapping cooled down big daddy tusker,
social groups walked and met others,
and splashes of color treated our eyes.
Then, with a sneaky camera in the back of the jeep, I caught a few glimpses of the famous Maasai people. Dressed in black are a group of young men on an extended outdoor living challenge after one has undergone the circumcision ceremony. Circumcision is encouraged here to minimize the chance of spreading disease, especially in this hot, humid climate with limited, clean water. These guys really make a trip, dressing completely in black and painting black faces with white designs and sometimes feathers on their heads. Maasai, like all Africans, greet everyone who passes. Sometimes the Maasai acknowledgement does not seem so welcoming.
Wandering these lands with your best friends and hunting spears doesn't look like a bad deal! They keep a strong cultural tradition alive.
Blues, reds, and purples help these people stand out from the endless maize and grasses in their physical environment. These blanket pieces of clothing are the staple, warm garment for men and women, girls and boys.
Maasai families are often polygamous. In this case, polygamous means that one man has more than one wife, depending on his social position. (It takes money to keep women happy :) Families live in a grouping of thatch-roofed huts - I imagine one for each wife at least, plus others for older boys in the family, etc... The hut groupings, or estates, are called bomas. See a few examples here:
from Jen
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