Life in Africa as a teen of the Masai Tribe

SISTERS AROUND THE WORLD, May 2007, by Rose

 


Life in Africa
as a teen of the Masai Tribe 


I am awake. It is early, the sun just creeping over the horizon, the start of another day. I have seen fifteen years and am pregnant with my first child. It is a blessing that I am ready to bear children, for if I could not conceive, I would end my life as a scorned beggar. My husband has seen forty-one years and has two other wives other than me. Since I am the newest wife of my husband, I am placed in charge of doing most of the daily chores. During the day, the other wives, by seniority, will likely smoke calabashes (a type of gourd) to hold cow’s blood, milk, or maize in. They may also create beautiful beadwork bracelets and necklaces for themselves and their daughters. I expect that someday soon my husband will marry another girl, and then I will be able to fulfill the role of a senior wife.

The Masai are a nomadic cow-herding tribal people from southern Kenya and northern and central Tanzania. The Masai believe that the more cattle you own, the more wealthy you are. Young women are married to older men once they reach puberty, often into a family where the husband has more than one wife. Young women cannot own any land or cattle and are seen as the property of their fathers before marriage. That right of property is then passed down to the girl’s husband when she is married to him. The Masai live in huts made out of branches, twigs, grass, cowdung, mud, and urine, commonly in villages of about ten to twenty huts.

I dig into the pile of firewood outside our nk-aji (house), and bring some inside to start the fire for the day. It is my responsibility to prepare the meals for my husband, his other wives (though they help me sometimes), and their children. I take some of the milk that I collected from our cattle out of a decorated calabash and mix it in half a gourd with some fresh cow’s blood for each of the members of my family. My senior wives are awake, but do not eat, for our husband is always the first to do so. We wait silently as the sun climbs over the horizon. He awakens soon and drinks down his meal with a nod to us, and goes out into the village to consult the laibon (shaman), wrapping his shuka (traditional red robe of the Masai warriors) around him.

I hurry down to the cattle-holding pens and go around to our numerous cattle to milk the mothers. Then, opening the pens so that the cattle can roam free with the men of the village, I return to our nk-aji. I find that my senior wives have fed their children and are going out to greet the day. They join a group of women and take part in calabash smoking and their intricate beadwork. Soon they will have to return to patch the roof of our nk-aji with mud and cow dung mixed with water. The last rain wore holes in it...  

It is now midday and has taken more than three hours to milk all of my husband’s cows and return that milk to the calabashes outside our home. I must still bring water from a river nearby. It is fortunate that our ekang (village) is so close to water. Women from some of the other villages I have heard of have to walk more than twenty miles a day for their water, but it is not so for me. On the way back from the river, I collect spare firewood for the fire pit in our nk-aji.

When I reach the thornbush fence of our ekang, I see the elder men of the village sitting and observing the daily activities, as they always do. It is nearly evening, and my husband will come home soon. I return home and prepare the last meal of the day for my family, waiting for my husband to return so all of us can eat.

I am still young and full of strength, even with this unborn child in my belly. I will do my people and my husband proud with the new son that I feel is coming. Someday he will become a fierce morani. This is only one day in my life. One of many on the plains of Kenya with my people, the Masai.

Can you imagine what it would be like to be married and pregnant at thirteen or fourteen? It’s amazing to learn what other young ladies around the world go through in their daily lives compared to us. It’s pretty crazy to me the amount of work the women do in the Masai society compared to the men, and equally stunning how young the girls are when they have children.

We have so much to be grateful for, even on our most difficult days. Explore the possibilities and gifts you are surrounded by.

And remember, we are all Sisters Around the World!

 ~ Rose

Add Comment

(Please use a nickname or your first name only. To help other girls relate, let us know your age and what province/state or country you live in. Other identifying information like email address, address, web sites or phone numbers will NOT be accepted. Thanks for your comments (: COMMENTS WILL BE POSTED WITHIN 24HRS.)

*Name:
*Name:
*Email (your email will not be displayed):
*Comment:

*By clicking "submit", you acknowledge that you are 13 or older, or have received parental permission to send your information, according to our privacy policy.

Reproduction of any article or content herein, in whole or in part, without written permission is strictly prohibited.
© Girls Can Do Anything Magazine, Inc. All rights reserved.