the maasai

I did not expect to see Maasai here in Dar es Salaam. Their traditional lands are more in northern Tanzania and Kenya, around the game parks. But there are a surprising number in the city, dressed in the typical Maasai robes (which I learned from Wikipedia have only been adopted since the 1960s when they started phasing out cow hides and sheepskin). There have been a number of government programs intended to discourage the traditional Maasai way of life because of some (now proved incorrect) studies that the cow grazing the tribe has focused on was damaging the Serengeti grasslands. Things are slow to change, though, and the programs are still in full effect, forcing a number of Maasai into the cities, even though some groups like Oxfam are advocating in support of the traditional lifestyle.

Because they're a primarily semi-nomadic and pastoral tribe, they do not bring a lot of skills to the modern cash-based economy in Dar and mostly seem to work as parking attendants, guards, etc. I feel rather odd taking photos of people in Dar--it's part of the everyday experience I want to capture but it sort of feels objectifying at the same time. (I'm doubly upset about this discomfort because many of the women are just so beautiful and wear the greatest outfits and I'd love to capture some of that--The Sartorialist in Dar).

I did find this photo online of just what this juxtaposition is:

This is fairly typical, though we probably see more red than blue cloth and usually we see it at night, outside the bars we've been to.

Maasai men always carry a walking stick, which I believe is different than the wooden clubs warriors are known to be able to throw up to 100 ft with dead accuracy.

At the market today we also saw Maasai women (and some men) selling the beaded jewelry they are well known for making.

Here's another photo I found online of Maasai women selling jewelry, but this is nothing like what we saw today. Transport this to a dusty strip off of the side of a huge road with about 1/100th of what is on offer here and the same number of individuals standing in the shade.

We only really went to the craft market today, where there are wood carvings, jewelry, some amazing wooden chests and boxes, some fabric, and other chotckes. We didn't buy anything yet but I picked out a number of things I'll likely buy in the future. We also met this amazing woman Caroline, who is enrolled at Columbia Business School, which has an affiliate program at the university in Dar, where she has been doing entrepreneurship studies. She owned one of the craft shops and told us about her recent visit to the United States--New York, Hartford, New Jersey, Charleston--for her studies. She also offered to take us into the real market in Mwenge, which is probably not safe for two young white women to go to alone. It's actually an offer we'll likely take her up on as we are both interested in buying some cloth and having a few dresses made here.

Time for a short afternoon siesta and then Jess and I are on to trip planning for the end of our time here--safari and Zanzibar!

p.s. Maasai cloth is more than a little hipster.