Ashay Woleng

Meet Korianka. He is Maasai, a member of one of the original tribal groups indigenous to East Africa. As I mentioned in my last post, Korianka is the lead staff person at the Kilima Tented Camp in the Serengeti. He’s 32 years old, and considers himself a “modern Maasai,” since he no longer lives the fully traditional lifestyle of cattle herding. However, he does still wear traditional clothing, the shuka, or wrapped fabric.

<<When we arrived, Chef Abdullah was making dinner in the kitchen tent, so of course I asked if I could join them and watch. They graciously allowed me to accompany them in the kitchen, and made some popcorn on the camp stove for us to snack on while I chatted mostly with Korianka. Meanwhile, the chef made curried and fried fish, potato cucumber soup (like a potato leek soup), steamed carrots and green beans, and “Chinese-style rice” with the most perfect vegetable dice I have ever seen.>> 
His name, Korianka, was given at a group ceremony when he was 18 years old. At that age, Maasai men are ritually circumcised, with no anesthesia. They must not cry out in pain or show weakness. If they pass this grueling trial, they become a “Warrior.” In fact, all Maasai men – wherever they are located – at 18 years old become Warriors, and remain so for 9 years. When Korianka became a Warrior, all the other men who also became Warriors at that time were given the same name. He says he can always recognize a Korianka when he sees one. I asked him if there was a secret handshake. But of course, if he told me what it was, he’d have to kill me.

Anthropologists call this an “age set,” which makes so much more sense to me now that I’ve met someone who can explain it to me in practical terms. During this time, the group of Warriors formally separate from their mothers, learn to be men, hunt, protect their community, and basically “act as soldiers.” They will undertake cattle raids in the night and be prepared to fight at a moment’s notice. They learn men’s ceremonies, mythology, and songs. Warriors do not eat downed cattle, only freshly hunted meat, along with the blood and milk of their cattle. This is a protein-rich diet that puts Paleo to shame. They also cannot eat with the women, children, and elders.

Me: What kinds of things do you eat?

K: Secret food, I cannot tell you!

Twice, Korianka won the lion’s tail. When Warriors hear a lion nearby, they must hunt it. (At least, they will hunt it if the lion is outside the protected conservation areas. Otherwise they will go to jail.) A small group of Warriors will take their spears and track the lion to kill it. When the hunters return to the village with the lion, they line up for the Maasai Lion Awards Ceremony. The man who sinks his spear first into the lion wins the lion’s tail (The Gold). The one who sinks the second spear wins the ear (Silver), and the third wins a piece of the lion’s fur (Bronze). These items are then attached to the tip of the spear, making it clear who are the most prized young dudes. Young Maasai women then choose which hunter they would like to be their boyfriend.

Me: How many times did you get the lion’s tail?

K: I think twice.

Me: But today, the Warriors can’t hunt lions because they are protected. How do they find girlfriends?

K: They talk to each other?

Me: K

Korianka has now passed through the Warrior stage, and has become an “elder.” Moving into the elder stage, men are required to cut their long Warrior braids. This signifies the transition. At this stage, they may take one or more wives – now they’ve lived to tell the tale, basically. The more wives a man takes, the more cattle, goats, sheep, and donkeys he can amass. With only one wife, the family is confined to the number of animals she can herd, or her children can herd when they are old enough. Based on the tiny herders we’ve seen along the roads, I would guess 8 or 9 is old enough. A young brother may accompany a slightly older brother as well. We’ve seen kids who are probably 5 or 6 years old helping out. 

Korianka mentioned that since cattle and herding animals = wealth, children are given a small herd when they are born. Each bull or cow has a given name, and the kids grow up very closely with their cattle. When you become a warrior, you try to grow the herd so you can impress the ladies and take many wives once you become an elder.

Maasai woman:  Girl…look at the size of his herd! Mm-mm!

Unfortunately, along the roads we have also seen many Maasai children begging alongside their herds. They know they are valuable photo subjects with their regal shukas and long sticks, and will ask for money for photos. In the boma (Maasai village) they are totally self-sufficient. But with the intrusion of modern industrial life and capitalism, they are now suddenly “poor.”

At one point in our conversation, he mentioned making fires out in the bush, and said he could do it in about 3 minutes. I said something like “I would love to see that,” not expecting that he would say “okay!” and jump up, pulling out his machete. Within a few minutes, he had whittled a dried branch to a point, made a platform from a larger branch, inserted holes with the machete, and started using his hands to drill down the thin branch into the platform. The wood was “tired,” he said, so it took longer than usual. He got a blister, and all three of them had to help. Fire-making is hard work! Even I tried, and of course I sucked. But by god, with a couple of tries, these guys made a fire for me. 

If you want to thank a Maasai, just tell him ah-SHAY wo-LENG (thank you). I can never thank Korianka enough for the insight, laughter, and personal connection he allowed me to make with him. Ashay woleng.