Maasai Color in Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania: July 5, 2021

Just after leaving the crater's rim we stopped in at a Maasai Village where we were happily welcomed. This visit was pre-arranged by the tour company and each person in the tour paid a small fee in advance  that was passed on to the village in return for the welcome performance, access to the village, and for the opportunity to take photos. Seems like a win-win arrangement.

After the welcome song and dance, we were led into the village where we watched a dance-jump competition, were shown how the Maasai make fire without matches, and invited into their homes. In the home we were invited into, I learned that the father of the man had 13 wives and 40+ children. Not sure but his father might be the chief of the village.

The wraps the Maasai are wearing are called Shuka. They are cotton, colorful, and have many patterns. As a textile lover, I asked if anyone in the village made shuka. I was told that they buy their shuka. I did see shuka for sale in various souvenir shops. The plastic packaging says “The Original Maasai Shuka” and they are made either in Dar es Salaam or perhaps China. Regardless, the Maasai wear shuka well. The red is for protection and is usually worn outside the village. Blue is for happiness, and in my brief encounters I have not seen an unhappy Maasai.

Sandals of Recycled Motorcycle Tire Tread

The Village Chief

We visited the village school located up a slight incline from the rest of the village. Many of the children who go on to University return to the village after their education.

The surrounding landscape is so very neutral in color I completely understand why Maasai are so drawn to shuka wraps. They wear them truly well.

Our journey toward Central Serengeti Park continued with a brief stop and box lunch at Olduvai Gorge (a segment of the Great Rift Valley). We visited the museum where evidence on display shows that homo habilis (first early human species) occupied Olduvai Gorge 1.9 million years ago. Our species Homo sapiens, which is estimated to have emerged roughly 300,000 years ago, is dated to have occupied the site 17,000 years ago. Then we drove on to Eastern Serengeti Park.