Visit to a Boma

A Boma is defined as an enclosure and for sure that's what it is.  The Maasai live in bomas just like this one.

Notice the sharp poles that surround the enclosure.  This "fence" is made from special trees with sharp thorns to prevent animals from coming into the living areas.








The Maasai are nomadic, so will move from these dwellings every 5 years or so.  This is necessary because they depend on good grazing for their cattle.  Once the plain is grazed, they must move on and they leave their homes behind.







One day Clamian asked us if we wanted to visit his Uncle's Boma.  Of course we did!  We entered the Serengeti Plain and made our way towards a distant hill, seeing all kinds of amazing things on the way.

The Serengeti is vast and there are roads all over the place.  How they ever find their way around there is beyond me.  At one point, Clamian said to us, "We're lost right now, but we'll figure out where we are later, OK?"

No problem!  We knew the boma was at the foot of a distant hill -- it was pretty easy to keep the target in site.

These two hyenas are waiting for a chance at lunch!

 

 Ostriches were easy to spot and there were lots!








After a long drive and lots of animals, we arrived at the boma to a heartfelt welcome.

This lady is a relative of Clamian's, an aunt I think, but he called her his "Mama".  He hadn't seen her for 20 years.

She was so happy to see him.  It was very touching to witness this tearful reunion.  Unfortunately Clamian's uncle was away, but we were welcomed with open arms and invited to go wherever we wanted and to take pictures of anything we wanted to.








We knew this was not a "tourist" attraction, but the real thing.  What a privilege for us!

Some people were happy to have their pictures taken.

These young girls were a bit shy and reluctant, but they did enjoy seeing their pictures once we had taken them.  They don't see a lot of tourists.






 



We were invited inside one of their dwellings.  The typical home is one room and does not have lights, windows, floors or furniture. Food is cooked over an open fire in the middle and there is an opening in the cone-shaped roof to let the smoke out.  Beds are made on platforms and cattle have a place too.  The people spend their time outside during the day and at night the only light comes from the fire.  It took awhile for our eyes to adjust from the bright sunlight to the darkness inside.

This lady was very hospitable and through Clamian, showed us around her home.

It's pretty dark inside, but look at the beautiful bead work!  Just a typical day at home!!

It was time to say goodbye and one of Clamian's cousins asked if we could give her a ride as we were going her way.  She and Clamian had a long conversation and he later explained that a couple of weeks earlier, 2 small children disappeared from the Boma during the day.  It was feared that they were taken by a leopard.  So sad, but reality of life in the Boma.

See my next blog for pictures of birds and animals.  The diversity is incredible.  What a country Tanzania is -- so rich in culture and nature!

"The Mamas"

In Maasai culture, female relatives are all called "Mama" and one day Clamian took us to meet his "Mamas".  This was actually a women's co-op created to help women support their families.  You see, when a Maasai woman loses her husband to AIDS, illness or anything else, she becomes ineligible to re-marry and must provide for her children.

Clamian is a Maasai Junior Elder, so it is his responsibility to help his people.  He created this co-op to help these women support their children.  He told us a story about how one of his clients bought a cow for one of the women, giving her milk for her children and a degree of wealth, as in their culture, wealth is measured in cattle.


This large group of women make jewelry to sell to tourists.  Each one of them has a story, and we were anxious to help.

 We had such fun buying pieces that we thought would sell in the new Etsy Store, Jambo Creations

Now we had the connection, the circle was complete.  We could support the "Mamas" by buying their jewelry as the starting point for our own creations, sell it online, and send the profits to help the school to buy textbooks. 

We bid the "Mamas" goodbye and Clamian assured us that we had helped some people eat better that day.

Shopping in Tanzania

Our idea for Jambo Creations was taking form and originally we were going to buy the fabrics, beads etc in Tanzania and create fashion accessories inspired by our travels there.  There was inspiration everywhere. Beautiful fabrics, lots of color, jewelry. Just look at how these women are dressed as they go about their daily round.  Much of their time is spent fetching water and wood.  It is not unusual for women to walk 5 to 7 K each way per day to bring home water.




















We knew that the beautiful pieces we saw would be marketable, but as we took a closer look we could see how intricate and labor intensive this work is.  However, the solution to this challenge lay in the future.  See my blog, "The Mamas" coming up to see how beautifully it all came together.




                                                                                   

Shopping was so much fun