Saturday, August 27

Today we visited a Maasai boma named Mevongnori after the owner, a man with three wives and 23 children.  The boma consisted of four mud huts with straw roofs - one hut for the husband and one for each wife; in the center of the huts was a corral for the livestock.  The whole gang came out to greet us, along with assorted grown children, grandchildren, friends and neighbors. 

The first order of business was to admire the headman’s cattle, which were still in the corral awaiting our arrival.  We smiled and told him they were fine specimens indeed.  Given that the Maasais’ diet consists mostly of the milk, meat and blood of their livestock, these cows are of vital importance to the community.

We were privileged to observe the process by which a cow is bled – to obtain blood which sometimes used as food, but also for medicinal purposes and in ceremonies such as circumcision.  The men selected a cow, tied a string/tourniquet around its neck, pricked the jugular vein with an arrow, and then caught the blood in a gourd.  The bleeding was stopped by removing the string and placing some hair and dirt on the wound.  

They kindly offered us a drink, and one of our braver travelling companions gave it a try.  The gourd was then given to one man to drink – he had been sick with a cold and the Maasai believe that the blood will help him regain his health.

And then came the women in full colorful costume, beautiful necklaces, earrings and other decoration.  With the first wife leading the way, they sang and danced their way into the open area of the boma.  

From somewhere they produced blankets and beads for us to wear, and it wasn’t long before all of the women in our group were decked out. 

We were invited to participate in song and dance and were introduced to the menfolk, who had been standing around watching.  They did some chanting of their own, said a special hello to some of the group, and showed off their jumping ability.   Don't miss the exciting video.

Life is not all fun and games for the women, and soon it was time to get to work on some repairs to one of the huts.  Since the Maasai move about so much, their homes (boma) are made from materials found in their surroundings.  They are generally constructed of mud, sticks, grass and cow dung and are circular in shape.  We gathered some straw and sticks and attempted to carry them on our heads as instructed – attempted is the key word here.

At the hut, the first chore was to replenish the straw roof.  Fran was one of the lucky ones chosen for this task – up the ladder and spread the straw as directed.

Next comes patching the walls – with a mixture of dirt, cow manure, and water.  The Maasai women mixed it up and Margaret and Vicky were among the first invited to lend a hand on the wall.  Afterwards, there was lots of hand washing. 

With our work all done, the whole group was invited to visit in the hut of the first wife.  David came along as our translator.  The hut is one room, with cooking area in the center, two sleeping areas on one side (one for the wife and one for the kids), and a small storage/pantry area at the rear.  The floor is dirt; the beds are cowhides spread on the floor.  Each wife cooks for the headman and her children; the husband checks what’s cooking at each hut and then chooses the one where he’ll eat.  Similarly, the husband chooses where he will sleep at night – in his hut (alone or with one of his wives) or in one of the wives’ huts.  It’s a different world …

When we came out of the hut, the other women had spread their crafts out for our inspection.  There were many beautiful items and most of us bought something, whether or not we needed/wanted anything.  These folks had been delightful hosts and clearly could use the cash. 

In and around all this activity, we did have some time to wander around the boma and say hello to some of the kids who had been watching us with great curiosity. 

As we had seen on other trips, they love to see themselves in our digital cameras – always makes us wish for an old-fashioned Polaroid! 

Kids everywhere are precious and these were no exception.  Yes, they were a scruffy looking bunch, wearing dirty, ill-fitting clothes.  What else would you expect to find in a community with very little means of support and in an environment with little or no water.  Especially in the dry season, dust is on, under and in everything and everyone.   

With good-byes and good wishes, we left the Tarangire area and headed north.  We drove past Lake Manyara and saw the boma of a local man (age 90) who has 30 wives and over 100 kids.  Hopefully he also has lots of cows.

Near the town of Mto Wa Mbu (Mosquito Creek), we passed a Saturday market in full swing.  Everything imaginable was for sale – there was even a section (in the back) for the Maasai who were trying to sell some of their skinny cows. 

We also saw lots of bananas – plantations along the roadside and piles for sale.  David stopped and bought us some red bananas to try – they seemed more flavorful than regular bananas and their skins are a surprising bright red.

We reached our destination (Tloma Mountain Lodge) in time for a late lunch on the lodge veranda, laundry pick-up ($1 per piece) and siesta.  The lodge overlooks a coffee plantation, with the wall of the Ngorongoro Crater in the distance. 

This beautiful place is owned by Willy Chambalo.  Willy grew up in a small village in Northern Tanzania; he is German on his father’s side, Irish on his mother’s side, and Maasai from both sides.  From humble beginnings, he tried a number of jobs but always knew he wanted to be a safari operator.  In 1993, he founded Kibo Guides and in 2001, he built a home for his growing family.  He added extra rooms so that friends could come and stay with him – from his own personal compound, Willy’s first safari lodge was born.  The rest is history – Alan Lewis (owner of Overseas Adventure Travel) met Willy and invested in his growing enterprise.  Today Willy owns 9 safari lodges and camps and 78 safari vehicles, and Overseas Adventure Travel keeps most of them busy with travelers from the U.S. 

The nice part of this success story is that Willy Chambulo has never forgotten his humble beginnings.  He remains committed to using his influence to improve the lives of his fellow Tanzanians. When staffing his lodges, he supports the local economy by giving preference to the people of neighboring villages; currently, he employs 320 people. The Tloma Mountain Lodge has expanded to include a coffee plantation and to grow all the vegetables for Willy’s multiple properties around the area.  He’s a strong advocate for improving health care and education, and has provided support to clinics and schools throughout the area. 

Willy seems to be everywhere at once.  We saw him tending bar, pulling weeds, watering plants, telling stories, serving food – no task seemed too small for his attention.  His employees hold him in high regard – he’s a true entrepreneur, and it’s clear that he’s done well by doing good.  We’re very glad we had the chance to meet him.

After siesta, David took us for a walk in Tloma village … just down the dusty road from the Lodge. 

We met some kids who were much entertained by David’s jokes and picture-taking. 

We interrupted work on a new brick house.  The family made the bricks and now is expanding their living quarters.

We saw people just going about their lives - perhaps a higher standard of living than the Maasai boma, but still no running water and most folks don’t have electricity. 

We came upon the village church (Lutheran) and found the church choir practicing.  They invited us in and we were absolutely spellbound by their beautiful and joyous music. 

We tried to get lost going back to the Lodge, but made it back in time for dinner – wondering if the red dust will ever come out of our clothes.