Working hard for water

My sister is here for a visit and today we went to look at our communal waterhole.

A warrior standing on the watering trough to keep the cattle in order

The warriors are busy organising their cattle to drink from the water trough and the women are washing and loading their donkeys with water to take back home for cooking, drinking and washing.

Our cattles' turn to drink 

Donkeys here are very valuable work animals and therefore very well looked     after. My husband always says they are the Masai's equivalent of cars. 

Donkeys waiting patiently to be loaded 

They are used for carrying water and corn or supplies to take to far away camps when moving the cattle.

Women fetching water

They can easily carry 80 litres of water in one trip, often they carry more.

Recently, donkey numbers have been declining due to Swahili people stealing and slaughtering them for their coats.

The plight of modernity

The Masai used to be nomadic but in recent times they have had to adapt their way of life to ever more difficult conditions.

This is due to dwindling pasture lands and encroaching human settlements and farmland.

These days, the Masai try to teach themselves land management in order to preserve grassland for the dry season.

They also move the cattle if need be, making camp for months at a time wherever the rains have come early.

We move our cows once or twice a year. This has become difficult though as there has been a rise in conflict between Masai and the neighbouring tribe, the Wasingua.

More than once, on moving our herd into the nearby Kilindi district, we have been fined by local village chairmen for no reason.

Herding the cows in the hills in the dry season

Last year, while camping out with the cows in the Kilindi district, our boys and young warriors were beaten and our cattle taken by unknown Swahili men. The cows were held ransom for two days and only due to police pressure and the involvement of the heads of both Kiteto and Kilindi district, were they released without being harmed.

This incident was completely unprovoked.

We see evidence on a daily basis of an ever rising human population causing problems and tension. The Masai will find it increasingly hard to find sufficient pastures for their cattle and they are increasingly exposed to the bad will of their neighbours.

I believe it is essential now to teach the Masai about land management, family planning and to advice them of their rights so as to prevent them being taken advantage of.

For an example of how they are treated to date in our neighbouring Loliondo, please read this article.

Rights abuses and evictions of Masai people in Tanzania

Dry season

It's that time of year again when the grass has dried and the cows grow hungry.
Last year's dry season saw the death of a dozen cattle.

We are preparing ourselves for the worst again by buying plenty of 'pumba', the swahili term for the corn dust produced by the mill when grinding corn. We feed this to the cattle when there is no more grass for them to feed on.

Cattle are everything to the Masai, they are their only form of income, their measurement of wealth, their pride. Losing even one cow is a huge loss.

Recent years have seen irregular rainfall patterns and drought, causing hunger for men as well as cattle.

Sadly, climate change and overpopulation affect us even out here in the bush.