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| In the Masai Steppe, cattle often take over the roads. |
It is not like I got tired of sharing stories with you. It is because I was so super busy running my crowdfunding campaign, Stephanie's Masai Education Fund, to bring environmental education to the Masai community I live in.
It was a successful campaign and we raised enough to take part in a three day Bootcamp in land management and conservation at the Mara Training Centre in Kenya. I am so excited by the change and opportunities this project can bring for us!
I will keep you posted!
So the last two months, I was glued to my tablet all day long sending emails, replying to donors, posting updates, etc. All my energy and inspiration went into this project and it left little time for anything else. Now I am back and would like to share with you another beautiful aspect of Masai culture: their language.
In the western world the Masai language is often called Maa. I do not like to use this term, as it is not what the Masai call it themselves. When they mention their language they call it: Enkotok te Masai, which literally translated means: the mouth of the Masai.
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| Myself (right in red), my family and my friend Nare from Armenia. |
Here are some basics and their translation to English. Masai language is pronounced as it is read. Vowels are pronounced seperately and treated as syllables. For example the number two is pronounced: A~Re, three is: U~Ni, six is I~Le.
Numbers: nabo one
are two
uni three
omwan four
imieyet five
ile six
napischana seven
isiet eight
endoroit nine
tomuon ten
To say yes, you say: E-Eh and no is: A-Ah
Greetings: supai greeting for boys, girls, warriors and old men
hapa (ipa) reply to 'supai'
takwenya greeting for women
iko reply to 'takwenya'
kiduaye we will see each other
sere bye
kadake later
Basic vocabulary: sidai nice, beautiful, good
torronok bad, ugly, unpleasant
enketeng cow
enkine goat (female)
enkir sheep (female)
enkerai child
enkema fire
enkaji house
Enkai God, higher spirit
enkolong sun
olappa moon
lolkirr star
oljetta tree
enkoitoi path
enkarre water
endaa food, ugali
endito girl
olaiyoni boy
enkitok woman
olmorani warrior (circumcised boy)
olpaijan old man
owaou grandmother
kuyaa grandfather
esepata true
muluki false, untrue
Colours: naiborr white
narok black
nanyuki red
nanyorrei green
pus blue
I hope you find their language as beautiful and interesting as I find it and enjoyed this post. Drop me a comment if there is a particular word or expression you would like to know. Wishing you a lovely week and promising to not keep you waiting for too long for my next post! 😉
