Masai Cultural Experience in Tanzania

Dressing up with colorful Masai hat, neck jewelery and clothes was a lot of fun when I saw the Masai people at the Ngorongoro Serena lodge where they set up a gift shop. Masai women are tall, pretty and very graceful. They don’t speak English but some of the men speak English very well. As part of the experience we also visited a Masai Village. We were greeted by a group of men on one side and a group of women on the other side in front of the village with songs and dance. Did you know that the women build their houses while the men tend to the castle? Also the Masai men can have more than one wife. Their houses are very small (less than 100 sq ft) and even though they can build bigger houses they chose to build only small and keep it simple. There was a small school where boys were learning English. What impressed me was their simplicity in living and keeping to their way of life even in these modern times. It was of course disturbing to see inside of their little houses when I knew they need not live that way if they choose to change. It however reinforced my belief that one can be happy in their own way with their chosen way of life.