A Day With the Samburu

We have a full day scheduled, starting with a trip to a local Samburu village, an optional short hike, then our warrior dance prior to dinner. But first, let me tell you about last night!

The rain started even before the end of dinner, and we shared umbrellas with our armed escort back to the room. It was coming down big time, and wasn’t letting up anytime soon as far as we could tell. We got cosy under the covers and let the rain hitting the roof lull us to sleep. Jutta woke me up around 1am to tell me there was someone outside the room with a flashlight, and I figured it had to be staff or security so no worries, but this wasn’t the usual walk by as they stayed around for some time. It sounded like the rain was still pouring down, but when I got up to look, no raindrops were falling, and the sound I heard was the river which had now turned into a raging torrent. All the tributaries were filling up, and dumping into the main river, and we found out that even a portion of the Mount Kenya watershed miles away, would eventually end up in this channel. It was huge, and Jutta convinced me to use the radio and find out if there was a problem brewing. We were told everything was ok, and even though the river had risen dramatically in the last two hours, it was still at a safe level……..they did remove a pump from under our pool which was in danger of getting washed away.

We were up with the sunrise to see a totally changed river before us……..no sandbanks, no sand shores……..it was really full……..brown silty water churning its way downstream at quite a pace. As the water slowed and lowered later in the day we would see that the river now took an entirely different course through the riverbed.

So excitement over, we had another great breakfast and hopped into the truck for our ride out to the village. Now this was another eye opener. When we pulled up, I almost said, do people actually live here, before catching myself, realizing that both of our guides come from villages just like this. The circular perimeter of the village is marked by woven together thorny bushes and branches which will deter predators at night, and there are other smaller circles within the village used as night pens for the goats and sheep. The dwellings are nothing more than sticks upright in the ground with roofs fabricated from branches, covered with a variety of materials including cardboard, plastic, and some with tarps that you can buy in town. There is no hunger or sickness. This is a normal living situation for the Samburu, and everyone seems quite content and happy.

Milking the goats for breakfast.

A group of ladies gather and begin singing for us. One of the elders takes Jutta by the hand, slips a beaded neckpiece over her head, and leads her into the circle. There are four generations from this family in the picture.

The Samburu diet consists mainly of milk from cows, goats, or sheep, and may be served fresh or fermented, blood, drawn from cows, some corn meal, and meats only sparingly and for special occasions, if an animal dies, or if some game is caught. There is not an ounce of fat on any of these people, and they seem incredibly healthy and fit. I offered Ben a drink of water on our hike and he thankfully refused, saying “We can walk all day without water”. Males are circumcised in a big ceremony when they become teenagers, and females have their clitoris removed before marriage………yikes. Men may have multiple wives, usually the elders, and the younger men pretty much have to wait their turn. This is how it is, and has been forever.

The lion conservancy driveway is on the way home. Another view of our sundowner spot from last night…….that is baboon rock, and the flat rocky plateau in the middle is our spot.

Back at camp we enjoy lunch with our little friends who are always hanging around looking for a crumb or two.

We meet up with Ken, Ben, and Ralph, and make our way down to a large sandbank on the side of the river that has resurfaced after the storm. This will be the site of the warrior dance, but some rain starts to fall, and we find the warriors don’t like that too much. Jutta becomes instantly popular with her umbrella.

The dance, singing, chanting, continue for a half hour or so, and then some young girls come on the scene in a group. Those with colourful beads are already spoken for, and those with just red, are still to be chosen by a man. I’ve gotta tell ya, some of these girls are barely twelve years old. The pictures will tell the story……..a very interesting dance, with the colourful dress and beadwork worn by all. Quite a show.

Following the dance, and as part of the evening, we are to witness the ceremonial killing of a goat, and the drinking of its blood……..just what everyone needs before heading to dinner. To be honest, it wasn’t gory at all, and all done as humanely as possible given our situation and the customs of the Samburu. The entire animal will be eaten………guts and all. When properly prepared I understand they are quite tasty, but i’m not going there ever! Jutta was interested to see an animal be skinned, as her family has been making coats and jackets for years out of leather and she had never seen this before.