European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - September 19, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse Roud Masai d worried Iqbal ciders say the world is closing in it s a typical african con lick Between Aric ont ways and encroaching civilization Masai lore taught thai All cattle in she world were theirs and armed parties frequently set about enforcing that belief neighbouring tribes calling that cattle rustling feared the Masai when British Settlor colonized East Attica the kikuyu and other tribes studied heir ways especially farming and real estate Law most Masai avoided the outsiders. Then Independence came see that says Amos Ole Pefu waving an Arm Loward sweeping Barley Fields near the District capital of Narok in Southwest Kenya. Thai is All Masai land Laken Over by kikuyu and indians " a new government divided into plots Multi of the Range land hat Masai shared in common the idea was thai All kenyans should be entitled to Ichii own and to use As they saw fit. Masai Lui Lnu experience managing Money Peru says. They look Loans on Herr land and could not make payments so pretty soon they lost it " Large areas of land went to game reserves Wilh Little compensation to displaced clans. The Masai fought Back. Al Ambroselli wardens found the carcasses of dozens of Black Rhino. Masai had speared them or spite leaving their valuable horns Olshef actors were involved authority lies mainly with individual clans rather than a unified Hierarchy. Some leaders abuse their influence to amass fortunes Al the expense of others but the main problem most Masai say is that their austere Way of life and their rigid social system cannot help but clash with a world thai is Western zing. David pasta has a distinctive Masai Mark his two Bottom front Teeth were removed to make him handsome he also has a Vale degree in economics and a prestigious Job in West Africa they will have to change he says if they resist Al the end of the Day they will be too far behind like Many Masai pasta s family shifted course after the great drought of 1973. 013.000 cattle they were let with so. Drought forced desperate herders to find work in cities. Some never went Back Home. Moses Korperian has bridged the Gap regularly he puts on Long pants and conducts business in Nairobi moving easily it unhappily among the smoke and noise of monumental african traffic jams but he spends most of his Lime in the Litas. Keeping hyenas away irom his cows and enlivening campfires by acting Oul Tor his friends the plot of the list Bruce Lee karate film to saw in the City the double tile is not easy. Nol Long ago a lion attacked Moses Friend As he was herding cattle Mosos heaved fits Spear neatly through the lion s left Eye Lator a game Warden wanted to arrest him he said i should have Homo to Narok Lor a permit lust and then gone Back and kilted the lion Hal was eating my Friend Moses says rolling his eyes Moses quickly converted the evidence into Masai handicrafts. Amos Ole Peru does it the other Way he near Nairobi and slips Back to the old Way whenever to con recently he took an american Iriondo up the Rocky escarpment to the Litas Toothbrush he exclaims slamming on the brakes and skidding the land Rover to a Hall he leaps out and Bounds to a Low Green tree from he carves Iviree Short Slicks. From a Thicket of Brilliant Orange wild Norcis. He produces a Langy nectar. From a Bush he squeezes some natural Viek s Vapo rub for 20 minutes he explains the use medicinal practical or recreational of every Plant he encounters in Nairobi he s a Streetwise modern kenyan named Amos. In the Litas he is Meshko meaning no of reverse a Man who grapples Wilh such Myslene As eme Naumor. The Man monster of the Forest but Many Masai suffer badly from culture Shock in Ngong town a seedy wild Wost settlement near Nairobi Masai drink themselves into a stupor a i the embassy bar and talk about old times occasionally someone Breaks into a Gay lion Hunting ditty or a fierce War chant. Sergeant Jack a game Warden at Nairobi National Park is a source of some amusement. But the mood is mainly grim officials Woik hard to make the Masai like everyone else. A District commissioner boasted in 1585 we shall leave no Stone unturned unto they learn How to Cook a meal of ugali Corn Gruel " specialists on the Masai argue that that is Folly considering what they mtg he teach other tribes and westerners about nature and survival in harsh conditions. It 5 not Tair when you think of How the Masai can survive of their own Peru says. When drought almost wiped Thorn out they came Back without iring he prom anyone kenyan authorities will nol Wasity suppress i to essential elements of Masai customs the specials say. The government for example has inc to a twist Oul initiations of warriors to the Szalus of Junior elite 1 in ceremony a ire Rwy of dancing and Energy a i Centrepiece of Masai society. Alt Masai boy dream of glory As a Moran. I Warrior training lakes scouting toils fullest tinny j cais of seclusion in the Bush learning old ways Menril badges in lion wrestling sexual taboos every few years 100 or so Moran Are graduated in we Wong All Ghl a los if an unsure candidate Ings in enter the enchanted Circle he fails dead away and five ceremonial hut collapses. British colonial authorities had Given up on Moran ism. They succeeded Only in limiting Ihn h an in us period to five years. After Independence Kenya s government decided the whole process wasted valuable Timo of Able bodied youths and ran counter to the needs of development some kenyans feel Moran ism Breeds Callao Rusl Loit and arrogant bulges in 1985, the government i used a ban on furl Hei ceremonies. Masai elders ignored she order and once again built the symbolic warriors Village on a Weil defended Promontory deep in the Loita Hills. No one was prepared to Stop them. Bui Many Masai Are More worried about the Indian merchant s bread truck and other suppliers who regularly bring modern goods to the ramshackle in he shops of the Liny settlement of Morita there Are also policemen and District of icons who Are gradually bringing the apparatus of the slate Mio the Masai s last Refuge. In a nation with a population of 20 million growing in a rate of 4.2 percent a year land is growing scarce wheat and Barley Farmers arc gnawing away Al the 1,151 fringes of Masai land. Asked about the future Moses Kipe Oan abandoned his habitual Hafl smile we have a few moso years maybe who knows Bui in is Only a matter of time App nuo touff Khz Mantro to tit f top of mount 1,1387 Young tit tar Rrt in Moaje Kenya i naming my Tot and he a to my the stars and stripes Page 15
