One of the doctors from Kenya, Alfred, stayed with us for a good portion of the trip. We were able to interrogate him whenever possible :)
He shared with us stories about his culture...he is part of the Maasai tribe. The men have an opportunity to become a warrior, called a Muran (I believe this is
after circumcision). To become a muran, one must prove himself to the tribe and kill a lion.
I am not familiar with the logistics of this, but that seems pretty intense!
For the maasai people, the different colored bracelets and necklaces have some significant meaning.
When someone was walking by, I was told 'the number of bracelets that man has represents the number of people he killed'. Ok, if you tell that to a tourist like me, for sure I won't be wandering around at night by myself. haha.
I found it interesting that when a man is a Muran (or in the process of becoming one....i'm not too sure), he lives away from his family and lives in the forest for 10 yrs.
Now, for a culture that "guesstimates" their age...maybe ten years is really 2, or 15? Supposedly they're not allowed to "intermingle" with society...maybe it builds
character. "But, how can a man go without a woman for that long?", we ALL asked!! I guess on the downlow, some women visit with them in the forest. It's only after they are complete
with their forest life that they can have a "wife" or two, however many they want I think...
Jeremy told me that a man brought his 15 girlfriends to the clinic to be checked for HIV. The man wanted all the women checked, but refused to be checked himself. Ego issue?
I saw a few of Muran warriors walking around town when we were leaving wamba. Ironically they were wearing a WHITE cloth around their waist. I say ironic because it's so dusty here.
They had feathers on their head, and of course well armed with some tool. Most of the men carried what's called a Rungu (that's my phonetic spelling). It's basically a thick wooden stick with a thick
knob at the top- to knock someone out. I bought one! And you better believe it'll be close to my bed when I sleep at night. :)
Nancy showed us their dance with the Rungu stick. They dance with their necks more than anything.
I'll try to upload a video later on. If you see me at the club, I might bust out with it. It'll be the new "dougie".
Many people were scared of us taking their oral temperature. They just didnt know how to work it. When one person starts "sucking" on it, and the person waiting in line see it- they do it too...and the kids follow suit. Sometimes the kids were easier to teach. Sometimes their head was tilted SO far back....I would have to hold their head. A temperature reading could take longer than taking a manual blood pressure!
The native women pretty much have their Tatas hanging out. No Victoria's Secret over here! Oh and I have to tell you...Nadia placed the pulse oximeter on a woman's finger...Nadia turned her head away for a few seconds to reach for the temperature probe. Within that time, for some odd reason, the woman placed the pulse oximeter on her nipple!!!
(pulse oximeter- reads oxygen level and heart rate...and it definitely does not belong on your nipple)
I wish I were there to see it! Sorry, not to be mean...but that is kind of funny.
Our van stopped on the side of the road and this young lady was close by.
I asked if I could take a picture, and she agreed for $$.
In return though, she gave me a ring off of her finger. I placed it on a random finger, and she took it off and put it on my pinky.
Many of the kids had fungal scalp infections...
