On Tuesday, April 14, the Maasai Warriors came to Anthony Wayne Middle School to give presentations about their culture and life in Kenya. For a while, the We Act Club in our school had been fundraising to bring some of these nomadic people to our school. After multiple bake sales, they finally managed to bring the Maasai here, and the presentations they gave were wonderful and very informative.
That morning, three Maasai warriors came to give presentations to the 6th, 7th and 8th graders. They included chief Joseph of the Maasai tribe; his wife, Cecilia; and Sara, another tribe member. After being welcomed to the school by our students and staff, the chief began by giving some general information about their life as Maasai people. He described how different living there is to being here in America. The Maasai chief stated that that they did not have running water and had to walk ten miles to get to certain things that were, in a way, essential to their daily life. After hearing this, many students, including me, started to really appreciate what we have here in Wayne. Along with this, the Maasai had to build their own house with cow dung and other simple materials that they had to collect. Overall, his descriptions made us realize how much work the Maasai did daily.
Next, the chief’s wife spoke about the role of women in their tribe. In their society, women also did a lot of work. In the morning, mothers would get their children ready for school, and make them breakfast (tea). During the day, they would work on the houses, and they even made mattresses out of animal hide. In the Maasai tribe, the beds would consist of: a structure of sticks, a layer of soft grass, and then an animal hide on top. Afterwards, the other tribe member spoke more about the role of women, and included how women also made jewelry. Finally, the three Maasai tribe members showed us how they dressed their women, one of their sports, and also how to count from one to ten in their language. They ended their presentation with a beautiful song from their tribe.
After the assemblies, during lunch, some of this jewelry was sold to our students here at Anthony Wayne Middle School. Overall, the Maasai Warriors truly opened our students’ eyes about how important cultural exchange is, and made us realize how thankful we should be for what we have.
By: Andy B.
That morning, three Maasai warriors came to give presentations to the 6th, 7th and 8th graders. They included chief Joseph of the Maasai tribe; his wife, Cecilia; and Sara, another tribe member. After being welcomed to the school by our students and staff, the chief began by giving some general information about their life as Maasai people. He described how different living there is to being here in America. The Maasai chief stated that that they did not have running water and had to walk ten miles to get to certain things that were, in a way, essential to their daily life. After hearing this, many students, including me, started to really appreciate what we have here in Wayne. Along with this, the Maasai had to build their own house with cow dung and other simple materials that they had to collect. Overall, his descriptions made us realize how much work the Maasai did daily.
Next, the chief’s wife spoke about the role of women in their tribe. In their society, women also did a lot of work. In the morning, mothers would get their children ready for school, and make them breakfast (tea). During the day, they would work on the houses, and they even made mattresses out of animal hide. In the Maasai tribe, the beds would consist of: a structure of sticks, a layer of soft grass, and then an animal hide on top. Afterwards, the other tribe member spoke more about the role of women, and included how women also made jewelry. Finally, the three Maasai tribe members showed us how they dressed their women, one of their sports, and also how to count from one to ten in their language. They ended their presentation with a beautiful song from their tribe.
After the assemblies, during lunch, some of this jewelry was sold to our students here at Anthony Wayne Middle School. Overall, the Maasai Warriors truly opened our students’ eyes about how important cultural exchange is, and made us realize how thankful we should be for what we have.
By: Andy B.