Kenya

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Kenya

• The Samburu

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The Samburu

• A tribe in North Eastern Kenya
• Closely related to the Maasai
• Speak the same language as the Maasai
• Women wear colourful necklaces like the Maasai
• Live in groups of huts made of branches, mud
  dung
• Livestock used for milk rather than meat

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The Samburu-the women sing a welcome song
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The Samburu- the visitors are given necklaces to
wear
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The Samburu- the young men
The young unmarried men wear colourful
headdresses and jump high to attract a mate.
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The Samburu- the men dance
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The Samburu- the women dance
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The Samburu- houses
The houses are very small, typically with a
living/bedroom and kitchen.Animal skins cover the
floor. There is no furniture.They are built of
branches, mud and dung in the same manner as the
Maasai.As the Samburu live in the arid north-east
their houses are only partly insulated as it is
very hot. Thorn bushes surround the camp to keep
out the wild animals.
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The Samburu- houses and goats
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The Samburu- a young warrior makes fire
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The Samburu- the parliament
The Parliament is a circle of thorns. Only the
elders of the community are allowed in it. If a
woman or a goat steps over the threshold an
animal has to be slaughtered and its blood used
to cleanse the ground.
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The Samburu- the blacksmith
The blacksmith lives separately from the rest of
the tribe. Only his family could carry on the
tradition.It is a very skilled job as he makes
all the tools.
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The Samburu- blacksmiths work
These are carved by the blacksmith and given as
wedding presents to decorate the houses.
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The Samburu- the market
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The Samburu- the primary schoolThe children sing
a song of welcome.
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The Samburu- a baby goat born that morning
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The Samburu

• The group visited was one of over 20 in the area
• Each person was charged around 10 to visit
• The money was used by all the groups
• The boy and girl who showed us round had been to
  a mission school and had learnt English
• They realised the benefits of tourism
• Beatrice, the girl, was now the teacher in the
  primary school
• Reuben, the boy, knew about many cultures but had
  to accept the role of women in his own one.
• The Samburu do not farm the land as they believe
  it is sacred
• Even when they die they do not dig graves but
  leave their bodies to the wild animals