Thursday, February 19, 2009

Inyonyorri, Part 3: "Walk Like a Man"

The Maasai men (and even boys) carry walking sticks (or engudi oositeti) whenever they are shepherding their animals or on safari (on journey). On my first day, while Johnson and I were walking to his home, I asked about the sticks, and Johnson said that I in fact "walk like a woman" because I don't have one. He gave me one the next day, and I LOVE it. It's so light yet really sturdy. I loved walking with it, which is good because we walked at least 12 km (7-ish miles) every day. I'm hoping that I can take it to Spain with me for my pilgrimage. I probably can't take it on the plane, so I may have to pay extra for extra "baggage" or somehow attach it to one of my other bags.

Johnson's wife, Gladys, made me a traditional Maasai bracelet (or enkirina), which I also love. It's very big and very colorful. I'm not usually one for bling, but this has so much sentimental value that I'm going to try to rock it. It's not too hard to pull off in Kenya, but we'll see how it goes in Europe and back in the States. This could be my own special form of bill-ing? Anyone? No?

2 comments:

  1. Josh brought one of those sticks home from Ethiopia. It was no problem! They treated as a carry on, but they wouldn't let him take it on the plane, they checked it below. But no fee! Hope it works out the same for you!
    Bethany Krumm

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  2. yeah, you do kind of walk like a woman. just kidding! i miss you billy!

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