Day 70 – S becomes a Samburu elder
We started the morning once again with Bloody Marys and coffee. This time the coffee was pre-made at J’s request. When we arrived at breakfast, Meg gave S a hard time for keeping Rob out late.
We then headed out on a drive to the river, where we were going to take a river walk. On the way, Paul delivered on his promise and got J great pictures of a family of dik-diks. We also saw a herd of elephants up close. The matriarch thought we got a little too close and gave us a warning. We thought it was a intimidating, but Paul said it was just a little show. We saw a number of other animals. On our way to the river, Paul picked up a Samburu warrior carrying an AK-47. As we were going to be walking, they wanted to ensure we had some protection if we encountered a rogue elephant. We also stopped along the way so Leuya could make us walking sticks for our bush walk.
Our walk along the river was mostly focused on animal tracks. We saw tracks for a honey badger, porcupine, leopard and crocodiles.
On our way back, we encountered the same herd of elephants. We did not realise that we separated a baby elephant from the herd. However, it soon let us know by running in front of us and trumpeting a warning. His mother then also trumpeted a warning. This was a little bit scary at first but pretty cool in the end. We also passed by some of the Francombes’ cattle. Amongst them was a giant, white bull with enormous, curved horns. He is a Brahman bull, a species that has a hump like a camel to store water. He is apparently a sacred bull, one of only four in Northern Kenya. He apparently has evaded multiple attempts to slaughter and/or steal him. He is viewed as the protector of the herd and after he passes away, his skull and horns will be placed above the entrance to the cattle pen so he can continue to watch over the herd.
When we returned to the lodge, we were informed that S’ hair beading had been arranged. No one was quite sure initially what he wanted, but Paul managed to communicate it to Chyulu, who then organised it. After lunch, we headed off to Ol Malo Lodge, where a Samburu woman in traditional clothing, Catherine, was set up to do the beading. We were told that she would prepare the beads on a string and Leuya would put them in Scott’s hair as he typically does the plaiting / braiding for the young men in his clan. We were also told that Catherine is not allowed to touch S’ hair because he is not her husband.
Chyulu was there to oversee the procedure. The beads are made out of glass and are manufactured at a family factory in the Czech Republic. This is apparently the only manufacturer in the world that knows how to produce perfectly symmetrical beads. We heard the beads are a display of wealth and can almost be used as a form of currency. J picked out the colours for the beads and S was told to sit on a cow hide, as this is the traditional Samburu way of braiding hair. The whole process took a while and Chyulu served us drinks and told us a little bit about her history. Her family are well known conservationists in Africa and have worked in many countries, including Tanzania, Kenya and the DRC. They are still very active in conservation. Chyulu was born in Kenya and her name is derived from the name of some hills in Kenya. It turns out that Chyulu went to the same school in England as our close friends, Zanda and Roly.
Once Catherine had completed stringing the beads, Leuya dipped his hands in a bowl of water and began to braid S’ hair. The beads were then sewn into S’ hair. Chyulu also added in a few shells for good luck and finished each braid off with a few more beads. Chyulu also burned the ends of the bead string with a match to seal them. The process was taking a bit of time and Catherine got frustrated. She ended up taking over from Leuya and Chyulu to complete the job. Apparently as S is an elder and married, she deemed it OK to touch his hair. Everyone loved how it turned out and Ol Malo is now talking about adding it as a possible activity. J also got a custom bracelet sewn on to her wrist and picked up a Maasai wedding cuff and kikoi (a piece of cloth men will use to tie around their waists, torso or heads, depending on the situation). J preferred the kikoi to the women’s attire, which had a busier print. J asked why the kikois we had seen tended to look like Scottish kilts, with primary colours and a plaid print. No one knew why, but we were told that this was the current trend. We also noticed that these kikoi are similar to the Maldivian male traditional dress.
We then went off to visit a local ‘manyatta’ or homestead. This homestead belonged to Leuya’s cousin and his four wives. A number of young Samburu warriors were present and they were engaged in a traditional Samburu jumping contest to impress the girls (some of these guys should consider pursuing a career in the NBA). They then started a dancing ritual, which S and Leuya joined (see picture below).
We visited one of the wives’ mud huts and learned a bit about local customs. Apparently the Samburu diet is primarily meat, cow’s blood and milk / yoghurt. Occasionally they will also get a fruit or vegetable, but not normally. They have chickens but don’t believe in eating the chickens or their eggs and sell them to the market. There were separate pens for the adult and baby livestock, which we found quite interesting. J loved the little children, who were crowding around her to see her phone.
We left the homestead and went for sundowners by a lake. Our car had a weak parking break and nearly rolled into the lake. Paul and Leuya saved it by putting rocks in front of the tires. We saw a few birds and S saw a shooting star among all the other stars. The sky was littered with stars. It was a great opportunity to ask Leuya and Paul more questions about their community.
By now Leuya was one of our best mates. We invited him to dinner, but the dinner was chicken curry and he wouldn’t have been able to eat it. Before we headed down to dinner, S changed into the tie-dyed man dress that he bought in Nairobi. We later learned ‘kanzu’ is the proper Swahili name for the man dress. When we arrived, Paul, Meg, Rob and the server were in shock. S came in with his walking stick, beaded hair and kanzu and declared himself the village elder. Meg also shared pictures of S with the Francombe family and asked S’ permission to use the photos in their marketing materials. S and Paul gave Rob a hard time for being dressed like a city boy. Rob promised to wear a traditional garment the next morning.
The chicken curry was great. J in particular loves their hot sauce and thinks they should sell it. It is made with Scotch bonnet peppers and is slightly sweet. It is served with every meal and goes with everything. We finished the night with Meg and Rob drinking wine and whisky. J took over the Bluetooth speakers and played a lot of country music. Rob was shattered from the two previous nights, so Meg and Rob begged off and left us with a bottle of Rosé and drinks. We enjoyed our final night at Ol Malo and made it safely back to our room.
