My name is Kiserian Nanyimo.  I am an 18 year old Maasai girl.  I completed Form IV in 2007 at Green Bird Girls’ High School.

My father’s name is Olenanyimo.  He is 54 years old and he has 5 wives who are all living.  The 1st wife is 44 years old, the 2nd is 41, the 3rd is 40, the 4th is 35 and the last is 30 years old.  In our family we are 25 children.  Four of them are married and the rest of us live with our mothers.  In my mother’s family, I am the 2nd born.

My father’s brother also lives in the Boma with us.  He has 6 wives and many children but I don’t know the number.

In my childhood I helped my mother with the milking and the cooking.  I also looked after the younger children, bathing them and serving them tea early in the morning before going to school.  When my father was away, I used to sit with my mother and tell stories.

We all have much respect for our parents.  When I greet them I bend my head to them.  They touch me on the head.  We never played any games with our mother and father.  We could play with the Morani [young men from puberty to 39 years] but not with our parents .

We live in a local Maasai house.  When the women build the house, they go to the forest and cut down many strong trees.  They carry them back to the Boma and stick them in the ground.  Then they slap on mud and manure for the walls.  First we cut a room for the baby goats and the young cows.  There are 2 beds and the fire is in the centre of the house.  Everything is done by women, never men.  Our house has more problems than advantages.  The Maasai huts are very dark.  You can be bitten by snakes.  The fire is in the centre and very dangerous for the goats and all the people.  Fire can also attack the house.  It is very dangerous.  The smoke is also dangerous.  Many Maasai are affected by diseases like TB because of the smoke.

When I was in Standard 7 I was 13 years old.  Before I went to school in the morning, I had to help my Mum cook tea and milk one or two cows.  After that I took a bath then started walking to school.  It only took half an hour because my school is not very far from home.  I was one of the school leaders so I had to check if the grounds had to be cleaned. We had to fetch water for mopping and watering the gardens. Then we started our lessons at 8 o’clock.  We only had 5 teachers in our school and sometimes one teacher may be missing.  We studied on our own.  In Standard 7 though, we had to have teachers because we had to write the National Examinations.  We had enough desks and there was a library at the school.  We studied until 6 0’clock in the evening after the young children had gone home.  Then we went home.  Sometimes it was difficult to walk, especially during the rains.

When I was in Standard 6, I heard about some neighbor girls who were going to Emusoi to continue their education.  I asked my father if I could go and he said no because I was ready to be married and he had already accepted the Bride Price.  During Standard 7 I felt like I was sick.  I talked to my teacher who is Maasai.  He told me about my Member of Parliament and told me to ask him to help me.  When I went to see him, he knew all about Emusoi and said that he would help me when I finished Standard 7.   The day after I finished Standard 7, I ran away.  The Parliament man paid my bus fare to Arusha and I reached Emusoi.  I studied Pre-Form 1 for one year at Emusoi.

When I went to Secondary School at Green Bird, there were only a few Maasai girls.  I didn’t talk much to anyone about some of the problems of the Maasai girls. Sometimes we had a problem with a teacher.  If I made a mistake they would say that Maasai girls never listen.  The teacher didn’t understand even if you begged forgiveness. Some of our fellow students disliked sitting with Maasai girls.  They said Maasai girls have only “traditional stones”.

I miss the beautiful ceremonies in my Boma. When we have a big celebration, like Marriage or Circumcision, all the people get decorated.  We wear many beaded collars, headwear like crowns and beaded bands on our arms and legs. The women cut off all their hair and oil their heads.  Then they put on the special head beads.  They are really beautiful.  When it is time to eat, the Morani go to the forest to eat.  They may not eat meat in front of the women.  The uncircumcised girls are allowed to go with them.  When they finish they come back to sing and dance in the celebration.  I would love to go back for a celebration and see my mother and the younger children.

Now I want to study to become a teacher.  I am sure I will be able to go back and teach in Maasailand.  I hope I will bring changes in the Maasai. When I reach there I want to teach them the importance of education, how to read and write, and the problems of early marriage.  I want to teach women their rights.  I want to teach fathers the importance of sitting to talk with their children instead of moving away from them. I can teach the children traditional things, which are good and bad, to be followed by the new generation.

I believe my people will listen to me.  I will use all alternatives that can force them to listen.  I will talk to them kindly.  I will help other girls to continue their education, even using the Police to force the parents to take them to school.  I will advise the girls to study and teach them the importance of education.

NB: Kiserian will study at Bustani Teacher Training College in Kondoa this year to follow her ambition.

.

My name is Nasiti.  I was born January 16th, 1990 in Loliondo , Tanzania .  I am Maasai.

My father, William, is 59 years old and has two wives.  My mother, Namnyaki, is 46 years old, and she is the first wife.  In my mother’s family there are eight children.  I am the fifth born.  My father’s second wife has seven children.  My father’s brother lives in the same Boma as us.  He has two wives and five children.  My oldest brother has two wives and three children.  My sister is married and has four children but she does not live with us.  She lives in a different Boma with her husband’s family. 

With my mother’s family, I grew up living in a local house which my mother built when she was married to my father.  She went to the forest to cut trees. Then when the trees are standing up she put mud and manure to make the walls.  There are two small rooms in our house and one window.  The baby animals are in one room and people in the other one.  We have two beds; one for the father and one for the mother and the children.  The fire for cooking and light is in the middle of the house but it is very dark and there are sometimes snakes.  When the children and small animals move around they can go near the fire and maybe they will get burned.  The smoke is bad for health too.  Maybe after I have more education, I will be able to move my family to a better house.

When I was young, I did many things to help my mother like fetching water and taking care of the family.  I cooked for the younger children and made sure they took their medicine.  I gave them traditional medicines to keep them strong.  When my father was not at our house, I looked after the cows, goats and sheep.  I always respected my mother and followed what she said. It was the same with my father but in our culture the girls are not really close with the father.  Sometimes the boys are close with the father and the girls are close with the mother.

I got up before 5 o’clock when I was going to school.  Before I went, I milked about five cows.  Sometimes if my mother was not at home, I did not go to school.  My school was very far.  I walked for one hour and a half.  I had to walk through a big forest and sometimes there were wild animals like lions that might kill people.  If they chase us it is not safe.  The teachers did not care if we came a long way with no permanent road. 

There was a lack of teachers in our village so the teachers were not always around.  There were about 200 students in our school and some days we had only one teacher or maybe two.  Until Standard 4 we were four at one desk and five for one book.  From Standard 4 we were only two for one desk.  At the school we cleaned the environment, the classroom and fetched water and firewood for the teachers.  One day when I was in Standard 7, I was sent home because I had no school uniform.  My father said he would not buy a new uniform because I was nearly finished school and I would be married.  I cried a lot but the teacher took me to his house and treated me like a daughter.  My father was very angry.  I did not want to bring conflict but the teacher was my family now.

After my primary education, I did not want to be married.  I was promised to three different husbands when I was in primary school but I wanted to continue my education. The Bride Price was not paid.  My mother helped me.  My father wanted me to be married, but she forced my brother to come with me to Arusha.  I was 12 years old when I joined Pre-Form I at Emusoi. 

When I went to Form I at Secondary School, there were only a few Maasai girls there.  There were other tribes, Chaaga, Pare and others.  I didn’t talk to the other tribes about the Maasai because they laugh at us.  They know about Maasai life but not deeply.  The teachers in the school were always polite with me.  They talked to me because sometimes in school it can be lonely.

I miss the special celebrations at home, like circumcision and marriage.  I liked the singing and dancing of the Morani (young men age 13-39) and the special songs of the mothers.  There is always a lot of food but the Morani do not eat with us.  They go to the forest with the young girls to eat.  When they finish they come back to sing and dance until night.  For special days, the girls shave their heads and the boys plait their hair.  Boys and girls wear rings.  Boys and girls apply red soil to parts of their bodies.  Clothing is beaded and we wear beads around our legs, waist and neck.  Sometimes the Morani draw tattoos on their faces.  People come from far away to celebrate.

Now I want to continue my studies so that I can help my people who are living a difficult life.  I hope I can bring good changes to the Maasai people.  They must know the importance of education so they will take their daughters to school.  Maybe we can change the kind of house the Maasai have.  I believe my community will understand me.  I will think carefully and talk to the elders in the village so they understand what I am requesting.  I will do my level best to see that girls are not dropping their studies and I will advise them to make sure that they are working hard in their studies.