Hmmmmm………

I had lunch with a friend of mine recently and the topic of the Maasai came up. I was telling her about the boma I visited and how self sufficient the people were. I left the boma with a different view than I went with. Looking at it with a Western mentality, it is easy to say that they are resistant to change and that they will be either be forced to change or be left out and that some “civilization” is needed along with “modern conveniences.” It is true that a clean drinking water source is needed and more of the community could benefit from advanced medical care as well as the rates of literacy improved. On the other hand, I met some really happy families that are poor in a monetary sense, yet they don’t need as much currency for exchange as you might think. As their lives bleed into more of the contemporary scene, funds are needed for school fees and veterinary services but for the most part there is still plenty of bartering and trading that I could see.

The point that I’m coming to is that the Tanzanian lady I was having lunch called them “savage” and “backwards.” She said, “There is something not right with the way they live. They need to change.” I was bothered by hearing one Tanzanian call another those terms. I know that that this individuals’ family, or at least some of them, live in a similar fashion and she didn’t see anything wrong with that. The whole thing was very strange.

Education will allow future generations to choose if they want to continue in the traditional way of life. It is a matter of choice. Literacy gives the population a chance to know about other subsistence strategies and cultures. From that knowledge, the individual can make an informed choice to change their lifestyle or to continue as they have.

I know that at home individuals have differing opinions of others that are not like themselves. I don’t like that when I’m at home. It was even more challenging to listen to when not that long ago many groups in Tanzania lived as the Maasai still do. It is easy to see little you need to be removed from someone to be able to criticize the differences.