Worlds Apart and Worlds Together

Paulina and Kokoyai in Kimokouwa.

The other day I came across this photo of Paulina, TEMBO Trust Project Coordinator, and Kokoyai, a young mother living in Kimokouwa I have known since she was 10 years old. The photo is a couple of years old - Paulina, who usually wears Western-style clothing, now has her head shaved, like Kokoyai. At a glance it's a photo of two young traditional Maasai women. If you've visited the TEMBO project area you know these women live very different lives - actually "worlds apart." Still, both play a very important part in the telling of the story of TEMBO and the work we do. I find myself thinking how these two women live "worlds together," too, each telling an important part of a larger story. It's a story about evolution, modernity, and the oh so fragile balancing act of moving forward in a world changing at lightening speed while still being true to a cultural heritage filled with richness and beauty. How will they keep it all together?

In Kimokouwa, Kokoyai is part of the Maasai people who choose to live a very traditional lifestyle. Though they cannot follow the rains to graze large herds of cattle like they once did, due to government laws restricting their movement, the people still live in mud huts, eat a simple diet, dress in colourful shukas, and observe tribal norms and customs. Kokoyai attended Kimokouwa Primary School, as mandated by the government, and she and her father opted for Kokoyai to marry when she finished Standard Seven rather than continue her education. She and her husband, Philipo, currently have two boys. According to custom, Philipo is free to have as many wives as he wants. Kokoyai  also belongs to the KWGP (Kimokouwa Women's Goat Project), coordinated by TEMBO Trust.

The power stick carried by men, now with the pen representing education.

Paulina grew up in a Maasai boma near Mt. Kilimanjaro where observing traditional customs and practices was very important for her father, too. He wanted Paulina to marry after primary school. Paulina wanted desperately to continue her education. With the help of her mother, her brother, and others Paulina succeeded in completing secondary school and earned a full scholarship to the University of Dar es Salaam. Paulina's father attended her graduation ceremony and gave her a pen and a notebook as a gift, symbolizing his wish for her to continue to study, if it was her wish. He had come a long way and was embracing change.

Over the years, I have observed striking images expressing the reality that the Maasai are struggling to hold two realities, two worlds together. The world of the 21st century is knocking at the door of the Maasai in Tanzania. It is a tenuous time filled with tremendous possibilities and wrought with danger too. There is a lot at stake. As in any culture, some practices of old need to be discontinued and left behind in order for people to move forward. Women like Paulina, because of the education they have received, have a pivotal role to play in reshaping the new world of the Maasai. Knowing how to change, what to let go of and what to keep, is best done  from within by those who understand and cherish the world of the Maasai. These strong voices must be heard over the noise and values of other societies that threaten to consume and assimilate them as they have done to other tribes and other peoples throughout time.

Receiving a cell phone message: Kokoyai's father, Paulo, is in his 80's and embracing change. 

Kokoyai and the Maasai of Kimokouwa and Longido, and throughout Tanzania, have a right to a traditional life if they so choose. Paulina, and many other educated women and men like her, are using their skills to help keep everything in balance: saying thoughtfully to the Maasai 'yes' keep this, it is good, and 'no' this practice is harmful and outdated and it must go; and to those outside who would exploit or deceive the Maasai they say 'these are our rights by law, our education has taught us so.' Those of us fortunate enough to have been allowed to play a part in this unfolding must only play a supporting role, actively enabling women like Paulina and Kokoyai to take center stage.