May 25th, 2008 - Our 17th Wedding Anniversary

Masai Village, Ngorongoro Crater
Tanzania

This morning we woke up in the Serena Lodge, Ngorongoro Crater; a stunning property which sits up on the crater’s rim at 7,000 feet. Each room has a gorgeous view of the entire basin and we were up early to watch the sunrise and then the fog as it slowly rolled in over the upper edges of the perimeter of the crater. It was a beautiful way to begin our 17th anniversary.

After breakfast, we ventured out for a six hour safari of Ngorongoro Crater. In an unplanned turn of events, on the way down the crater, we decided to visit a local Masai Village where we were warmly welcomed by the men of the village, as they danced and sang for us. As we entered the village, we were immediately greeted by the women and children as they took our hands, smiled and laughed, placed their beaded collars over our heads, and decorated us with their jewelry. Matt then asked the head of the village if it might be possible to receive a Masai wedding blessing, as it was our 17th anniversary. After some more singing and dancing, we were ushered into the cow corral, where Matt and I were invited to sit down on two plastic buckets, as the entire village surrounded us. The ladies decorated me the best they could. They laughed as they took turns trying their beaded collars on me because my head is full of hair, and much larger then theirs! After four or five tries, finally they were satisfied to find one that fit. The men gave Matt a beaded leadership stick and a cow-tail switch, which is reserved for the village elders as a sign of respect (and used to swat flies!) The village elder, a beautiful man who might have been 60 or might have been 100, appeared before us to give us our blessing. He held a small gourd filled with cow’s milk and honey, and stuffed at the top with a type of weedy plant. As he gave us his blessing, he walked around us and sprinkled us with the honey milk. When that was done, he took the weedy plant and stuffed a bunch of it in Matt’s shirt and some in my jacket, close to our hearts. The blessing was over and Matt and I kissed and all the Masai ladies giggled. Our ceremony concluded with the Masai art of fire making, which is completely astonishing. The village elder retired to his hut and the ladies disappeared to wrangle the cows into the corral for the morning milking. We were then led to the kindergarten where about fifteen adorable Masai children were studying their English alphabet, numbers to 100, and some simple words. They were very serious as they studied, but they all smiled and laughed when we got silly with them. We were invited inside one of the Masai huts, which are made from sticks, grass, and cow dung. The huts are divided into four sections: the calf room (where six calves stay at night when it’s cold), the bed for the male, the bed for the females and children, and the center of the hut, which is for a small fire, cooking, and eating. All of this is contained within about 100 square feet. The hut was warm and cozy and incredibly efficient.

The Masai number about 500,000 in Kenya and Tanzania. They are some of the kindest, most gentle spirits we have ever met. The girls were so taken with their smiles and hospitality and meeting the Masai was one of their favorite experiences from Africa. They happily participated in our celebration and they were so supportive and sweet.

Matt and I have shared some really special anniversaries with great food, beautiful gifts, travel and celebrations with the girls, but nothing will ever compare to the beautiful day we spent at the Masai village in Tanzania. The blessing we received from these honest, kind people meant so much to us and we are forever grateful for their spirit and generosity.