Lion Guardians

Category: Maasai traditions | Date: Jun 25 2008 | By: lionguardians

 I think it is only here in Maasailand that women are the beasts of burden. They have a lot of responsibilities; land tilling, herding cows, collecting water and firewood and even building houses. Recently I came across a new house being built from local materials. In the photo you can see branches collected from the surrounding area, which are smeared with cow dung to make the house warm and waterproof. It is the least costly kind of construction because one does not need any money to buy anything. And of course it was a woman that was building this house!

With my exposure to other cultures in the world, I have learnt that these tasks should be divided more equally among men and women, and I will help my mum cut branches to build a house. But she must collect the cow dung herself. It is against Maasai tradition for a man to hold dung in the case of constructing a house. However when it comes to any other tasks I would do anything to help mum. Here is a photo of some Maasai women in front of a finished house.

Tags: house, Kenya, lion conservation, Lion Guardians, Maasai, masai

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