For the past several weeks my class has been all about Africa--studying its famous missionaries, learning its geography, reading great literature set here, etc. To bring it all together I decided to assign a "Tribe Project." Each child was to choose a tribe from my list, research that tribe, make a presentation board including at least one picture and one hand-made prop, and identify one food item that was routinely eaten by their tribe to contribute to a special dinner (which I had to approve) that we would share with their families. While they were researching they were also writing a three paragraph creative writing piece that had to have someone from their tribe as a main character and had to be set where their tribe originally lived. It was to include details that they had discovered in their research and they had to type it themselves (they recently learned to touch type). They had two weeks to complete their projects and stories. At the end of the two weeks we invited several guests to our house to hear our tribal presentations, to read our stories, enjoy a meal and to play "Are You Smarter Than a 3rd, 4th, 5th, or 6th Grader?" The kids challenged the adults to see who could identify more countries on the continent of Africa. Guess who won?

The kids did very well on their projects and really loved doing them. We had a homemade necklace, a set of drums, a spear and shield, a basket woven out of paper strips, and a replica of the Ashanti Golden Stool. We ate a vegetable soup, cornbread (although the tribe would not have baked it-they would have boiled little balls of cornmeal), fried plantain chips, chocolate (in the form of cookies) and milk (in the form of custard, tinted red to simulate blood.) During the geography challenge the kids could hardly contain themselves, waiting for the adults to miss a country so they'd have a chance to steal. In the end, they kids beat the adults by 4 points.

Mason had the opportunity to interview a young member of the tribe that he chose, the Maasai. Our family went to a local language school where this young man, Tisho, was working as a language tutor. We sat down with him and Mason asked a few questions.

Where are you from?
Morogoro, Tanzania. Maasai are originally from Kenya, but many are now from Tanzania too.

What was it like as a boy in the tribe?
My father had 4 wives and 21 children. My mother had 6 children. You go through rites of manhood between 15 and 18 with circumcision. It is done in a group, maybe 10 at a time. At that time you go live in the bush while you heal and learn to be a man - you don't shower, you cover yourself in oil. paint your face, learn to use a spear and a bow, and learn to face Timbo (elephant) and Simba (lion). You can't be afraid of them. You must know what to do if you are walking with your wife or mother. You must be able to kill the lion. Maasai are trained like soldiers and you must always be ready. No matter where you are if anyone is in trouble you must be ready to help. At this time they also pull the 2 bottom middle teeth and you must not cry out or show pain.

How high can you jump?
Maasai jump as a sport. They start when they are young and slowly raise the bar higher and higher. The highest I ever jumped was here (he motioned to his shoulder.) My brother jumped to here (he raised his hands straight up above his head about 7 feet in the air.) We also jump straight out, like long jump. People lay down and stretch out their arms and we jump over them.

Why do you stretch your earlobes and when and does it hurt?
It's just a fashion statement. You start with a small hole then every day you put something a little bigger in the hole. After a while the earlobes are very long. There is no special reason. Just for looks.

How do you pick a chief?
It used to be that the chief had to know witchcraft. They had to be able to tell the future, like if it would rain. It's not like that much anymore. Many more Maasai are Christians now, maybe 40 or 50%. The other 50% still follow the witchcraft. Now the chief is usually passed down in the family. There are 3 districts and each one has its own leader. We settle our own disputes internally, but more and more we are using the national government. But, the Maasai are one of the only tribes to retain their tribal culture and heritage still after a long time. Maasai are easily recognized.

Why do the women shave their heads?
Maasai have a different way of greeting one another. For us, when we meet someone, maybe older than us, we offer our head (he bowed.) The other person places their hand on the top of our head. They do this with boys until circumcision, but not after that. Then they just shake hands. But for women, they offer their heads their whole life, as an act of submission, and they must offer their heads not their hair. The hand must come in contact with the skin of the head.

The interview was conducted in a lunch room, but Tisho took us back to his room where he changed into his traditional Maasai clothing, including his club, dagger, and jewelry so that we could see it all. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. He was so open and forthcoming. Living and learning in Africa definitely has perks! {rokbox}images/stories/africa/tribes/tisho1.jpg}