Kenya
Bye bye Joseph Kessel…

Based on: A preservation of culture within the 21st century
Travel blog by Alexander C-B, February 14, 2006

“All the village members were dressed in full Maasai gear (…). But usually their dress is a combination of traditional and contemporary, with digital watches, cell phones, and Adidas sneakers adorning them along with the shookas, bangles, necklaces, and lobed ears. However, none of these adornments were visible here, as all signs of outside influence were hidden away, as if they feared that these were not part of the authenticity that Western “cultural tourists” were seeking”.

On the last day of their tour in the Mara (Rift Valley, Kenya), Alexander C-B and his travel companions are taken to a typical Maasai village: traditional dances, visit in mug and cow-dung homes, lesson in spear throwing, and the market full of traditional objects to be bought.
Alexander C-B refers the whole setup to a false ideal of cultural purity that he connects to the long ago initiated desire of Westerners for “primitive societies” untouched by the Western world. In any case, a setup completely disconnected from the contemporary Maasai reality. Still, does he wonder, are there not some positive aspects of such commodification of tourism? After all, these traditions are the way for the Maasai to enter the tourist market that is otherwise in the hands of tour operators and politicians. Even more, does it not contribute to the preservation of these traditions and their transmission to young generations? He visits the medical centre and is explained the health conditions of the local population (malaria, dysentery, malnutrition, respiratory infections) and traditions that affect the women, early pregnancies and genital circumcision. These issues bring Alexander C-B to consider in which realms cultural changes may be advocated.

For full text:
http://realtravel.com/maasai_mara-journals-j1476258.html
Photo: Alexander C-B