Friday, March 16, 2007

Anecdotes

These are some little stories from Peace Corps Tanzania volunteers that may or may not be entirely true, but I've found interesting of funny and would like to save.

Masai
There are tribes all over Tanzania. Lots and lots of different tribes. They all (I think) have their own tribal languages, customs, etc. For example, in the area between Njombe and Ludewa, the tribe is Upangwa (then, in Kiswahili, one person is an Mpangwa, the people are the Wapangwa, and the language is Kipangwa). In Njombe, you find some Wapangwa, but mostly Wabenna. Travelling towards Iringa you get Wahehe and then Wakinga. Now Kibenna and Kihehe are quite similar, many words are shared but pronounced a bit differently, and most of the tribal languages are Bantu languages so the grammar is quite similar to Kiswahili. There are a few exceptions, Kimasai and Kirek, for example, are not Bantu languages.

Lots of tribes. Some are bigger than others, some are more powerful or generally more wealthy than others. In African countries, problems are often caused when there are only 2 or 3 tribes, like the genocide in Rwanda and Burundi, or (not exactly tribes, but) the current situation in Iraq. In Tanzania for many many years, the different tribes have lived pretty well in harmony, and many attribute the success to the great diversity that is present. I don't think any single tribe makes up even 10% of the population.

It is also not very easy to know someone's tribe by their appearance, with the exception of the Masai. The Masai are definitely one of the larger tribes and have historically, been primarily warriors and cattle ranchers, whereas most every other tribe were historically subsistence farmers. Even today, many Masai have a diet that consists almost solely of beef, milk, and cow's blood, whereas most of the rest of the country eats spinach, rice, beans, and ugali (cornflour and water). Cattle are very valuable, and the Masai are generally quite wealthy, but it is only recently (and still more an exception than a rule) that they send their children to secondary school and university.

The Masai also perform many body modifications, such as ear-stretching, decorative burning and scarring, and removal of the two front teeth. They also have traditional robes that they wear and often are carrying a spear or a sort of truncheon. So they stand out a bit.

I recently did a bit of traveling with a volunteer, Peter, from the Arusha region, near the Serengetti, where there are lots of Masai, and got a couple good Masai stories. On his way to Tanga, where we met, Peter was sitting next to a Masai on the bus. The Masai was dressed in traditional robes, didn't have his front teeth, had circular scars on his cheeks and forehead, and had his spear. Pretty clearly Masai. I think he was rather young, and Peter struck up a conversation with him. After a little small talk, Peter told him that he was trying to pick up a bit of Kimasai, to which the Masai guy responded with great enthusiasm "Oh really? I'm a Masai!" (in Kiswahili, of course). Peter didn't quite know how to respond, and just paused and said, "Well, yeah." He's decided if it ever happens again to come back with, "Yes, and I'm white!"

The Masai also had some tough bargaining techniques that I doubt I'll ever try. Buses are a very common place to buy things, and in every little town you stop in, people are trying to sell you things through the windows. Peter tells me that in one town the Masai guy took some interest in a pack of 4 bars of soap. He took the pack from the seller and asked how much it was. The seller said 1,000 sh (about $0.80), which the Masai said was too much. He opened the pack and took two bars of soap, gave back the rest, and asked how much for two. Predictably, the seller said 500 sh. Again, the Masai guy said it was too much, and he gave the seller 300 sh. Then they had an argument, where the seller kept asking for his 200 additional shillings, and the Masai guy insisting that it was too much. Eventually, the bus drove off leaving the seller behind, still yelling.

At another stop, the Masai guy bought something for 700 sh, took it, but didn't want to give the seller his 2000 sh bill until the seller could produce the change. He said something like "the bus is leaving soon, and if I just give you the money, you won't get the change in time." Similarly to the last story, it ended with the bus driving off and the seller not getting paid.

When the bus got close to the Masai guy's stop, he gathered his things and went up to the bus driver and told him his stop was coming up. The driver didn't know quite where the guy met, as they were in the middle of nowhere. They had a brief exchange where the driver was asking "By that tree?" "No, a little further," "How about at the top of that hill?" "No, there, by that rock!" and the Masai guy got off the bus at a very specific spot in the middle of nowhere, and stood there as the bus drove off, apparently waiting for someone to come help carry his bags.

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