Tanzania, the Maasai

MAASAI x One of my personal highlights was seeing (and photographing) the Maasai people.x My driver knew I wanted to photograph the boys who had just finished their circumcision rites as a passage into manhood.x Maasai usually wore red clothing.x These boys, however, were dressed in black, their faces painted white.x When we passed a group lingering on the side of the road to earn some tourist dollars, there was no way we were not going to stop.

Later we visited a Maasai boma (village).x It cost $25.00 for the three of us in the van to enter the boma.x Yes, it was a very touristy experience.x Yes, I would rather have entered a village where people didn't want to sell souvenirs.x Yes, I would have preferred to go unnoticed.x However, that wasn't going to happen in this corner of the world.x But, after paying, I could take all the photos I wanted.x And I wanted!x I shot up almost an entire roll of film. How could I stop?x The Maasai women wore such intricate beadwork jewelry while the Maasai men elongated their earlobes.x There were so many portraits that had to be taken - and then eventually drawn!

`Copyright 2001 by Phillip Martin All rights reserved.`	World	Tanzania	E-mail

Maasai herdsman at the boma village		MAASAI x One of my personal highlights was seeing (and photographing) the Maasai people.x My driver knew I wanted to photograph the boys who had just finished their circumcision rites as a passage into manhood.x Maasai usually wore red clothing.x These boys, however, were dressed in black, their faces painted white.x When we passed a group lingering on the side of the road to earn some tourist dollars, there was no way we were not going to stop. Later we visited a Maasai boma (village).x It cost $25.00 for the three of us in the van to enter the boma.x Yes, it was a very touristy experience.x Yes, I would rather have entered a village where people didn't want to sell souvenirs.x Yes, I would have preferred to go unnoticed.x However, that wasn't going to happen in this corner of the world.x But, after paying, I could take all the photos I wanted.x And I wanted!x I shot up almost an entire roll of film. How could I stop?x The Maasai women wore such intricate beadwork jewelry while the Maasai men elongated their earlobes.x There were so many portraits that had to be taken - and then eventually drawn!