We now know what the expression “from dust to dust” means. If humans got their start in Africa, they were probably a rather dusty lot. We are filthy filthy filthy with dust in every crevice we didn’t even know we had. Lack of hot water (sometimes lack of water altogether) makes it a bit difficult for me to look “smart” every day, but I am trying valiantly. I think the henna helps, because I get compliments everywhere I go, usually saying how “smart” I look. But yesterday’s commentary was my favorite:
Gentleman: “Are you an artist?”
Me: “Yes, but how did you know?”
Gentleman: “Because of these paintings all over you.”
We are experiencing so much more than I could ever talk about in a blog post, and I’m way behind. It’s a very emotional experience seeing the crushing poverty that exists every place we go, although in some places, like the Maasai village, the traditional way of life supersedes their perception of what we see as poverty. The Maasai do not have or need very many things, just land to graze their cattle on, and a stable way to continue the traditions of their tribal life, which seems fairly intact, despite colonialism, tribal conflict, and loss of their original lands (think: American Indian.)
That being said, Christianity has made some inroads. We were invited to the graduation of a Maasai who had just become a Pentacostal preacher. The whole boma turned out, and there were two preachers (translating between Maa and Kiswahili, with a little English thrown in for the “white faces”) making speeches and sermons (I presume, but what do I know?) and clearly working the crowd, culminating in lots of raised hands, hallelujahs, and a few weeping individuals. Then the preachers embraced…..one more enlightened (converted) Maasai? This would have been a moving experience, except I am struggling to understand how Pentacostal Christianity fits into the Maasai view of ancestors as the center of their spiritual system, and the earth and cattle as gifts from their gods.
