SAMBURU - LOWUA SUPAT

                                                Eserian my people! That is greetings in the Samburu language, which basically means peace to all! The salutation is answered by saying "supa", which means I am well.

I went to Samburu land for two weeks and coming back to Nairobi I felt real culture shock. I say culture shock because I adopted the beautiful land as my home. The place is so serene and green; I know you hardly expect that, you just can't resist falling in love. I am quite aware that people expect that everywhere in the Northern Kenya is dry, let me disappoint your expectations for it is not so. Sadly I also went there with the same expectations and that is why I am very glad to report back to all my followers the good news. I feel like the two of ten messengers sent in Numbers 13 to go and survey Canaan. They were full of joy and jubilation to announce to the Israelite's that "the land was flowing with milk and honey.."

The place I specifically visited in Samburu is called Tuum village, it is North of Baragoi past Maralal. It is next to Mount Nyiro, I reckon now you understand why the land is green. I was awed by the fact that African Traditions are very much practiced in the area and the pastoralists are indeed still grazing their camels, cattle and goats all day and night long despite the fact that education, medicine, the gospel, technology and infrastructure have, I can say, penetrated the Province.

The pastoralists carry their modern phones to "work" and you can hear them playing Samburu music, they are well adorned in their "maasai shukas" as they rush with their flock before the dawn of day to get to the grazing land. The morans spend their night sleeping on cow skin in the plains. In the morning they eat enough to sustain them the whole day meaning they do not eat lunch or supper. They could stay in the plains for 3 days or a week depending on the amount of flock they are herding. It is a cultural habit for them to binge eat especially on meat and then go for days without food. Other cultural practices that are still very rampant among the Samburu people are Female Genital Mutilation and child marriage. A girl as young as 9 years old is 'mature' enough to be given off as a second, third or fourth wife to a Samburu man. 

It is seen as a taboo among these people to eat chicken. I don't know how a Luhya would survive in this situation. They actually do rear chicken now, however eating it is seen as a sign of 'weakness'. A friend who is not from there was sharing with me that he once served a moran some chicken and he had never eaten it but only took it out of persuasion; they guy liked it, weird enough. I wonder how it would be like to be served the meat of a cockroach, would I be bold enough to savor every bite of it?

This tour made me realize that culture is real. We can't get rid of it with a waft of technology and modernization here and there. If at all any of these is to make a difference, it will be through thorough discipleship which should be relational, relevant and realistic. That's my take dear readers, longing to read your feedback, thoughts and comments.

Asheoleng!