The Tribes of Tanzania.

The tribes of Tanzania.

While we are travelling through Tanzania we have the privilege of getting up close and personal with several of the tribes of the area.

1. Maasai
One of the main tribes that forms the roots and traditions of this area of Africa is the Maasia people.  . They are primarily agrarian and live in little villages or communities, with a chief that leads the tribe. Their village is in the shape of a circle with the perimeter made from trees or shrubs. There are separate areas for cows and goats with fences made from piles of dried trees or brush,

Each chief can have numerous wives, some as many as fifteen or sixteen. Only the first is chosen by him, often through his family. After that, the first wife chooses subsequent wives.

The men gather the twigs and branches and grasses to build the house, but the women build it. The men hunt and the women look after the home and children, as is traditional. The children tend to the goats and cows. The water for drinking must be drawn and carried from a community well. The women or children must tend to that.

We are greeted by the school teacher and welcomed into their community. Small mud huts are dotted throughout the complex. He explain s how the houses are made by applying the mud surface, made of dirt, cow dung and urine, to the hewn wood. This is what they call 'Maasai cement". The hut is topped with grass for a thatched rood. The floor is dirt. There is a kitchen area, which consists of a small firepit area for cooking. The women and children sleep in one area and the man has his own sleeping area. This is current day, not 200 years ago!

The Maasai school teacher and the mud huts they live in.

All children must go to school. Girls are especially encouraged to go and often have more availability for funding for secondary education than boys now as they try to educate the girls.

Maasai women dress in colorful clothing and adorn themselves heavily with beaded collars and multiple earrings.

A young child sits on the ground while the tribes people busy themselves with chores.

The MAASAI WOMEN PERFORM A DANCE OF WELCOME FOR US.

The men also dance. Their ritual includes jumping, where they each jump to see who can achieve the highest jump.

2. Hunting with the Hadzabe Tribe.                                                                                                                                    

We head out early to join the Hadzabe tribe for their early morning hunt. The men are the hunters and the women look after the home and children. The young men make their own arrows before they head out, equipped with bow and arrow and spear. It is their job to gather enough food for the tribe.

A young hunter prepares his arrows for the hunt. Some are made of bone, others of metal.

This is one of the "stoner" hunters. Prior to the hunt they sit around a campfire smoking a joint and passing it around.

The hand made arrows are made with meticulous attention to detail.

The hunters dart in and out of the thickets and shrubs in search of small game or birds. The throw stones at trees and make calls to scare out the birds. They then aim and shoot their spears and arrows. During the several hours we followed them they caught 4 small birds like this one, certainly not much meat to feed the tribe. Then they started a fire, using only a stick and a wooden base, and ate the birds.... not sure what they were taking home to the others!

At the end we returned to the camp and were treated to a tribal dance and had a chance to test our skills with the bow and arrow. It was surprising taut and difficult to get enough of a pull back to launch the arrow any distance.

Our guide, Victor, tries his hand with the bow and arrow.

The landscape where we went with the hunters.

It was an interesting morning, to see how these simple people exist in their world, so primitive and basic. It is like time has stood still. Our guide informs me it has not changed much from their traditional ways, except now they wear more clothes (missionaries or churches give them clothing like pants) as they don`t like them to wear only the skins they would have worn traditionally. 

3. The Datoga Tribe.                                                                                                                                                                                

This group are blacksmiths or metal workers. They collect any materials that are metal and can be forged down   .They then melt down the metals and re-sue them to create new items. They make jewellery like bracelets which they sell in a market.

This group are all   the family of the chief. He has a number of wives, three of them captured here along with other family members. The one in black is not yet married. Once married they can wear colors.

                                              

The women`s dresses are made of rawhide and beaded intricately. Under their dress they wear another leather fringed garment that they receive when they get married and can never take off.

The men operate the forge , the women help make the jewellery and sell it. They also make other items like arrow and spear heads. The materials they use are all salvaged, like parts from vehicles or other abandoned metals,  Most are copper, aluminium or steel.                                                                                                                            

I had to try a few of the bracelets, of course.

Next, we are off to Ngorongoro Crater.for our game drives.... come with me. Let`s go find some animals.

Good Morning friends!  Jambo from Tanzania.

It is 6:00 am at Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania.  We have been on the go for several days without internet service. So I am sitting here having a cup of tea as morning dawns over this beautiful land. The clouds hang heavy over the rim of the 2 million year old crater, now home to a diverse array of wildlife, living together in natural harmony.

We left Arusha on Saturday morning and made our way to Tarangire National Park. 

Tarangire boasts one of the largest concentrations of elephants in the world, along with all manner of other animals.

We head out for our visit to the Park. There are 16 of us and we are broken down into four groups, each with our own jeep, driver and guide. I like our group. It consists of me and Shelda (my sister) , Sandy, who I met last year in India (from Texas) and a new friend, Deborah, from California.

Our driver is Adam, a very nice young African man who fills us in on anything we want to know about the country, the vegetation and the animals.

The vehicles are equipped with removable tops, allowing photographers to stand and, with their cameras balanced on beanbag, a shoot from the roof or the side windows. I haul out my big daddy lens and get ready.

We head into the Park super early in the morning. We must stick to the roads (dirt paths through the dry grassy plains.)

The first animals we see are wildebeest and Zebra. As we continue, we see elephants, giraffes. 

The first animal we encounter is the Zebra. They tend to co-habitat with the wildebeest. The Zebra is arguably the most photogenic, with its geometric black and white stripes.

Sandy, Me, Deborah and Shelda at our Jeep, ready to head to Tarangire.

Testing out the big daddy lens... ready to go!

Tarangire has one of the largest concentrations of elephants. The red color is from the red soil that they roll in. It is dry season here so the grasses or dry across the plains.

There are many types of antelope and gazelles.

We watch a family of lions waiting near the water hole for the zebras, gazelle or other prey. They are watchful and ready. They are hungry. Adam tells us lions only have to eat every three days.  We watch them chase a waterbuk. It is family of lions with two adult females and two cubs. The waterbuk gets away.

The zebras are beautiful and so picturesque.

 

Arriving in Arusha, Tanzania.

November 3, 2016.   Arusha, Tanzania.

Departing Vancouver... ready, set, GO... Meeting up with Shelda in Calgary before

we head to Amsterdam and then on to Kilimanjaro.

The sun rising over Amsterdam as we land.

After 22 hours of travel, 10 hour time change and an hour spent in three long lineups at the airport here getting our travel VISA, we have arrived at The African Tulip in Arusha. It was dark when we arrived late last night so I have not had a chance to see anything but the view from the luxurious window seat in our lovely suite.  The African Tulip touts itself a a Luxury Boutique Hotel - "Chic. Unique. Authentically Africa"

I have learned, to my surprise, that Arusha is actually a very large city, the third largest in Tanzania, with a population of 4 million. This surprises me since the airport is small and very basic. A small, almost dirt-packed landing area, large enough for maybe 3 or 4 planes. We had to walk around the perimeter of it to get to the terminal, consisting of a single room with 5 line-ups for processing Visas on arrival, then through to a small luggage collection area.

We flew into Kilimanjaro airport, the larger international airport that serves the tourist travel into Kilimanjaro and the Serengeti. It makes wonder what the smaller Arusha airport must be like.

Driving the 45 minutes into Arusha in the dark again made me question the size of the city. The roads were narrow, dirt roads, very rough and with many sections under rough construction. They say they are expanding the road as the city is rapidly growing to accommodate the growing tourism and tanzanite mining in the area.

I awake early and pull back the draperies to get a glimpse of the surroundings. There is a distinct African feel - dusty, dry, jeeps and land rovers decked out in safari gear await visitors near the front entry. Succulents grow in parched earth.

The African Tulip is wonderful. It is small but quite beautiful. We have a lovely, large room with two beds and a huge window seat where we can lounge and catch up on emails. We also have an adjoining sitting room that is shared with one other room.

The sitting room.

Our cozy window seat.           The lounge.

Everything is quite modern and very clean. The bathroom is huge, marble tile, a big walk-in shower and a deep soaking tub. There is a lovely  courtyard with a bar, lounge chairs and a swimming pool. All around are flowering trees like bougainvillea and acacia.

Our first elephants... albeit concrete ones by the pool.

Overall, a very nice welcome to Africa and setting the bar a bit high for the rest of the stay!

We have no activities planned for today. We had the opportunity to join in on a daytrip to a coffee plantation but declined. Instead, we had a leisurely breakfast, explored the property and went into town for a little while.

Now, that was an adventure! We went to the Maasi craft market where the locals sell their wares - beaded everything, wooden carved animals - I especially like the giraffes, but there are lions, cheetahs, elephants, and more. There are cute little soapstone carvings of the animals too, lots of masks, fabrics, and the usual gamet of artsy, craftsy trinkets. 

The Maasi market.

 We were approached by a Maasi native in colorful, red flowing robes. His shoes are made from  pieces of car tires and he wears a backward black ball cap. He decides to show us where the real Central Market is. We follow reluctantly, taking careful note where we are heading so we can find our way back. We wander for several blocks before we decide this may not be the smartest move. Finally I buy a small piece of his art just so we can part company and head back to the hotel where we relaxed on the patio with a cold glass of wine.

The Clock Tower, a landmark in Arusha. It is said

to be exactly half way between Cape Town and Cairo.

Tomorrow the real safari begins. We hit the road, heading to Tarangire National Park. We will see a variety of animals here, but it is most known for its high concentration of elephants. (and tse tse flies!)

Come With Me. as the journey begins....

Cruising the Mississippi on the Creole Queen.

Jazz and Dinner Cruise on the Creole Queen. 

Sipping a glass of wine and watching the sun set over New Orleans.

Click for slideshow:    Creole Queen

Cruising the Mississippi on the Creole Queen.

Jazz and Dinner Cruise on the Creole Queen. 

Sipping a glass of wine and watching the sun set over New Orleans.

Click for slideshow:    Creole Queen

Monday Spetemebr 19th. New Orleans Cemeteries and History Lesson.

New Orleans' fascination with Cemeteries.

It is Monday and my first free day after three days sitting in conference sessions all day and trying to sneak in an hour or two here and there.

We decide to go on a walking tour of the Garden District. This area is next to The French Quarter, set apart by Canal Street. The French Quarter was the home of the Creole population of New Orleans. Creole, it is said, referred to anyone born in the colonies of French, black or native background - often mixed.

 

As the Americans came down from the north - most of European background - English, Swedish, German- they were ostracized by the Creole. The Creole did not allow them to integrate and the Americans did not so much want to integrate as to take over. Eventually they began their own settlement, purchasing plantations and other property and building European styled homes. There was no love lost between the Creoles and the Americans.

We ride the historic St. Charles streetcar to the Garden District. We rattle and clang down tree lined streets, past historic landmarks and around Lee's Circle. As we lurch and creak along our driver calls out the names of upcoming stops and attractions. "World War Two Museum" he calls out in his lilting Southern Drawl. Our stop is Washington Street.

General Lee Circle.

We start our tour at Lafayette #1 Cemetery. Cemeteries are a big deal in New Orleans. There is a fascination and acceptance of death as a natural state and process of life. Because there was so much

 

death from sickness, plagues, floods, whatever, the people accepted death as inevitable and celebrate life with gusto.  Our guide, Sarah, is one of those who share this fascination. She eagerly leads us into the aged Cemetery, pointing out the rows of mausoleums and tombs. You see, New Orleans is below sea level in many areas. This Cemetery is the high spot at 8 1/2 ft above sea level. When people would dig a grave it would fill with water before they could turn around and shovel the soil back into the grave. (Hence the phrase 'watery grave') Eventually they borrowed from the Egyptian ways of using above ground tombs or mausoleums. Families would buy a spot and erect a mausoleum where all family members would be interred. Though the cemetery was filled in only 20 years (back in the 1800s) family members are still added to the crypts.  It is also interesting that if a crypt is neglected and not maintained for a period of ten years, it will be resold.

There are large group-type tombs. For example, a Fire Department might have a large plot where any of its members could be interred. We saw one specifically for orphan boys.

Embalming is not required in this older cemetery so bodies can be interred just wrapped in muslin and their natural state. Now remember, New Orleans temperatures range around 90-100 degrees with humidity that rises to 95% in the summer months. Yes, it does get a bit ripe!

Leaving the Cemetery we head on to the Garden District where the American settlers created their section. Here the beautiful stately mansions line the streets under towering oaks, magnolias and myrtle trees. The architecture is European - heavy with columns, beautiful stained glass windows, and ornate cast iron fences.

This is where the wealthy plantation owners lived. Most have been meticulously preserved and maintained. Some now owned by celebreties like John Goodman, Anne Rice, Sandra Bullock and Brad Pitt.

 This plantation house was built by a wealthy General for his young trophy wife. She was from Iowa and it was said he had this fence created (with the corn stalks) to remind her of Iowa. It is more likely that it was to represent Native American harvest with its corn, pumpkins, etc. This house was purchased years ago for $84,000 and is now being sold for around $4.8Million. Nice profit.

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 These columns are very typical of the homes build in this area, the architects being of European training.

 Sandra Bullock owns this house but is seldom in New Orleans. She lets other movie people stay there when they are in town.

 This is the oldest home in the District, showing some disrepair now. It is owned by someone in the movie business and used for filming movies.

Tonight we are on a Riverboat Crusie. ComeWith Me.....