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Samburuland Living Traditions

Samburuland Living Traditions

Date: 2016-10-07
The Kingsley Holgate Foundation team as recently returned from A Journey to Chew Bahir Expedition - it's a story best told from the scribbles in Kingsley's expedition journal

Samburuland - Living Traditions

It's with great excitement and anticipation that the expedition team all arrive in Samburuland in Kenya's Northern Frontier District, marking the true beginning of our Living Traditions Expedition.

We've reached the sacred mountain of Sepache, with old friend warrior captain Dipa - it's a feast of colour, Morane age-set warriors, red ochred bodies and beadwork with all the colours of the rainbow. A friend of Dipa's is getting married and we're invited to the traditional ceremony: there's the slaughter of animals, drinking of fresh blood from a goat's neck and at sunset the singing and dancing reach a crescendo with the Morane leaping into the sky and women ulilating. As we leave the bride gets ushered off to be circumcised on her wedding night. Life on expedition is never dull.

All our expeditions carry a scroll of peace and goodwill. These have been endorsed by Nobel peace prize laureates Nelson Mandela and archbishop Desmond Tutu, ambassadors, presidents, health workers, community leaders, elders and fellow travelers. Next morning Samburu mamas endorse the Living Traditions scroll with red ochered handprints as a sign of appreciation for the Rite to Sight and malaria work we've done in the village. Hope does indeed cross any terrain.

The Samburu elders give us a blessing, Dipa grabs his AK and with his gang of Morane jump into his old green Defender to escort us North through the Badlands towards to Omo Delta. These age-set warriors have a thorough knowledge of the area and have even been known to hunt down Al Shaabab operatives and hand them over to the military.