Zawadi Jakobo’s story about the rituals of becoming a Maasai warrior.

On By

Zawadi Jakobo is one of the watchmen here atTICC - Tanga International Competence Centre.  As the other Maasai watchmen here he comes from the village of Nanyogie.  In parallell to his job here he has also studied to be a tour guide.  I asked him to write a story, and he chose to write the story of how he became a warrior.

When I became a warrior, I was 18 years old, at the age when a Maasai  normally become warrior and get circumcision.  During the ritual of initiation there are things that we must undergo, according to the Maasai rules.  We have month to announce that there are boys who are going to become warriors the next month. This is announced for warriors, elders and young women to know what is going to happen. So they have to join that celebration.

And after the month of announcement, there would be four days for celebrating and those four days each day has its rules.

The first day

Some warriors and girls are chosen by the elders to go to the forest to find long special straight sticks to bring home in order to put outside the houses of the mothers whose boys are going to be circumcised, and by every door of the houses two stick to be put to besides it, outside of the doors.  After finishing putting sticks to each house the young women should come to dance and sing very loudly.  The dance is done outside of the door of every house.  The real main meaning to put these long special sticks outside the doors is to be signs showing that these are houses where the boys are located.  Because of this, the houses will be free from disturbance.

That is what is done on the first day of the four days

The second day

This day has its rules as well and now every boy of those becoming a warrior will have a calf slaughtered for him for the case of eating much meat for those who come to celebrate.  The calf is slaughtered by women, not men. A Maasai warrior does not eat meat of any animal killed by a woman.  Those who are already warriors helps in roasting the meat but is not allowed to eat it.  If a warrior won’t come to help in roasting the meat, he will be punished by the elders.

After the meal is finished, the dance starts at 3PM up to 6PM.  After finishing the dancing everyone should go back to their homes until the day after when they meeting again for the tasks of the third day.  The name of the second day is called “Loondomon” which means “a day of slaughtering calves”

That is the end of the second day activities

The third day

In the third day, there are some rules as well, similar to the second day but with a little difference.  In the third day no calves are slaughtered.  Instead sheep are to be slaughtered that day.  These sheep will be slaughtered inside the houses of the mothers of those boys that are to become warriors.This day the boys have to go out of the  Boma to learn how to properly shoot with bow and arrow, and to aim at things which are as far away as possible.  Late this afternoon all boys will be shaved and given black clothes to put on, with shoes made of cow skin.  The shaved head, the black clothes and the cow skin shoes makes these boys easy to recognize, and for all to know that they are not yet warriors but will become so in the next day.

This is the end of the third day which Maasai call “Engolong orkitupukeneta” which means “A day to slaughter sheep”

The fourth day

This is the last day to celebrate and the day of circumcision.  We wake up early, around 5 in the morning to get a shower from very cold water prepared for us, then after the shower we stand out to get some wind to cool our bodies and to wait for the time of circumscision which normally is done by 7:30.  The cirumcision is performed in the middle of the cows palce, sometimes outside the entrance, in the right side.

The place for circumcision is built by warriors and elders by putting cow skin on the ground and shade it with some branches. After the circumcision the new warrior is supposed to not to drink water or take a shower for the next three months.  Instead they use an oil bath to keep clean and to drink oil instead of water.  This oil is produced for animal fat from goat, sheep and cows.  Another thing is that the new warriors are now commanded not to eat anything else than a mixture of milk and blood, and also meat.

On the day of circumcision there is a great celebration.  The warriors now apply a certain white color on their faces and putting ostrich plumes to their heads.  This makes the warrior look really different from all other people. When the boys walk, with their painted faces and the plumes, they raise the plumes and looks almost like an American Indian head dress.

This is the end of the maasai story of becoming a warrior.

Leaving, longing, connecting, getting lost and reconnecting again – the Story about Panori Hotel and the Labrosse family

On By

In my odyssey around Tanga to explore Hotels and Lodges that are friends with TICC I came to stay at Panori Hotel in Tanga yesterday.  The visit became so rich in stories that I remained an extra night.  This is the story of the Labrosse family and Panori Hotel as told by Julita McNeese.  It is a story of longing and waiting across years and thousands of miles.  And over a family now spread over the world, with a common connection here in Tanga

Jean Godfrey Labrosse was born in Seychelles 1923 and left for Tanzania in 1950 looking for a better future. He was one of 14 children, the son of a fisherman who had become blind and no longer could provide for the family. The children were sent to other family members or had to work to support the family. Godfrey eventually wanted more of life and set out for Tanzania on a ship at the age of 27. In Tanga he met an Irish priest who helped him get started and took Godfrey to Pangani.

There he found work as a driver delivering goods to the inland. In a year he saved enough money to build a small house and he then wrote to his sister to ask her to find him a wife. His sister choose a good wife, Therese Lafortune . Godfrey went home to the Seychelles and married her in 1952 and they moved to Pangani, Tanzania. The oldest son Patrick was born in 1953, Julita in 1955, Georgette in 1956, Nancy in 1957, Norman in 1959, Marie-Helen in 1961 and Richard 1963.

Around 1955 Godfrey opened the first bar in Pangani. The Lucky Bar, bought a truck and started a fishery packaging and delivery business.

When it was time for the older children to start school the only one was in Tanga, almost 40 km away. The family driver would drive the children in the truck every day back and forth to school, on really bad roads. This journey took 1,5 hours each ways.

Due to unrest in the country the first three children was sent away to school in Ireland for secondary education. For Julita it was 1969-1972. By then their mother had gone back to Seychelles with the younger children for their schooling so when Julita returned she went to stay in the Seychelles .

Godfrey in his turn had now moved to Tanga where he was in the fishery business and owned a small grocery store.

In 1973 Godfrey sold his business to and moved to the Seychelles but could not find himself the right work so he moved back to Tanzania. Now he found a managers job at Kibo Hotel in Kilimanjaro, and his wife could move to live with him again. Back in the Seychelles Julita met her American husband who was working for Philco Ford company as an electronic techician. They married in 1977 and moved to the US, Louisiana and Arkansas where they lived for 22 years, until 2000.

During Julitas time in the US, Godfrey continued to work at Kibo Hotel in Kilimanjaro where he was employed as a manager 1976-1989. The weather in Kilimanjaro was too cold for the mother, as she had arthritis. In Tanga they had a house, but as they decided to move back to Tanga they found the Azania Inn that was owned by an Indian family, at this time just a guest house with four rooms.

At the takeover the name was changed to Panori after the tree sons: Patrick, Norman & Richard. So from 1990 and until now the hotel has been in the family.

The beautiful restaurant is built around a big mango tree and was designed by Godfrey. The two wings with 18 rooms was added in the early 90:s and the main building was extended with conference facilities and office, and lounge. The beautiful garden has a great diversity of plants, of which many come from the Seychelles.

Julita came back to Tanzania together with her husband 2000 and became partner with her father. They took over the lease of Kibo Hotel and ran it as a branch of Panoli. Godfrey passed away in 2004 and but Julita continued operating both hotels until 2009, when she left the Kibo Hotel.

So now Julita is manager of Panori, and owns the estate together with her brothers and sister. Running this place was a promise to her father at the end of his life.

So welcome to Panori Hotel, Tanga, Tanzania. A hotel with a real story, and with family connections all over the world: Seychelles, Tanzania, Saudi Arabia, Ireland, US, England, Denmark and Germany

 

Proposal submitted to the 2012 World Appreciative Inquiry Conference in Ghent, Belgium. What do you think?

On By

It was the last day yesterday, and not a very easy day to manage for many reasons.  But we managed to write a proposal to the 2012 World Appreciative Inquiry Conference in Ghent, Belgium in April 2012.  I felt quite satisfied with our attempt.  What do you think?

Metafari in Tanzania is a six day journey that starts in the chaos of Dar es Salaam. The following morning it moves the participants to the diversity of the waterhole in Mikumi. After two nights the journey continues into the dream of Tanga International Competence Center in Tanga, Tanzani, founded on the ideas of AI. It explores the highs and lows of the mangrove tidal swamp, before journeying to the Maasai village of Nanyogie for a village dialogue and an overnight stay where we in the morning gathers around the termite mound for a conversation around

The Metafari project started around a web site in Sweden and a conversation about how to present the web site to the target groups. What could it be like?

-Maybe it should be like a waterhole? This initiated a vivid discussion about the waterhole.
What is a waterhole? What happens around the waterhole? Who comes to the waterhole? What are the elements of a well functioning waterhole?

The questions created wonderful conversations, and ideas about other exciting metaphors. The coral reef. A termite mound. The tidal landscape.

-Would it be possible to arrange Metaphor Safari? The dream got real in the meeting between Ruth Nesje, founder of Tanga International Competence Centre in Tanzania, and Leif Josefsson. After a first Metafari, Ruth introduced Leif to the Maasai community motivator Rafael Ole Moono, and the Metafari in it’s current form took shape.
One foundation of the Metafari is a belief that we are going through a paradigm shift, driven by technology. It happens in society, organizations, social life. Everywhere. The paradox is that although this process is driven by machines, connected through Internet, it is transforming our lives enabling us to connect to each other’s in new ways – as living systems.

Metafari is an invitation to an Open Space, to a co-constructed journey of images and conversations, challenging our assumptions, guiding us to explore new language, new metaphors for leadership, and our lives. The environment becomes our teacher. The design of the journey helps us to connect within, opening up ourselves for unlearning, enabling for new learning. This is what the Meta-journey is about.

If our proposal is accepted, Rafael ole Moono and Leif Josefsson will guide the participants through a Metafari in the room, using video from the waterhole, the Mangrove tidal swamp and the Maasai boma. We will introduce the participants to our story about the Metafari, and we will then let them explore a partial Metafari in the room

The Metafari in Tanzania is about connecting within and between communities, but also self to others. It is about exploring generative dialogue. The diversity in the group, between the Metafari guides, and the places creates an open environment for reflection and for the creation of new images and metaphors.

Generativity is the core of design, but not on an academic level. We are in a journey of new discovery and not knowing.

So what do you think?  Would you like to join our workshop?

Sometimes you can make bold steps in the small moment..

On By

When you are on a long journey where time allows you to take small steps, it is nice to sometimes be able to take bold steps out into the unknown.

That was all I wanted to say today!  Good Night, and Good Morning, wherever you are.

 

 

On the path to become aware of what is happening now

On By

Peponi Beach Resort.  I am here to explore Pangani south of Tanga.  First visit is Peponi.  Only 25 km away it still is quite a busride, especially when the bus breaks down.  But there is another bus coming and we get picked up.  My mission is to talk with a couple of hotel owners how we could use Facebook to connect hotels and lodges to each other.  We have made a good start with www.facebook.com/meetingpointtanga and the idea of working for connecting places that like each other is growing.  I meet with the owner Dennis, and we agree to meet again now in the morning.

Low season.  Three couples and me (I?).  I get the Zebra banda. At dinner I start talking with a man who seem interesting but after his third whiskey I lose interest and return to my hut, after a brief visit to the moonlit beach.  It is full moon.

It is a strange experience to be a lone traveler in the perfect honeymoon place.  Huge romantic bed with the computer as my only companion.  But I get Internet to work and can connect with the one who should be here now.

Silent darkness.  Solitude.  I wake up by a nightmare, disoriented.  Heart pounding. Fall asleep again.

Roar of the tide. Sound of rain. Birds singing in the morning. Rising sun. I am up early for the sunrise.

It all helps me to become aware and alive.  What is happening now?

 

 

Is sometimes leadership about to leave, let go, and stay away?

On By

The last week has been intense and there is a lot to say that does not fit here.  But a theme could be about how being absent can be an act of leadership.  Letting go of control, and trust that what you have built will manage it self, or that it will move into a new phase in a positive way if you dare to stay away.

I was in Engaruka Valley during the 12th European Network meeting of “Begeistring Community – The European Network around Appreciative Inquiry and Strength Based Change”

In the Rift Valley there is no phone network so for four days I was cut off.  The network meeting in Manchester was the 12th European meeting since 2006 and the first one where I was not present.   And it seems that when I was not there, lots of things happened that I have been wishing for.  I was told by others that I had my own space at the meeting, and that I was missed.

I felt connected, and had a sense that I have been part of creating a community that will sustain itself over time.  During the meeting invitations was offered for the next four meetings; Croatia, Italy, France and Czech republic.  So we now know that the network will remain until 2013.  Great progress.

There were also presentations of methods, tools and concepts.  Two tools that I have been involved in creating was present in a successful way; Essay in Two Voices and Metasaga.

All this while I was walking the dust of the Engaruka Valley

 

 

Paradigm shift and a new language that goes beyond words and what is taken for granted.

On By

Elisabet Wollsén joined us here in Arusha the other day.  This is the second time Elisabet is here in Tanzania, and she decided to join with her daughter Olivia to explore some ideas we have talked about for some time.  In 2008 we did a Narrative Metafari together in Dar es Salaam, Mikumi, Tanga and Nanyogie, and now we are exploring Arusha, the Engaruka Valley and a couple of National parks.

Elisabet is working out of narrative principles.  We are talking about her ideas.

Elisabet, what is it that you are doing…?

It is about a new language for which there is no common psychological  theory.  Where there is no way of looking outside yourself to find a solution.  The solution always come from the inside and is a relational knowledge.  Life cannot be translated, because there is always a context in time.

Everyone is as knowledgeable as anyone else, and it is impossible to do wrong.

And what does this mean?

As you have no forehand information, and no theory,  you need to look into yourself and the context for clues.  As there are no words and no external information you have to be informed by what happens inside yourself, and what is happening in the context, and then you will experience feelings and bodily sensations.  In some way you always know what you should do, and this is something that cannot be decided in the head.

Its knowledge in the making.   It cant be repeated, and it cannot be generalized.  It can only be.  And its in the hand of others what to do with it.  There is no control

So what are the consequences?

You get access to all gathered experience and knowledge

  • You cannot know
  • You can’t do wrong

Now we move over to the concept of constellations that you work with.  So what is a constellation.

Constellation or Life staging is a way to stage your life, questions, dilemmas, context etc and look at it without words .  This is another language that is not fit to answer in words.  So, in order to know, will have to try it.

Aha, how about trying it in Engaruka?  Rafael is not entirely convinced….

Well, we are a talking people.  So what is this about constellations?  Is it about drama?  Hmm, if we are to try it in Marias village I will have to find some connection to a Maasai tradition to do this.

Will we be be able to try constellations/life staging with a Maasai village group in Engaruka?  Follow us and you will know.   What do you think?

The thin line between fear of beast and courage

On By

Some events last days has evoked very strong feelings of fear within me.  What will the future bring, will this endevaour succeed?  Am I on the right track?   I talk to Rafael about fear and about a situation when I was right up to the face of fear, but accepted it and could walk away.

I feel that between fear and courage there is thin divide between the choice to hang on and  see yourself through to the other end of the situation.  In going through a situation, fear is actually competing with the courage that wants you to reach the other end. What fear does is trying to confuse the passage through, from the current situation to the other end.

Courage always wants to bring you to the other end.  Fear frustrates, and confuses you, bringing chaos into the process of going through the the choice of decision of reaching through the courageous point.

Let’s say there is a passage to reach a treasure  at  the other end.  Between here and the end there are arrows, rocks, boobytraps and other deadly components.  Courage makes you hang on from one deadly object to another to go through this process of evading, phasing, dodging, to eventually reach the other side of the process.

Fear and courage are guys that are always together, and they are telling you different messages on your path forward coming through to the other end.  And fear is just confusing you going through this passage, or what I call the process to go through all this confusion, hindrance and frustration to stop this process.

One aspect of fear is blame, to blame events and other people for not reaching the better end.  But blame is one of the deadly traps along the way, and one of the easiest to get caught in, because it makes to loose track of your goal.

So we continue to talk about the beast that you see above, the one that is all the yelling, attack of negativity that you don’t want ot face or be associated with.  It’s like that you dare to step into a dark room where the beasts and ghosts are caged.  You have heard their scary murmur from below previously but now suddenly you get the courage to step into the room to finally listen to what they say.  And being there you even find a switch to turn the light on.  You hear their murmur now, but with the words they say.  ”You are not good enough” “You can’t do that”.  When you see them, you can experience how silly they look.  You open the cage and let those silly beasts go away to be free.  And then you are free yourself.

Thank you for listening to this morning conversation.

What do you fear, and how do you find courage?

Journey north through darkness…… But why darkness?

On By

Ok so we start to quarrel already for the title, Rafael and I.

What is this about darkness you want to have in this post?  Why should we have darkness in such a nice trip?  Where does darkness fit in such a nice trip?

Well, I don’t know what to add because we had such a nice trip all the way to Arusha

Hm, and I wanted the Maasai to say something philosophical.

Well Rafael, I will not write about your views about Ghadaffi!

(Trying to provoke him a little)

Perhaps you should write that we can have totally different  views. That is the only moment we can appreciate the different ways we can look at an issue. Having different views is never threatening in Maasai thinking.  When we have challening views, this is when we can have a better understanding of the existing sides of an issue.  This is a natural way of thinking for us Maasais.  Isn’t it so for you people up there?

Me thinking.

Hmmmm.  I guess that is what the Metafari is about, isn’t it.  Good night, time to go to bed.

Todays question: What is darkness for in this moment of enlightment?

 

 

← Previous Entries Next Entries →

Visit our friends!

A few highly recommended friends...

Archives

All entries, chronologically...