Today is my first day in Lodonguoke. My night was ok. At the beginning I couldn’t sleep well because the bathroom has a window but not glass so and I was afraid an animal would get in even if I closed the bathroom door. But, later, I was too tired and fell asleep.
In the morning I went with Serge, a priest from the Ivory Coast and Jeen, one of Lodonguoke leaders to Lolua. Lolua is a small community 1 hour away on foot from Lodonguoke. Yes!! Walking on a hot day and it isn’t an easy road (picture). This is a dessert: the soil is red and it has a lot of up and downs. (picture). For me, it wasn’t an easy walk. Most of the time Serge and Jeen walked ahead so they had to wait for me. Of course, they have more practice. A few times I had to ask for some help getting down small hills. After this long journey, we finally arrived to Lolua. We had to wait because the women were bringing some water. While waiting, I took Ntua (the puppet) and I played with the children.
Finally, the 6 women arrived and father Serge celebrate the mass (see video women singing). The topic of the service today was a question: “what happens after we die?” The service was very interactive. The women spoke about the various traditions of burying the dead in the Samburu culture. A man who is married and has children is buried in the lot where the rest of the family lives. In the past, a man who died single was thrown out to the hyenas. But, now his family buries him outside of were they live. For the Samburu, a man who doesn’t have family is not going to be remembered by anybody.
Anyway, going back to the main topic of the service. What happens after death? The women answered that people go back to Nkai (God). The priest emphasized more about the legacy. He invited them to always do the best in all the situations, so they can be remembered for the good actions they did in life. He also reminded them that we can’t bring our possessions with us when we died. This is very important message, because some Samburu men care so much about their animals that even if they or their families have a medical emergency, sometimes they don’t want to sell an animal to pay for medical services. And a family will almost never sell an animal to pay for the education fees of their children. I hope this message stays in their minds. The problem is that there was only one man at the mass. I’m seeing that men are not likely to participate in the services… I hope they can receive the message through the women!!
After mass I had the opportunity to introduce myself. In my introduction I always tell the group than I am a woman like them, that I have been married for 25 years in a monogamous relationship. I have two children Juan and Valentina. And I have overcome some difficulties and problems like them. I invited them to the workshop I’m going to have next week.