Masai say sorry with cows for September 11

The New York Times via SMH ^ | June 4 2002 | By Marc Lacey in Enoosaen, Kenya

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Skyscrapers are a foreign concept to the Masai people who live in this corner of Kenya, where the tallest things on the vast horizon are the acacia trees and the giraffes that feed on them.

So when Kimeli Naiyomah, 25, returned to his village from his studies in the United States recently, he found only the vaguest understanding among his fellow Masai of what had happened in that faraway place called New York on September 11.

Some in this nomadic community of cattle raisers knew nothing of it. However, most learnt of the attacks from the radio soon after they occurred.

But the horrible television images passed by many Masai, who got electricity only shortly before the attacks.

In the oral tradition they rely on, Mr Naiyomah sat them down and told them stories that left them stunned, saddened and wanting to do something.

On Sunday, in a solemn ceremony in a grassy clearing, they did, blessing 14 cows which the tribe was giving to the people of the US.

Elders chanted in Maa, the local language, as they walked in a circle around the cows, animals that the Masai hold sacred.

There are three cherished things a Masai can offer as a gift: a child, a plot of land and a cow, which is far more than a source of meat and milk.

After the blessing, the cows were handed over to William Brencick, the deputy chief of mission of the US embassy in Nairobi.

He thanked the Masai, but said transporting the livestock would be difficult, so he would probably sell the animals at a market and buy Masai jewellery to give to the US instead.

Mr Naiyomah plans to go to medical school and return to the village as a doctor.

He had been visiting New York on September 11 and came home last month with first-hand accounts of the horror.

Vincent Konchellah, who donated one of his 12 cows, said: "We feel the same way we would feel if we lost one of our own."

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Very appropriate. Thanks.

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