A bit of a song & dance

Dinner that evening is a splendid affair, by some divine co-incidence Barbe & Stan's wedding anniversary is the 10th of September. They are celebrating 50 years together; Ian & I have another 27 to go if we want to make it to the 50 mark! After we have finished our main course, the air is filled with a sound, a melodic low humming noise. If you think of the rich sound of a Welsh male voice choir with African tones instead of Welsh you might get the picture. A few yips and chanting are thrown in. It is a wonderful sound very very beautiful. Then 18 young Maasi men enter the tent and dance around the table, one is calling and the others chant in reply. They sing 3 different songs, all about being happy. Being happy is very important! They all then stand outside & perform the jumping dance. The one that jumps the highest is said to be the best & strongest. The females always look to see who the best jumper is so they can pick him out for a husband. Later on Moses tells us he used to be a very good jumper until he ate too many dinners. The dress that they wear is even more spectacular than the day dress, lots of jewellery, earrings, bells & shiny metal disc’s on leather straps and sewn onto the cloth. Wilson (V handsome, V white teeth) explains the songs and the jumping dance & asks us to say who we think is the best. They go out chanting & calling, huge big grins on all their faces. We asked them later if they enjoyed doing it & they said they love to dance & sing and the enjoyment of it really shows on their faces. This was a really special treat performed just for Barbe & Stan, not a tourist thing & not done for anyone else during our stay.