A young woman originally from East Africa writes about herself and of her heritage.
M'buti Ayala Moore-Sormiento is my name, and I am 25 years old. I am originally from East Africa, in the country of Kenya. I was born northeast of Nairobi, in a little village called Thika.
I am also a Maasai.
The Maasai are from the northern area of Tanzania and the southern part of Kenya; and they primarily farm or raise cattle for a living. They are a "pastoral" people, meaning that they go from place to place, in search of food for them and their cattle. Their cattle means everything to a Maasai, and they get their food and clothes from the cattle. No part of the cattle is wasted; the Maasai use everything from a cattle: skin, bones, even their bodily fluids, like urine (used for cleaning or drinking) and excrement (used for building and repairing houses). It sounds ~nasty~, but it really isn't; we used what we had, and we wasted nothing.
The Maasai are a tall, elegant, stately people, and they are naturally thin. They have very strong bodies and teeth, and they are good at many things: building or repairing homes, cooking, taking care of the cattle or children, cleaning, dancing and singing, running, and making their own clothes. The Maasai are probably the best known of the tribes in Africa; when one thinks of Africa, the Maasai people are usually the first thing that comes to a person's mind. The Maasai speak primarily Swahili, but they DO speak their own language, which is called Maa. They also can speak English quite well.
The Maasai are considered a poor people, but they really aren't. To a Maasai, the more cattle or children they have, the richer they are. (Me, I would be considered dirt-poor. I have 3 beautiful children, but no cattle!) The Maasai are also a very resourceful people, as you can see from what I have written thusly.
I was born in Africa, and I have two older brothers, Keserian and Naiser, who both still live in Africa. Our parents are dead; they have been dead for several years, and it aggrieves me to think of how violently they died; and how sudden they died. (They were murdered while getting money to go back to Africa; they never made it.) They never got to see their grandchildren, and it really upsets me.
I came to America at the age of 21 to start a new life, and to start university; but then I was burned, and I spent many pain-filled months in hospital, recovering from my burns; and it was there where I met my future husband, Roberto (although, at that time, I didn't know it!). After I got out of hospital, I then learned to adjust to being disabled and having to navigate my way around on sticks ("crutches", you call them here) or a wheelchair if I was too tired. It wasn't easy, but as time went on, I got better and better at using my sticks.
I then got a sickness that nearly killed me ("flesh-eating disease"), and I spent even more time in hospital; and I had surgery after surgery to try to save my life. It took a very long time for me to recover from this, and I ended up having even MORE surgery to stop the constant pain I was in (plus I needed it to save my life; I dropped down to 70-72 pounds, and I couldn't eat ANYTHING). But now I am FINALLY okay, and I recently had twins, a boy and a girl. They will be 2 months old on April 14. I also have a third child, an older boy named Jubaki, who will be 3 years old in June. Life is FINALLY starting to become good for me once again.
I am very tall in stature (6' 5"), and I weigh 135 pounds, and I have dark brown skin, amber-colored eyes, and very short, nappy black hair that I keep cut close to my head. My husband thinks I am very beautiful, but I don't think so. For one thing, my face is ALL wrinkled, and I look like a very old lady! I also have terrible burn and surgery scars on my back and legs, and I wear braces on my legs; and I think they are very ugly to look at. I also use metal sticks that attach to my elbows, or I use a walker or a wheelchair. I do not walk very well on my own, and my husband often has to help me.
I like to write in my journal, write poetry (I do both in Maa, so my husband doesn't read what I wrote; it's a trick I learned!), read (my husband says I am a very voracious reader; I read anything I can get my hands on!), watch television (but NOT the news; the news only upsets me), go shopping, and play with Jubaki, Eshe, and Kibarake, the children. I also love to play with the dog and cat, but I am always having to seperate them; they are always too rough, especially "Afiya", who is our cat. "Afiya" is a cheetah; she was abandoned by her mother, and after she got well (a friend took care of her; he works with wild animals, and he is a veterinarian), our friend gave her to us. She's been with us ever since. We used to have another female cheetah ("Sayidana"), but she died last year; she had a kidney sickness, and it killed her. She was only five when she died, and it still makes me cry to think that she is dead. We also had a male cheetah ("Sambeke"), but he got too mean, and we didn't want him to hurt our older son, so we gave him to the local zoo; and he is there now, where, I am sure, he is much happier. Our dog, meanwhile, is a bagel (M'buti meant "beagle"), and his name is "Rodriguez". My husband named him. "Afiya" and "Rodriguez" are the same age, and they are best friends. They are always together, it seems; but it seems like we have two extra children in the house!
My husband is a very good father to the children, and he is a very good husband to me, but he is CRAZY! He is always acting goofy, and I never know when he is being serious or is fooling around. Sometimes he gets me so mad I want to HIT him! (And I DO! But I do it not in a mean way; I just try to make him behave himself!) He is one of those types of men who think it is fun to scare, and he also thinks it is great fun to get me on rides that are guaranteed to scare the living fuck out of a person. Like last year: we went to Cedar Point, which is this HUGE amusement park in Ohio, and he got me on two roller coasters; and I swear on a stack of Bibles that he was trying to do me in! They were both higher than Mount Kilimanjaro! I barely survived the rides; and I told him this year if he EVER does that to me again I am leaving him! He can be such a cornball at times, and he drives me INSANE! I don't know WHY he can't be so SERIOUS! He sometimes acts worse than the animals or the CHILDREN!
(((karen))) this is absolutely wonderful...very descriptive, could see her in my mind. the element of humor is an added bonus...what with all she's had to endure, it's nice to see...well done! (((HUGS))) and can't wait to read more...love, karla. :)
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