The Gods Must Be Crazy!

I am operating a day behind due to the spotty internet access so let me pick up where I left off…

 After departing our tented camp in the Serengeti, we traveled a great distance over mostly rough roads to get back through the parks and around the crater. Just before we reached Karatu, we turned right onto a hard and rocky road resembling the surface of the moon. This was when we were stopped by the police as described in the last post.

After about 12 bumpy, dusty hours in the jeep we arrived at the lovely new Lake Eyasi Lodge just in time to view a beautiful sunset over the lake with a mountain range in the background.

The next morning we picked up our guide for this adventure. His name is Azizi and he grew up in this region and can speak the primitive language of the Hadzabe bushmen. If you have ever seen the movie, The Gods Must Be Crazy, the little bushman featured in that film was a real Hadza from this Lake Eyasi region in Tanzania.

We drove and drove on arid trails winding through giant baobab trees until none of us could have guessed which way we had come from. We stopped near a rocky outcropping and got out and started hiking into the hills. After about twenty minutes, we came to an empty campsite with a smoldering fire. The Hadzabe we were there to visit were somewhere deeper in the bush except for a few Hadza children peeking out from behind the rocks.

Azizi led us in another direction for some distance until we happened upon a family group of Hadzabe people. Unlike the big welcome from the Maasai, the Hadzabe appeared indifferent to our presence. The women were sitting on the dirt ground making necklaces and bracelets and the men were crouched around a small fire sheltered by large rocks.

The Hadzabe are a fascinating people living much as their ancestors have for thousands of years. They speak an ancient language that involves various clicking sounds and wear animal skins. 

The longer we stayed with them, the more they seemed to warm to us and by the time we departed, there was dancing and singing and even an archery competition.

The Hadzabe bushmen won that contest.

Next, we visited a small Datoga tribe village. The Datoga people have a distinct appearance. They are very friendly and welcoming. The children are grubby and joyful with big smiles.

The Datoga have passed down the art of working with metals to make tools and jewelry. They use animal skins as bellows for a small in-ground furnace to melt small amounts of scrap metals. Everyone in our group left that village wearing a cool Datoga bracelet.

On our way out of that area, we walked through a busy local market, which is always a stimulus overload. We even witnessed a goat killed and butchered right on the ground in front of us.

We continued all the way through Karatu and back to our lodge in Moshi. 

Next you will hear about our visit to Amani Home for street children, Machame Lutheran Hospital and a moving visit with village families blessed by the Houses For Health projects sponsored by Dave Dale’s Kili climb.

 

Datoga woman grinding corn