Maasai Warriors Running London Marathon

Just this week, Ray Boyd told us about his experiences visiting a Maasai village in Tanzania. Now here’s another great story about these fascinating people.

Six Maasai warriors are raising money for water supplies back home by running the London Marathon on April 13th. Part of their preparation for the event includes a cultural briefing about the craziness they’re sure to encounter while visiting Great Britain.

Six Masai warriors running the London Marathon have been warned that hunting lions will seem easy compared to dealing with the English.

The title of the article in the Daily Mail is “Wear pants, don’t pee in public and don’t herd the cows – the Maasai marathon runners’ guide to ‘miserable’ Britain”. The guide, entitled “Visiting England: A Cultural Briefing,” warns them not to use bushes or trees as bathrooms, not to spit in public, to wear underwear under their traditional blankets, and not to herd livestock during the race. They were also told not to take things from other people or hurt anyone they see doing something wrong.

They were also warned that, while the people in London may look sad, they’re just unhappy with their jobs and hectic lifestyles…

It starts by warning them about the number of people they will encounter and the fact “they all seem to be rushing around everywhere”. Even though some may look like they have a frown on their face, they are very friendly people – many of them just work in offices, at jobs they don’t enjoy, and so they do not smile as much as they should.

Wow. What an incredible experience for these six Maasai villagers. And what an interesting study in cultural differences.

Taking a look at society through the eyes of complete outsiders kind of puts things in perspective. Are we really unhappy people who are just rushing around everywhere?

Will the Maasai people think the “civilized” world is completely insane?