A Maasai woman is preparing to draw blood from a cow - Photo: Tran Truong

Life in the prehistoric era

Beyond our wildest imagination, as we traveled from Kenya's capital Nairobi to the southern border with Tanzania, we visited a village living in a primeval state, belonging to the Maasai tribe.

The village is called Kasoe and is located in Narok County. The village has 87 inhabitants, all related by blood to the village chief Kasoe and his son, Soyianjet. Greeting us in his vibrant red Maasai traditional attire, Soyianjet explained that his father passed away several years ago, leaving behind seven wives and 42 children. He is the son of the first wife, and thus he has naturally become the village chief. He himself currently has only two wives and five children.

It's called a village and even has a name, but all the roads...The houses were all made from cow dung, with only the village "gate" and "fortress" being constructed from piles of dry branches about half the height of an adult. According to Soyianjet, this was to ward off wild animals attacking at night, as herds of animals could be seen from within the village.Many kinds of animals are running and jumping around freely.

We entered the village gate as the sun was setting, the stench of cow dung and animal hides assaulting our nostrils. Children with runny noses and flies swarming their faces and hair cried and ran away when I raised my camera and beckoned them to take a picture. Finally, I had something to "lure" them with, like children all over the world: candy. Those tiny hands, those small bodies amidst the vast expanse of Africa, stirred a lump in my throat…

The house isownerWith a perimeter of approximately 500 meters, the village contains about 40 houses. They're called houses, but they really look like large matchboxes roofed and plastered with cow dung. According to Soyainjet, they're waterproof, heat-resistant, and protect against the cold in winter. All the houses, and even the livestock farming (mainly cattle, sheep, and goats), are handled by Maasai women.

SoyianjeHe led me into his house. Squeezing through the narrow window bars, I had to keep my eyes closed for a long time before I could open them again, and even then I couldn't see anything. It turned out there were two tiny light holes, like bottle caps, that Soyianjet hadn't had time to open. These two tiny holes would be opened to let in light during the day and sealed at night to prevent mosquitoes from flying in.

Pieces of cowhide, sheepskin, and goatskin were stitched together to make blankets, quilts, and bedding. A fireplace and rudimentary tools, like something from prehistoric times. I was even more surprised to find that this village still didn't use matches, but instead relied on a piece of iron, a stick, and tinder made from tree bark to create fire. I crushed the stick and my hands turned red without any success, until a young man from the village managed to light a brilliant blue flame in just two minutes!

Using blood as a drink.

Another surprise is that most people in this village eat only meat and drink animal blood mixed with cow's milk, and do not consume any grains. Beef, goat, and sheep are their main daily foods, but they usually drink the blood of these animals at least three times a week.

And don't think they kill cows, goats, or sheep to drink their blood. A method that only the Maasai would have devised is to use a sharp object to cut the body or neck of the cow to extract its blood, then apply the animal's dung to the wound to heal it. "This blood, when mixed with milk, will fill your stomach for several days and make you very strong," Soyianjet explained.

Before we could finish our conversation with Soyianjet, a sudden downpour began, so we quickly left the village because we couldn't find enough shelter, and beneath our feet, layers upon layers of cow dung were about to melt into a muddy mess from the rainwater.

As we got into the car, Soyianjet and a few young men from the village ran after us, saying that he really wanted to "treat" the group of tourists from Vietnam to a meal...We'll have a cow if we have time. ...We promise to come back.

The next morning, Mr. Tran Van Truong, General Director of VYC Travel, and I decided to return to Kasoe village to see how they "get a little blood" from a cow. It was simple: they used a small, sharp knife, patted the cow's head with one hand, and with the other, quickly cut the cow's body, and blood flowed out in a stream. They collected the blood in wooden bowls, poured milk into them, and drank it with relish. It was incredibly embarrassing that both of us had to decline.regretMy sin… my fear of blood.

It's hard for us to imagine, but perhaps that's what happiness felt like to those people. Or as Soyianjet said: "We don't want to live any differently than our ancestors lived!"

(to be continued)Cao Minh Hien from Kenya

The Thanh