A Badger Abroad: Maasai Cultural Boma

On Tuesday, we visited a Maasai Cultural Boma located near Lake Manyara National Park. It is a small village of Maasai people who have decided to open up their homes and to show their culture (traditional dress, gender roles, dance, song, etc.) to tourists. It was a strange experience. On one hand, it was very interesting to see them present their culture to us, but on the other, I felt that the experience was not totally authentic. I felt as if the boma was set up to show tourists what they expected to see rather than what the Maasai actually do. I do not wish to express total dislike for the whole experience because there were many parts of the visit that I enjoyed. We got to dance with the Maasai and walk inside their small homes. We got to ask them questions, albeit questions they were totally unprepared for, but they still attempted to answer them even if the answers they gave we believed to be somewhat untruthful.