ZEKE Magazine: Spring 2023.2

Rasha Al Jundi
Red Soil: Colonial Legacy in Maasai Land | Kenya
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This is a story that spans
generations.
About the man in a redshuka,
and the woman with a beaded
necklace.
Indigenous peoples, once mighty,
controlling territories that
spanned borders.
A tribe, rich with traditions,
culture, knowledge and history.
Uprooted, fragmented and fenced
off from their ancestral lands.
A historical injustice with
contemporary consequences.
The Maasai, of Laikipia county,
live in a state of negative peace.
Colonizers pushed them away
from the red soil of the Rift
Valley, into confined reserves.
Present day governance trades
with their lands and grievances.
Fortress conservation, drought and
bouts of conflict surround them.
Prejudice mutes their voices.
Peace, without justice, is present.
The threat to their way of life is
real.
Yet, they are here, holding us
witness to their story.
One of perseverance, adaptability
and courage.
That of the man in a redshuka
and the woman with a beaded
necklace.
Above: A warrior from the
Samburu tribe, armed with an
AK-47, watches his herd of cows
cross the river separating Laikipia
from Isiolo county. Guns are
increasingly becoming the weapon
of choice among pastoral tribes in
Kenya for the purpose of protection.
They can be easily bought
in the black market for the price
of five to six cows (approximately
USD 2,000-5,000). Laikipia
county, Kenya (February 2022).
ZEKE SPRING 2023/ 27