David Comeau: wilderness as training ground

For my paper I researched different examples that wilderness is used as a “training ground for men.” I studied rites of passage ceremonies from different cultures both past and present as well as looked at examples from different religions in which God or the god’s used wilderness as a training ground for men. One of the cultures I studied the Massai. This was of special interest to me because I had the privilege of spending time this past summer in Kenya and getting to see glimpses of their culture first hand. They are one of the last “traditional” tribes in Kenya. Even in Nairobi where they do not wear their traditional dress, it was always easy to tell who the massai were because of their long legs and gauged ears. Although I spent most of my time in Nairobi I did get to travel around the country some and see the Massai in the bush. Driving through the great rift valley I saw young boys out in the fields wearing red capes and armed with a spear or club herding sheep. I also went on a safari in the Massai Mara which is a large game reserve owned by the Massai people. On the Safari we were accompanied by Massai warriors. They were armed with solely a spear and we were told that they could protect us from any dangerous animal we came across. At first I was skeptical however I found out it was true when I was told that even to be considered a man in Massai culture they had to survive in the wilderness for a long period of time as well as slay a lion with a spear.
I also had the privilege of walking around a massai village to observe how they live. They were such simple people. I loved seeing the way they lived amongst the land. They have a sense of one with wilderness and a relationship with the land that I had never seen before. In a sense I was almost jealous to see how simple everything was to them and how carefree they seemed. It really showed me how ridiculous so many of the possessions I have in the US and I thought I might even be more at home and happier living in the wilderness like the Massai then I am with all the materialism I get caught up with here in the US. At the very least my time camping out on the game reserve showed me that I need retreats in the wilderness at least periodically to see Gods beauty in nature and slow my heart down to hear what he is saying to me. Throughout the course I have been thinking about the Massai and their sacred, dependent relationship with wilderness.