ColinJMcMechan

Masai Welcome Dance

Shot this image while being welcomed into a Masai village along the safari track between the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater in northern Tanzania during March 2...
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Shot this image while being welcomed into a Masai village along the safari track between the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater in northern Tanzania during March 2013. I didn't have a take-away from the experience other than a ton of digital images-video and a colourful memory of contact with these traditional herders and their tribalistic ceremonies. No deep, resonating take-away...until I I put together an experimental short that can viewed at https:--youtu.be-peyAeXJccbg.

Upon my return to Canada, I thought about the parallels between human and non-human forms. The pogo-like dance ceremony of the Masai men reminded me of giraffe with their heads outstretched to the sky; the competitive flight into the air of the Masai juxtaposed with jousting mammals and primates.

I'd like to think that the enduring flow of nature and traditional peoples could never be interrupted: the annual mass migrations of wildebeest and zebra; the traditional way of life for the Masai including their chants and dances; the hope engendered by the interconnections of life that we are fortunate to witness and hold sacred. The final scene in the video of the impala staring down a young buck impostor in defence of his harem symbolizes a challenge to all of us: Are we prepared to stand down or will we fight to the death?
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