Life in Lodwar

Lodwar: A Whole New World

 

Last week I left Nairobi to spend 3 weeks in Lodwar.  Lodwar is the biggest city in the Northeastern region of Kenya, which is mostly inhabited by the Turkana people. 

When I say biggest city, you might be imagining something very different from reality.  The Turkana region is very remote, and severely underfunded.  The entire region is off the power grid, and this is the only place with any kind of electricity.  The entire city is powered by a single diesel generator that fails frequently.  Most people do not have electricity or running water and stay in straw or mud one-room homes in the desert.  Because of the heat, many sleep outside.  The population is mostly semi- or fully nomadic pastoralists and it is very common to see huge herds of camels, goats, cows, or donkeys.  The camels are always orderly, goats are squirrely creatures, but the donkeys seem nearly impossible to herd.  I would choose camels if I was a pastoralist.  It is dangerous to travel far outside of town because different groups are constantly at war.  The people of Lodwar are currently engaged with the Pokot over cattle rustling and the stealing of various other animals.  Herds are not passed down from parent to child, so when a son is married, he has to start his herd by a) rustling or b) buying.  One camel costs 60,000 shillings (almost 700 dollars), so a) is the preferred option.  Men who steal from the Pokot and win in battle are also highly regarded by their peers, and the act is memorialized by scarification on the face of the victor.

 

Many, though not all, of the Turkana are very traditional.  Men carry herding sticks and wear THE SHARPEST curved blades around their wrists.  Meet a Pokot and all you need is a quick upward motion of the arm to finish him.  A Turkana neighbor of mine said men here “kill on the spot.”  Violence is heightened by the influx of cheap arms from neighboring S Sudan.

wrist blade with guard
 

 

(GRANDMA AND GRANDPA READ THIS: NOTE:  I am staying in a really safe guesthouse outside of town with 24-hour security and a menacing dog.  Also I do not possess herds of camel nor am I a Pokot.  I’m not here with the Catholic Church but I am staying in their house and by nature of being mzungu I am associated with them.  The church is very respected her and people DO NOT MESS with the missionaries.  Yes, I am very careful and travel with our contracted driver, etc.)

I am conflicted about the women here.  The most striking thing about the traditional ladies is that there wear a high, heavy collar of beads around their necks.  Their hair is often shaved into a Mohawk that is tightly wrapped in tiny dreadlocks.  They wear two lesos (printed cotton fabric), one around the waist and one tied at the shoulder, so usually one breast is exposed.  They are generally tall, long-limbed and slender.  Absolutely beautiful.  I love to watch them, but I also know the amount of beads on their neck signifies their bride price, i.e. how many goats or camels a man must give their father to purchase them.  And it is a purchase.  Once a man owns a woman he can do as he pleases with her, including beat her.  If she runs away, she is violating her father’s contract in selling her and she can be punished by her family, then returned.  Now this is currently practiced by some, but not all of these people.  I do NOT want to paint a picture of a culture that is “backwards” or “primitive.”  Nor am I a cultural relativist.  I am stuck in the middle and, like I said, conflicted.  I have only been here a week and it is something I need to give some thought too.  Everyone I have met is beyond nice and welcoming and I haven’t had a reason to judge any man or woman personally.

not my image. h/t http://pl.skibinska.com/fotografie/plemienna-afryka/kenia-kobiety-turkana/

 

With all the activity and animals, and even with the newly paved roads and immigrants that came with the discovery of oil nearby, town is pretty quiet.  Temperatures exceed 100 or 110 every day and air conditioning is not common, so people stay in the shade and don’t move around a lot at midday.  The guesthouse I am staying at is really nice and has great food so I spend a lot of time inside here during the day.  Other people come and go, and there is always someone really interesting or frustrating to talk to (What is it about travel that creates such extreme know-it-alls?  I’m not exempt but some people are just… crazy).  Day to day life is pretty slow and quiet and I am working on finishing the first section of my masters paper before I leave here—wish me luck!