KENYA: Samburu – Rain Dance

Eerie silence falls on the dry savanna during the heat of the midday hours. Mongoose and ground barbets retreat to the cool, underground labyrinths of termite mounds.  Noisy hornbills and go-away birds rest quietly in the canopy of stately Yellow-bark Acacias.  Giraffes, elephants and Impalas take up sentry positions in the shade of majestic Acacia tortilis trees, always on the lookout for any predators; they do not have much to fear, as the cats and hyenas are all napping at this time of day, some well hidden in the shadows of dense toothbrush thickets. It is a perfect time for all of us to rest or take a break.

The silence is broken only by a lovelorn or overly-optimistic Red-chested Cuckoo, who seems to be up at all hours loudly proclaiming, “It-will-rain” over and over again.  The cuckoo’s odds at getting it right are as good as any weatherman’s. The annual long summer rains (April and May) – critical for this arid region – never materialized. It has been almost a year without rain. The landscape is parched, bare and brown. The lifeline of the park, the Esawo Nyiro River has been reduced to a wide bed of sand.

Suddenly, the distant sounds of singing enhanced my daydreams of Africa.  As the sounds grew louder, I realized it was not a dream.  Drawn by the sound, we ventured to the low compound wall that separates the river from our lodge.  From there we saw Samburu natives moving down the dry Esawo Nyiro river bed, chanting and walking rhythmically. About 27 colorfully dressed women, most carrying a long stick and a few with babies on their backs, were doing a rain chant, asking the heavens for the much-needed rains. They paused several times as they went, each time apparently changing leaders.  Not far from where our small group stood in awe, they turned around and retraced their steps back to the village, singing continuously.  The sound faded as they retreated.  It was wonderful to bear witness to an ancient tradition that was not being ‘put on’ for tourists. We were privy to a glimpse of their way of life, for a brief moment in time.