Maasai Tribe s Ultimate Gift 15 Cows Were Offered to Help Heal Sept. 11 Suffering

ABC News ^ | June 3, 2002 | David Mwangi

[Lorianne]

E N O O S A E N, Kenya, June 3 — Arrayed in red robes and bead jewelry, impoverished Kenyan Maasai tribespeople gave a U.S. official their most precious possession — cattle — to show sympathy for the bereaved of Sept. 11.

[Maedhros]

bump

[Ed_NYC]

Did that official happen to be Ronald McDonald? JK.

This is a great gesture.

[mattdono]

Wait until the hippie-scum at PETA weigh in on this.

Interestingly,

1. Isn't it the PETA, hippie-scum that is always talking about how impoverished all of Africa is?
2. Wasn't Bono just in Africa fighting famine?
3. Didn't I hear Chris Tucker last night on the MTV Music Awards about to cry about how there is no food in Africa?
4. If these people were starving, why don't they just eat the cow?

Damn! How could these tribesmen (and women!) afford to give up some beef?

[Callahan]

Uh, the reason they are starving is because there are not enough cows to go around. Thats why they are so valuable. I'm tempted to crack jokes, but I actually find this touching.

[fly_so_free]

"If they are starving, why didn't they just eat the cows."

Geeze, lighten up. I think the main point of the story is that they lost people in the attack on our embassy in 98. It was a nice gesture they made.

[jae471]

The cows are more valuable to them alive than dead. Cows give milk, plow fields, dung makes good fuel, and the Maasai will eat cows.

The hindu belief against eating cattle is thought to have come from the same ideas since eating the cattle meant no more fields of grain. Of course, it is common practice to put a wooden triangle around the neck of newborn calf when you have too many. The triangle will poke the mother when the calf tries to nurse. The mother, in turn, kicks the calf. The cycle continues until either the calf straves or takes one to many kicks to the head. That way the cow killed the calf and one maintains good karma.

[Scoutmaster]

May God Bless the Massai. There ARE good people in the world.

An equivalent gift from Ms. Streisand and other Hollywood types would be millions and mansions.

[AmericaUnited]

This reminds me of the story of the window's two mites. Jesus said she gave more than all of the others, because she gave out of her lack and it was all she had.

God bless these people!

[another cricket]

If these people were starving, why don't they just eat the cow?

Please do not paint all of Africa with one brush. The Maasai are doing ok. They are not rich by any means but because they do not live in cities and they have kept their culture Marxist free they are doing comparatively better then many other tribes.

But cattle are their livelihood and this is a truly generous gift. They are giving us, symbolically, the gift of life so we may heal and hunt down our enemies.

The Maasai understand this POV very well. They live in Tanzania and Kenya and the governments of both countries leave them to go their own way. They still hunt lions with spears. You do not want to get on their bad side.

a.cricket

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

What a beautiful thing to do. God bless these wonderful people. I have a lump in my throat reading this. Thanks for posting the story.

[reformed_democrat]

I read this a few days ago here on FR, and I'm glad to see it here again. This is a great story about a group of people who truly believe in The Golden Rule.

An equivalent gift from Ms. Streisand and other Hollywood types would be millions and mansions.

Or maybe hollywood could give us the gift of silence.