When the Teacher Becomes the Master (of Ceremonies)

My name is Isaac Naiganya, I was born and raised near Amboseli National Park. I now work at Angama Amboseli, sharing the stories, cultures and traditions of the Maasai community with our guests. But my story didn’t start in hospitality, but rather as the only teacher at a local school that was set up by missionaries.   

Our school began under a tree with just 23 children. Soon after, the missionaries left with a promise to return. But after a year passed with no sign of them, I brought together parents willing to help me build a dung wall and thatch roof for two classrooms. I was still the only teacher.  

Two years later, the missionaries returned and were so impressed with the struggles I endured to build our school.  They convinced me to further my studies whilst still teaching and promised to pay my fees. They also built three stone classrooms and brought in another teacher to assist me.  

Life improved but it was still a struggle to teach and learn simultaneously.  The school continued to grow, with learners coming from neighbouring schools. With the help of the missionaries, we drilled a borehole, fenced the school, built more classes, employed more teachers and made it completely free. Parents weren't paying a penny. Children were given the golden chance at basic education that their families may never be able to afford. 

Our students started performing very well in national examinations and attracted political attention. Sadly, the government registered the school as a public institution, which marked the end of the missionaries’ involvement.  

With the shift, I lost my passion for teaching — I no longer felt that I was helping children the way I wanted to. Around that time, Angama Amboseli was being built, and I decided to venture into hospitality. I am blessed to be the son of a member of the Conservancy and was offered the job of working in the laundry room.  

General Manager Collins noticed that I speak fluent English and asked me to lead the Maasai dance group. I was excited about the opportunity, but it wasn’t until Maasai cultural week, when Mama Nicky was our guest, that I was asked to showcase the Maasai cultural artefacts and traditional meals.

After that day, it was decided that after our nightly Maasai ritual around the Baraza, I remain behind to introduce our guests to Maasai culture and the rite of passage. Using the love of storytelling I learnt as an English teacher, I can discuss our culture very well.

Guests are always fascinated, especially about the rite of passage where boys live in the forest from the age of 16 for two years and undergo circumcision with no pain medication. They ask, ‘How do they stay for two years without seeing their mamas?’  

One guest asked how many cows I own. I replied, ’You never ask a Maasai how many cows he has — it’s like me asking how much money is in your pocket.’ He laughed so much. 

By the time our guests leave, unlike other hotels where Maasai dances are performed, and nobody comes back to explain the culture, our Angama Amboseli guests also get the opportunity to learn — Maasai Culture 101.

Change is inevitable in every community, but culture is also our sense of origin. As much as the world is changing, I am excited to blend Western culture with Maasai culture because there are important parts that we want to preserve for generations to come. The stories must go on, and they must be told.