Culture Connection
Map
East Africa
Your Guides
Jambo! I’m Amina and this is my friend Kima. We’ll be your guides to East Africa, our home.
All music and dance in East Africa has one thing in common, no matter what country it’s from: the rhythms are so filled with life that they seem to have their own heartbeat. These rhythms are so powerful that you’ll find yourself dancing along without even realizing it.
Whenever I show people like you around my home, I like to share these special parts of our culture:
Sounds and Rhythms
Dancing is very important in East African culture.
My favorite kinds of East African music:
- Taraab music: Traditional East African poetry, put to music.
- Benga music: My home country Kenya is famous for benga music, which has a modern beat and its very own style of dance.
Traditional dance performances of all kinds often tell stories. The dancers wear hand-carved masks and colorful costumes to help these stories come alive.
Check Out This Dance Story from Uganda
The Amagunju dance is a special dance that tells the story of a sad day when the King died. The King did not yet have any sons, but his wife Namulondo was pregnant, so she sat on the throne with the future King in her stomach until he was born. Once the new king was born, his aunts and uncles would perform this dance to stop him from crying.
Art
Our people are called Maasai because we live in the Maasai Mara, which is also home to animals like lions and leopards. One thing I love to do with my mom is make jewelry. Maasai people are famous for their jewelry because it’s so beautiful. It’s even sold all around the world!
We have all kinds of different ceremonies that mark special times in our lives. Sometimes, the earrings and other jewelry we wear changes as part of these ceremonies. Right now, I’m still just a kid, so I only wear ear jewelry on the top parts of my ears. Once I get a bit older, I can pierce my earlobes and start wearing larger and larger earrings until my earlobes get really big—I can’t wait!
Boys get to pierce their ears when they get older too.
Boys get to pierce their ears when they get older too—it’s an important part of growing up for them. My older brother Nabaala has already gotten his ears pierced. Here’s what he has to say about it:
Stretched earlobes
are a symbol of status in Maasai culture
Nabala: Now I am a junior moran, which means I am learning to become a warrior. Until I become a full moran, I’ll grow my hair long and wear it in braids. I’ve started stretching my ears, and as I get older, I’ll wear more and more jewelry in them. It hurts a little bit, but I don’t mind because I’m so excited about becoming a man.
I’m so proud of my big brother!
Songs We Sing
My friends all across East Africa love singing. We sing one of our favorite songs in Swahili whenever we see a tourist. Listen to the song and see if you can join in.
Jambo, Jambo Bwana (Jah-mbo, Jah-mbo Bwah-nah)
Hello, Hello Friend
Habari gani? Mzuri sana (Hah-bar-ee Gah-nee? Mzer-ee sah-nah)
How are you? Very well
Wageni, Wakaribishwa (Wah-geh-nee wah-kar-ee-bee-shwah)
Welcome guests
Kenya Yetu Hakuna Matata (Kenya yay-too hah-koo-nah mah-tah-tah)
Our Kenya has no problems/worries
Learn the Lingo
Practice these phrases in Swahili, a common East African language. Click on the words to hear how they are pronounced.
Hello / Jambo
How are you? / Hujambo?
How much is this? / Hi ni pesa ngapi?
I love you / Nakupenda
My name is / Jina yangu ni
Will you be my friend? / Utakuwa rafiki yangu?