buzzes and hums as one of Afri-
ca’s technological innovators, the
nucleus of the so-called Silicon
Savanna. It’s one of the continent’s
busiest transportation hubs, with
flights to and from four continents.
A place of gleaming skyscrapers
filled with companies from around
the world. The UN’s Africa head-
quarters are here, as are a plethora
of international media organi-
zations busily broadcasting the
continent’s stories. We endure hair-
pulling traffic jams and wonder
about the local implications of
climate change. And of course,
since 2020, the scourge of COVID-
19 has dominated.
I was feeling claustrophobic inNairobi, and the chance to travel
to Loita seemed a boon. But truth-
fully, it wasn’t just relief from the
city I was seeking; it was the chance
to experience the world from a
fresh perspective, an ancient and
timeless one.
T
THE MAN I HOPED
to see was a Maasai
leader named Mo-
kompo ole Simel,
also known as theOloiboni Kitok (pronounced O-loy-
BON-ee KEE-tok). In the centuries
since the Maasai migrated with
their cattle down from the Nile
Valley and settled in eastern
Africa, including the area they
called the Siringet (“the place
where the land runs on forever”),
they’ve been guided by men who hold the title of oloiboni,
all drawn from a clan endowed with exceptional temporal
and spiritual abilities and schooled in natural and super-
natural healing practices.
To be the Oloiboni Kitok, the highest ranking oloiboni,
is to sit between worlds as mediator, prophet, and seer; as
intercessor and healer; as cultural liturgist and political strat-
egist; and as keeper of good relations between humanity and
nature. More than 30 years ago, Mokompo ole Simel took on
that lifetime mantle of Supreme Oloiboni from his father,
becoming the 12th Oloiboni Kitok in his clan’s lineage.
It’s difficult to describe the full scope of his influence. He’s
the spiritual leader of more than a million Maasai who live
in Kenya and Tanzania. He’s sought out for blessings and
advice on matters big and small—from a family’s lost cattle
to major conservation plans for Loita. Maasai from as far away
as Samburu in northern Kenya make the 200-mile journey to
Loita to see him. And it’s not just Maasai who seek his counsel.
Politicians from other countries have solicited his blessings,
advice, and help to curry favor with voters.
Yet he’s not an easy man to see. You can’t just drive to Loita
and find your way to the home of the Oloiboni Kitok. You
must be introduced, which is how I came to meet a friend of
a friend named Mores Loolpapit, a doctor and public health
professional, a nonpracticing oloiboni, and, serendipitously,
the Oloiboni Kitok’s nephew.
And that is how one midday in May, I came to sit on a car-
pet of soft green grass festooned with tiny purple and yellow
flowers, under a behemoth oreteti tree. The sky was blue,
and though it was sunny, an easterly wind sprinkled icy rain
droplets. Somewhere nearby, a donkey brayed.
Mores had guided me here via an eight-hour drive over
rough roads that gradually ascended to a mountain savanna
that is a gateway to Loita. It’s here at his homestead, a collec-
tion of mud-brick and thatched-roof buildings and animal
corrals, where the Oloiboni holds court and where I hoped to
ask for permission to visit Loita and to interview him.
I was one of two dozen visitors, including a five-man
delegation from Tanzania who’d arrived before dawn. We were
all received as pilgrims. Nobody was treated as a stranger.DATE
DEC. 20 21STORY
THE SPIRITUAL VOICE OF THE FORESTNATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
WELCOME TO EARTHPAGE
NO. 100