National Geographic - USA (2021-12)

Tradition dictates that no guest comes empty-handed, and

we had brought some household goods—flour, spices, coloring

books, and pens—to be offered to the Oloiboni’s wives and

children. I clutched four precious coffee seedlings, my own

special tribute. We waited about two hours.

Finally the man appeared. In his wake, a tide of activities

erupted. A chorus of human voices greeted him, and the

gathered emissaries surged forward. A favorite calf hurtled

toward him, goats bleated, and in the distance a quintet of

giraffes ambled by.

He was in his late 80s and moved with a slight stoop, ges-

turing like a symphony conductor, directing a herdsman

to which pastures his sheep, goats, and cows should go to

graze, dispatching another young

man to the market, and tasking his

son—and heir apparent—Lemaron

to extend healing services to calm

three nervous visitors.

The Oloiboni supported his

uneven steps with a thick, carved

stick. A dark blue woolen cap cov-

ered his head. He wore a red and

blue Maasai cloak called an olkara-

sha. As he approached, he made eye

contact with those who waited.

His face was deeply lined, and

From his home in Ken-

ya’s secluded Loita

region, Mokompo ole

Simel has spent three

decades advising the

Maasai community on

matters large and small

as its revered spiritual

leader, the Oloiboni

Kitok. Following a long

line of such leaders, he

encourages vigilance

against threats to

the area’s old-growth

montane rainforest,

urging humans to live

in harmony with nature.

KEVIN OUMA, CINEMATIC KENYA

TO B E THE

SUPREME OLOIBONI

I S TO S I T

BETWEEN WORLDS.