A Msai Warrior watches a hot air balloon float over the Mara plains
Laikipiak Msai
Msai warriors draw water from a deep well. The depth of wells is measured by the number of men required to bring water to the cattle troughs at the top of them
A Msai warrior, his face and body decorated with red ochre and clay, wears an ostrich feather headdress. This singular adornment was once worn by warriors going into battle
A Msai warrior with his long braids and body coated with red ochre mixed with animal fat. He has put ochre dust round his eyes to enhance his appearance ready for a dance
Detail of a Msai warriors ear ornaments and other beaded or metal adornments. The Msai practice of piercing ears in adolescence and gradually elongating the lobes is gradually dying out
Msai warriors draw water for livestock from a wellMsai draw water for livestock from a well
Deep Msai wells at Loibor Serrit where cattle paths are cut deep into the soil to allow livestock nearer to the source of water
Msai - old and newOld and new. Dressed traditionally and carrying familiar wooden staff, two young men give hints that the lifestyle of younger Msai generations is changing gradually in Tanzania
A Msai warrior speaks on his mobile phone from the saddle of his camel near Lake Magadi in Kenyas Rift Valley Province. Mobile phones are a popular method of communicating with family
Msai men lead a camel caravan laden with equipment for a fly camp (a small temporary camp) past Lake Magadi. Clouds hang low over the Nguruman Escarpment (a western wall of the Great Rift Valley)
A Msai warrior blows a trumpet fashioned from the horn of a Greater Kudu. The strap is decorated with cowrie shells. Kudu-horn trumpets are only sounded to call men to arms or on ceremonial occasions
A back view of a Msai warrior resplendent with long ochred braids tied in a pigtail. This singular hairstyle sets him apart from other members of his society
