East African Customs and Cultures

If any one thing speaks of this unique character, it is the modern melding of traditional societies and culture. For example, in Kenya it is possible to leave Nairobi, a city with a thriving business heart powered by the latest information technology, and drive in just a few hours to a place where life is lived in accordance to tradition and custom, where warriors armed with spears drive cattle into thorn brush enclosures to protect them from lions at night! In this part of the world, the modern and the traditional live side by side, and at times the lines blur.

For many visitors to East Africa, this is evident within minutes of arrival. Among the busy urban traffic, the median strips of fresh grass along the airport road are a popular place for herdsmen from various tribes and communities to graze their cattle. Some people lament the gradual change in lifestyles, and loss of many customs and traditions in deference to modern life and values but life marches on relentlessly. The result is a completely unique culture, in which it is possible to see a Maasai walking across the plains using his distended earlobes to support walkman headphones, a group of urban Kikuyu joining in a traditional wedding ritual in which a bride is sung out of her house by the grooms family, or a Samburu business man deep in the interior with a mobile phone. A great safari, we assure you, awaits you in East Africa!

"For me and my family, a vacation is a very special time and I want to thank the Lilac Adventures team for taking such great care of us when we visited Kenya." David & family, Sussex.