Facing the Lion: Growing Up Maasai on the African Savanna

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Facing the Lion: Growing Up Maasai on the African Savanna

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Overview

Joseph Lemasolai Lekuton gives American kids a firsthand look at growing up in Kenya as a member of a tribe of nomads whose livelihood centers on the raising and grazing of cattle. Readers share Lekuton's first encounter with a lion, the epitome of bravery in the warrior tradition. They follow his mischievous antics as a young Maasai cattle herder, coming-of-age initiation, boarding school escapades, soccer success, and journey to America for college. Lekuton's riveting text combines exotic details of nomadic life with the universal experience and emotions of a growing boy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781426306679
Publisher:	National Geographic Society
Publication date:	09/30/2009
Sold by:	Penguin Random House Publisher Services
Format:	eBook
Pages:	128
Lexile:	720L (what's this?)
File size:	3 MB
Age Range:	12 Years

About the Author

Joseph Lemasolai Lekuton is a Maasai tribesman who grew up on the savanna of northern Kenya. He teaches eighth grade social studies in Langley, Virginia and holds a master's degree in International Education Policy from Harvard University. Each summer he brings a group of students and parents to Kenya to work on development projects that help his people.

Preface

Everything you do in our culture, you are preparing for the next stage. Everything you do in life is preparing for the next challenge.

From a green and beautiful village on the side of a small hill in Kenya comes this firsthand account of a boy'' journey to manhood. Joseph Lemasolai Lekuton is a Maasai tribesman brought up in the nomadic way of life. The only child in his family to go to school, Lemasolai is torn between the traditional ways of his family and the western ways taught by his teachers. In his struggle to balance two cultures, he learns to apply lessons learned in each of his worlds to the problems of the other.

Personal, moving, and often funny, this modern memoir is a close look at a traditional culture and a satisfying tale of a young man's journey of discovery.

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Editorial Reviews

Once a warrior, always a warrior. Facing the Lion describes Lekuton's extraordinary passage between worlds and his continuing effort to hold the two in balance. — Elizabeth Ward

The Washington Post

This involving, anecdotal autobiography sketches the childhood of Lekuton, who grew up in northern Kenya, a member of a subgroup within the Maa culture known as the Ariaal. He explains that the beloved cows dictate where their nomadic "village" wanders: "If the grass runs out or the water dries up, we move. If there's better grazing land somewhere else, we move." Articulate and likable, the author easily ushers readers into his primitive yet colorful culture as he vividly describes aspects of his people's way of life. His topics range from the quotidian (the practice of drinking milk mixed with cow's blood; the youngsters' responsibility for the herd's calves; the role of the "pinching man," who metes out punishment to village children) to the momentous (the elaborate circumcision ritual that young men undergo on the path to becoming a "warrior"). Following the government's dictate that one boy in every nomadic family go to school, Lekuton attended a school run by American missionaries (and, depending on where his family was living at the time, walked up to 40 miles home at vacation time), went on to enroll in an elite boarding school in Nakuru, received a scholarship at St. Lawrence University in New York and currently teaches at a private school near Washington, D.C.-and, during school vacations, guides American visitors through his Maasai home. An intriguing portrait of a remarkable life and a culture little known to most American readers. Photos not seen by PW. Ages 12-up. (Sept.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

The author of this true story is a member of the Maasai tribe. The book follows his life as a member of this nomadic tribe. The descriptions of day-to-day life and cultural practices are quite vivid. It is a good introduction for those who know very little about the Maasai. Lekuton is sent to the missionary school because each family is required to send at least one of their children. He adapts to the education quite quickly and begins to learn Western ways, as well as gaining a new perspective on his own culture. It is interesting to read about his living style within two different cultural worlds. He describes how he acts and dresses in a certain way for his teachers, but returns to his traditional ways when he is at home. It is difficult to imagine how he handles such extreme transitions. The story follows Lekuton into adulthood and his journey to university in America. While Lekuton's story is original, the lessons and values he described are important to all children who are struggling to obtain their goals. An excellent read for those interested in different cultures. 2003, National Geographic Society,
— Caroline Haugen

Children's Literature