After living among the Maasai People of Kenya for three years, Anthropologist Angelica Braxton has become fluent in their language and knows their customs to a T. The isolationist Maasai Tribe prefers the Wilderness of Kenya to modern civilization and doesn't trust outsiders. Angelica spent years earning the Maasai People's trust. The six-foot-tall, athletic and curvy, Afro-sporting, brown-skinned and green-eyed young woman, a native of Atlanta, Georgia, has grown fond of them. Angelica, born to an African American father, engineer Jerome Braxton, and a white mother from the Netherlands, schoolteacher Famke Hauer, represents the changing face of American academia, especially in the field of Anthropology.
After graduating from Spelman College with a degree in cultural studies in the summer of 2014, Angelica Braxton went on to earn her Master's degree in Anthropology from Howard University in Washington D.C. Inspired by legendary Black British academic Gus Casely Hayford, whose videos on African history and architecture astounded the world, Angelica Braxton went to Kenya in order to learn everything she could about the Maasai people. The notoriously elusive Maasai People have been profiled by white academics, people who poorly understood them. Angelica wanted to bridge the cultural divide and show the world that academics of color could make successful contact with isolationist Tribes.
The Maasai People's territory ranges from northern, central and southern Kenya and also includes parts of northern Tanzania. The tall, dark-skinned Nilotic Tribe still keep to their ancestral ways, as they have for thousands of years. In eons past, European invaders and Arabian invaders have fought against the Maasai People and they fiercely defended their culture and territory. In the twentieth century, the Maasai People have relaxed in their dealings with outsiders, allowing themselves to be filmed by European and American scientists and cultural Anthropologists. The world is fascinated by the Maasai People, but they're still seen as the Other, as far as Western society is concerned.
"I am a biracial woman who embraces my African roots, I want to show the world that the Maasai People are human and wholesome," Angelica Braxton vowed to herself the day she landed in the City of Nairobi, Kenya. After attending historically black colleges and universities such as Spelman College and Howard University, Angelica is fascinated by black cultures around the world. The young African American woman intends to show the world that black Anthropologists can make a difference. Angelica Braxton intends to surpass her idols, Black British academic Gus Casely Hayford and Jane Goodall. The lady has ambition, that's for sure...
The Village of Namelok has a population of three thousand souls, and it is one of the major settlements of the Maasai Tribe. Angelica Braxton spent years earning their trust, and has grown quite close with Prince Kingasunye, the Leader of the Village of Namelok. The six-foot-seven, lean and athletic, dark-skinned Tribal leader is an imposing man. Looking at the Prince, Angelica remembered thinking that he looked like Hollywood actor Peter Mensah. Prince Kingasunye has three adult daughters by his late wife Lankenua. The Prince is quite close to a young Maasai warrior named Barmasai and it can definitely be said that they live together. Nothing wrong with that.
Growing up in the City of Atlanta, Georgia, where a lot of black folks openly identify as bisexual, lesbian or gay, Angelica Braxton is fairly tolerant and open-minded. Bisexual black men do exist and Angelica is fine with that. Hell, during her Howard University days, Angelica dated a bisexual gentleman named Theodore Morris, a standout on the Howard University football team, and they had a great time together. Of course, after graduation, Theodore went on to play in the NFL and got hitched to the obligatory tall and leggy blonde, Amber something or other. Angelica is fairly certain that Theodore is still banging guys on the side even though he married Amber. Angelica moved on with her life. Howard University and Theodore are in the past. The Maasai People represent Angelica's present and future...
"Sister Angelica, tonight, join Barmasai and I in our tent," Prince Kingasunye said in his deep voice, and Angelica looked at the tall, forty-something Maasai Tribal Leader and smiled. The Prince was so tall and handsome, and he could have any woman or man in the entire village. Angelica fancied the Prince but he was exclusively focused on his male lover Barmasai, and none of the Maasai Tribal women seemed to stir his desires ever since his wife Lankenua died. Angelica bowed her head respectfully, and happily accepted the Prince's offer.
"I would be honored, my Prince," Angelica said gently, and Prince Kingasunye nodded gravelly. On that afternoon, the Prince led the men of the Village on the hunt, and they brought down three antelopes and a zebra. The entire village ate well, and as was their custom, the families gathered around the campfire and told tales. Legishon, a tall, awkward Maasai man who was also nicknamed the Tale Singer, entertained everyone with his outlandish tales...
"Enkai Ero the Spirit of Lust will stir the heart of even the most hardened man or woman and passion will overcome them," said Legishon the Tale Singer. The women of the Maasai Tribe laughed and looked at their husbands and lovers. The men smiled at the ladies. Some of the men who favored male lovers instead of women looked at their chosen men fondly. Maasai women who prefer other women held hands with their chosen ladies. Angelica, wearing traditional Maasai female attire, sat close to the Prince, looking at him adoringly.
"Enkai Ero speaks true," said Prince Kingasunye, and the towering, dark-skinned Maasai Tribal leader laughed merrily. Angelica looked at the Prince and his lover Barmasai. Tall and lean, with dark skin and a shaved head, Barmasai was around twenty years old. A great hunter and fighter, Barmasai was one of the Maasai Tribe's most eligible bachelors. He looked at the Prince with open admiration and perhaps a bit of lust. Once upon a time, Barmasai had a female lover named Naipanoi, a tall and curvy, dark-skinned gal with a big butt and they had a passionate relationship. Barmasai left Naipanoi for the Prince, much to the young lady's chagrin.
"My Prince speaks true," Barmasai said confidently, and the Prince touched his shoulder and nodded. Looking at Angelica, Prince Kingasunye laid his hand on her shoulder and she smiled. The Maasai women looked on, astonished. Ever since Princess Lankenua died, bitten by a snake during a rare, female-led hunt, the Prince had only taken to bed his male lover Barmasai and ignored all other women. The Maasai Tribal ladies were stunned to see the Prince laying claim to Angelica Braxton, the half-breed foreign woman who insisted on filming and documenting everything the Tribe did. What could the Prince possibly see in her?
