photo by @randyolson | words by @neilshea13 — Smeared with grass and gut juice the shy grinning children held in their arms piles of rank cud. In their hair flecks of the bull’s last meal stiffened and dried, while on their bare chests, faces, and lips it clung like wet confetti. The bull had been killed with a stone. Its brains bashed in, its lungs spear-pierced. Brutal and not quick but done in love, for there is no earthly creature held in such regard as a beautiful long-horned bull. Though it was terrible to watch (though I still hear the blows, those dull thuds, and see the bull crash down), I found no malice in the killing. Only heavy-handed tradition. The beast’s flesh had been roasted and shared, feeding dozens of Daasanach men from many generations. Even the skull was charred black and picked over until nothing went wasted. Then, late in the day, one last honor for the hosts, the family who had shared so much feasting with friends. The stomach, saved aside, was opened and the pale cud scooped out. This was carried in potent armfuls to the waiting troop and daubed with affection all over their slender bodies. Children were given most of it and clutched thick wads, happy in memory of a creature they’d cared for, feeling its warmth fade against their ribs. We do this for luck, an old man told me. We believe it brings good things for the children. The boys and girls would wear the blessing to bed and in the morning, adults said, they’d bathe. But I remembered how boys, like puppies, love scent and hate washing, and next day I saw them running toward chores, still wearing luck in their hair, still bringing that bull out to pasture. These Instagram pieces are part of our ongoing project, #NGwatershedstories, and they’re linked to our feature article on Kenya’s Lake Turkana in the August issue of @natgeo magazine. Join us @randyolson and @neilshea13 as we follow water down the desert. #2014 #africa #kenya #laketurkana #jadesea #daasanach #celebration #tradition #bull #portrait #documentary #everydayafrica #everydayeverywhere @thephotosociety @geneticislands by natgeo http://ift.tt/1PpZe78 – Gatlinburg Garden Castle Rainbow Tower Library Imagination Station Temple Water Spirit Guardian Labyrinth Treasury Magic Healing