Soysambu's hill of many tales

By Harold AyodoIn the expansive Soysambu conservancy, a story is told of a Maasai warrior believed to have fallen asleep ages ago and is yet to wake up. According to the Maasai lore, the moran was taking a siesta one afternoon after a sumptuous meal of meat, blood and milk but never awoke and turned into a hill. Surprisingly, a closer look at the said hill reveals a shape of a human head, nose and mouth. Interestingly, colonialists who visited the site slightly over 100 years ago nicknamed the hill Delamere’s Nose arguing it resembled the nose of the famous settler.For starters, the mysterious hill is on the 48,000 hectare ranch — turned conservancy three years ago — owned by the family of Lord Delamare. To add a twist to the hill, geography researchers say it came about following massive volcanic eruptions that occurred in the area centuries ago.According to geologists, the Delamere ranch was rent by violent volcanic activity thousands of years ago. The huge volcanoes to the south sent massive lava flows towards the Lake Elementaita, which, in those times, was much higher in volumes of water than today. And around the western shore, molten lava burst through the crust of the earth creating a jumble of black lava ridges and plateaus interspersed with hidden glades and hollows.Historians concur that many battles took place in the area before the first European explorers recorded the wildlife and people in their journals. Many years later, Lord Delamere, a British settler, acquired this land in 1905 and his family has lived there ever since.There are several other hills with panoramic views like Horseshoe hill, Long hill, Half hill and Eburu hill, which is arguably the biggest. Others hills are the Scout Hat, Mawe Mbili and the Oljulai hill — meaning a place of bees in Maasai.To solve the riddle of the mysterious moran hill, we set off for a weekend at the expansive Soysambu Conservancy in the Rift Valley. It took two hours by road from Nairobi before we branched off at Kikopey off Nairobi-Nakuru highway for another 15 kilometre drive on murram. We checked into the Sleeping Warrior Camp, which is among the pioneer camps in the area after the Delamere ranch recently turned into a conservancy.The hill that is believed to resemble a sleeping man. [PHOTOs: Martin Mukangu/ standard]The camp, which is styled to replicate a Tuscan villa and made from local straw-bales sits on a small lava-outcrop complete with evocative views over the sleeping warrior. Proprietors of the camp Jacqueline and Jean-Francois Damon say the enigma of the dozing moran inspired the name of the camp."We set base here three years ago following a 33-year lease agreement with the family of Lord Delamere," Damon says.sleeping warrior campEcologically conceived, the camp has four widely spaced and traditionally made safari tents for guests. The tents are linked by winding lava-stone paths as each tent has a grass-thatched roof, private bathroom that is partially opened to the wilderness. The Sleeping Warrior Camp is entirely powered by solar electricity while showering water is heated using sustainable harvested leleshwa wood.At sunrise, game drives are a treat of a lifetime featuring an array of wild animals including buffalos, leopards, cheetahs, giraffes, impalas and warthogs.Panoramic views of the area entail volcanic hills, rolling plains, dense acacia woodlands and a substantial part of Lake Elementaita form. The salty lake is home to 1.2 million flamingos, pelicans, cormorants, waders and storks amongst the 400 species of birds in the conservancy. The assorted birds are among the reasons most visitors here have pairs of binoculars dangling on their chests for a clear view.As a plus, the salty lake is the only breeding place for the unique white-backed pelicans in the country — a reason bird-loving tourists troop there. And within the shelter of the craters, large herds of buffalos graze while the rare Rothschild’s giraffes feed from acacia trees.Conservationists concur that wild animals here are healthy following the natural salts they lick from Lake Elementaita. And the vegetation is a blessing for both the prey and predators as researchers say the animals can use them to their favour. And the animals here are never bothered with drought as the Delamere family pumps water from their many wells to artificial water troughs.watering pointsFurthermore, the Sleeping Warrior Camp also has watering points about 200 metres away where animals go to quench their thirst in turns. Other activities at Soysambu include guided walks following the buffalo tracks, volcano climbs, and day and night game drives.And meeting relatives of the Delamere family like grandchild Tom Chomondeley is common within the conservancy. In fact, the house where the Sleeping Warrior Camp is, belonged to Chomondely before Safari Rally ace Carl Tundo took over. As we set off for a nature walk on the plains on a Sunday morning, the driver John Mwangi followed us slowly with the Land Cruiser about 200 kilometres. "We insist on having the car during walks as the conservancy has buffalos that can turn violent and charge…however, areas selected for walks are safe," Mwangi says.Lakeshore exploration, balloon safaris, bush lunches and evening sundowners amid the volcanoes. Interestingly, there are parts of the expansive conservancy where hired Maasai morans herd some of the over 7,000 herds of cattle owned by the Delamere family.On Saturday evening, Jacqueline and her husband Jean-Francois Damon who own the Sleeping Warrior Camp invited for a sundowner. We set off shortly after 6pm for the Long hill, which is raised and offers a better view of the sunset as assorted birds chirped from trees above.Assorted drinks and snacks were served as other guests joined us watch the marvels of Mother Nature before heading back for dinner.Earlier during the game drive, we sampled the enigma that is the sleeping warrior, which attracts several domestic and foreign tourists to the area. It is true that it looks like a person sleeping facing the sky complete with an open mouth — an indication of a deep sleep.According to Samson Olesilolo, a moran, folklore has it that the dozing warrior called Olekibegelenya accompanied his peers for a sacrifice before a meal."They were a group of morans with large herds of cattle who offered sacrifice to the gods before a sumptuous meal of blood, meat and milk," Olesilolo says.eternal sleepHowever, after the peers ate to their fill, one of them resolved for a siesta but never woke when time was up."His friends tried in vain to wake him up in vain and they could not carry him since they were going on a long journey with animals in tow," Olesilolo says.The sleeping moran later changed into a hill but his community still believes that he will soon wake up."Several generations of the Maasai have waited for his wake from centuries of slumber and we hope now he will," Olesilolo says. According to the folklore, celebrations would welcome him back even as they believe he occasionally changes sleeping positions, especially at night.

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