The pair fell desperately in love and married in a rush wedding against the will of their families in a bid to keep Juma in the UK. When he passed with flying colours, the couple applied for their spousal visa but were denied when the test certificate failed to come through on time. Rebekah fell pregnant to him and had a girl named Arya back in Norwich in February 2015. Stephanie documents tribe life on Instagram, A warriors dance ceremony (Stephanie Fuchs), Members of the tribe in their traditional dress, The couple's son, second right, with his cousins, Women from the tribe with their health kitsfor people in the local area, The couples son looking out across the Masai Steppe while the tribe herd cattle, You must be at least 18 years old to create an account, Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number, I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from Evening Standard. But after Deborah left to go back to America at the end of her trip, the pair kept in touch with daily calls. I had to tell Rempesa on Skype and he burst into tears. - Stephanie Fuchs found her Maasai lover in 2011 during a research camp in Tanzania, - The two decided to start living together in 2012 in Masai Steppe and they are currently parents to one son, - The 34-year-old said she loves her husband and is proud of the life they have built together, Pay Attention: Join TUKO.co.ke Telegram channel! Deborah, a retired police officer, said she never expected to find a husband and 'marry someone so much younger'. The Maasai do not get married out of love, the matches are made by the brides' fathers when they are still little girls, a woman who has been mutilated has more chances of being chosen because men believe she can no longer be interested in have affairs and cheating on a husband when he goes out hunting or he is simply away from home, the wedding The couple who reside in the deeper roots of Rift Valley Province knew from the word go they were meant for each. This new militant group gets to be known as "ilkeliani". 'When he first brought up marrying me I thought he was crazy. Rebekah O'Brien, 26, fell for village butcher Rempesa Ole. But three years on and her fate has been less than straightforward. Some of the well-hidden secrets of this warrior tribe found in East Africa has attracted hoards of white women tourists who go to Africa with only one mission in mind, and that is to find a real Masai warrior for a companion. A photo from Hassan and his wife's sweet wedding. Rebekah O'Brien moved to Kenya and married a Maasai warrior, but she has just had a baby with his son after they fell for each other. In an ideal world, true love should transcend one's colour, culture, language, social and economic backgrounds and become the magic wand that makes these divisive limits powerless. As per local beliefs, the Maasai originally . Although heartbroken and grieving, Rebekah craved Kenyan village life again and wanted to be back with Arya's family. But the future that she sketched out for herself and Rempesa wasn't to be. Deborah returned to Tanzania in December that year and Saitoty officially got down on one knee. "We kept in touch via phone calls and I managed to get together enough money to visit him for a couple of weeks but it almost wrecked us.". 'Saitoty had never had ice cream or fish before he met me.'. . We are no longer accepting comments on this article. After Deborah's children encouraged her to 'go for it' if he made her happy, she flew out to meet Saitoty in late December 2017 and said 'yes' when he got down on one knee after they reunited. Rebekahs sister Gemma, 31, acted as her birthing partner. Id never thought about him like that. The gender roles of women in the USA and in the Maasai culture are completely different from one another. Here are the seven best ways to wear them this spring. says Christina, remembering the happy moment. In March 2013 Rempesa returned to the UK to perform with his troupe, so they would talk on the phone up to four times a day and, on his last night here, their relationship became physical. Not enough good questions were asked though. The shame and despair of being physically attacked by your own child. Then, as she waited for her friend by a shop, she ran into Rempesa, then 37, and even though he couldnt speak a word of English and she knew no Swahili, they managed to converse with hand movements and facial expressions. Kenya recognizes over forty tribes of native people. Advocate shares how she failed class exam abroad for refuting that Africans lived on trees. And it was Joyce, 42, who welcomed Rebekah at the airport when she went to visit again in December. "Juma isnt putting me under any pressure but Im thinking it may be something Id like to do. I suppose it didnt help that I was basically his stepmum before we got together. A new mother has revealed how after she moved to Kenya to marry a Maasai warrior she went on to have a baby with his teenage son - who remains in Africa, while she is back in Britain. Jackie Collins taught me everything I know. Then in May last year Lawrence confessed he had fallen for Rebekah as they strolled through the village together. Richard Kwame Krah is an online publisher. She met Rempesa, then 37, when the group came to the theatre where she worked in Norwich in 2012. In fact, the Maasai were Kenya's dominant ethnic group until British colonial rule, which lasted from 1895 until 1963. Lawrence insisted on coming everywhere with me. They are one of the most well-known African tribes, famous for their unique customs, traditions, and fierce and brave Maasai warriors. Masai was the incorrect spelling of the British settlers and has remained in current use. 679215 Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF. The pair are now planning a second wedding to celebrate their victory and seal their love forever. First Joyce, who had given her husbands new relationship her blessing, suddenly died causing the villagers to blame Rebekah. Now I have Kito I cant afford to fork out hundreds to him, she says. A Kenyan man walks with an unidentified tourist at the Jomo Kenyatta Public. Rempesa and his Osiligi warrior troupe came to put on a performance of their songs and dances and she was so fascinated by them that when one of the women she met invited her to visit Kenya. Her now-husband was in the company of another Maasai warrior when they saw her taking the photos of a woman . Traditionally, Masai boys face circumcision during their teenage years, whereby the boys now become 'men', and enter a special camp called an EMANYATTA, where they train to be Masai warriors for the next 10 years. There were three such uprisings-in 1918, 1922 and 1935. I am happier than I have ever been and I have come to love this beautiful tribe so much. Rebekah then had to break the agonising news to Rempesa over Skype. She enjoyed the experience so much that she extended her three-month trip to a year and started speaking Swahili in the process. "Ive also had to give up dancing because the work isnt always there and I need a steady wage. I guess I wanted it to work out with Rempesa.. 'They didn't have an issue with the age difference and told me that if I was happy then I should go for it.'. We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible. This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. Kito is perfect, she says. What is cuckooing and why do people want it to be criminalised? He met her and married her and brought her back to his home. In what hopeless romantics would like to call 'love at first sight', Stephanie was utterly smitten by the man's height and beautiful eyes from the moment she laid her eyes on him. I stumbled over the greeting I'd learnt phonetically and was relieved when the chief said, "Welcome to our. It could be frustrating, but I worked out Rempesa wanted me to be his wife. [Masai Native Women]: Stop! In their nine years of marriage, Stephanie's husband has never married another woman as most Maasai men do and she hopes it will remain that way because he is the reason that she found her new life in Maasai land. The grief was so overwhelming, but I felt like I wanted to go back to Kenya to be close to Aryas family. All three were carried out by the warriors in defiance of the wishes of the elders and occurred at times when the government was seeking to alter Maasai society. Immigration laws meant Juma and Christina could not apply for a spousal visa until she turned 21 and the pair spent almost a year apart. Rebekah O'Brien, 26, fell for butcher Rempesa Ole Kirkoya, 40 when he and his Maasai warrior troupe came and performed in the Maddermarket Theatre in Norwich . Rebekah O'Brien, 26, fell for village butcher Rempesa Ole Kirkoya, 40, when his tribal dancing group came to perform in the UK. The friends kept in touch, and Saitoty called Deborah every day to check in and talked about wanting to marry her. Lawrence started begging her for money after she returned to the UK for the birth. Despite this, Saitoty followed her to her next destination in Tanzania and was upset when she had to leave to go back home, two weeks later. But we would be in the company of others every day until night time.. She said: For the work they [the women] do in helping me look after our guests, I pay them a wage and so give them the means to become financially independent of their husbands. Rebekah told the Mirror: 'I want Lawrence to be in his life, but I fear he sees me more as his mother than his girlfriend. 'Now looking back at that photo it looks like we were already in love. As always you can unsubscribe at any time. The Maasai suffocate their goats, which they believe is the most humane way to kill. Saitoty asked Deborah to send him the photo and then kept in touch with her after he had her number. The Maasai are an East-African tribe with an extraordinary culture. Despite it all, Rebekah says she wants to go back to Kenya and maybe even find love again there. I wanted to stay in Tanzania. 'The food is much healthier and less processed, just lots of fruit, veg and meat, and the weather is much better. Vintage Hand Carved Maasai Woman and Warrior Figurines Ad vertisement by MemoryLaneDeJaVu MemoryLaneDeJaVu. Stephanie also explained she is very close to her in-laws and most especially her mother-in-law whom she described as the "kindest, super-intelligent and most-hardworking woman that I have ever met". So the age difference between a husband and wife is Contact Tuko.co.ke instantly. The couple met when Juma went to visit Miles' home town in Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire during his UK tour as a traditional African dancer. After a six-year fight, in September last year Juma was finally given the spousal visa the couple so desperately wanted and now has the right to live permanently in the UK. But when Joyce, mother of Rempesas five children, died of an accidental overdose, the villagers blamed the English outsider. So I suggested to him that we should try and make a life in his traditional Maasai family home in the Masai Steppe. The cultural differences put a strain on the relationship and the pair had arguments. I do want Lawrence to meet him, but I wonder how long it will take.. The food is quite greasy and Im still getting used to things like pie and chips and I miss my six siblings in Kenya a lot. I would be his main wife and they were just friends.. 'I suppose it didn't help that I was basically his stepmum before we got together. Settling In East Africa In the mid 19th century, the Maasai occupied almost the whole of the Great Rift Valley, and this is the time it reached its largest size. 10th Dec, 2016. And I decided when I was there that I didnt want to be like women here, working all the time. I told him he could keep in touch with me if he liked.'. P.O Box. A writer with progressive mindset; one who takes pride in masterminding content that promotes positive news, projecting individual and group achievements to motivate and set good social examples. Rebekah OBrien moved from East Anglia to Kenya, where she shared her husband with his existing wife, Joyce. The pastoral Maasai are fully nomadic, wandering in bands throughout the year and subsisting almost entirely on the meat, blood, and milk of their herds. We moved in there in January 2012.. I always feel healthier there and the community is very much focused on children and family.'. "Now," Steven beams, "we are perfect." To see all content on The Sun, please use the Site Map. Through out the book there is a parallel story of Cheryl's childhood and abuse from her father. Ms Fuchs concluded: "I love Tanzania, I love the Maasai and I believe their beautiful ancient culture is worthy of preservation.". 'On that first trip I saw him a number of times, sometimes with his wife, and she would even translate for me so we could chat,' she said. Lawrence told me he wanted a family and I got swept along and agreed to start trying for a baby. We were so caught up in the moment. Put the branding irons in the fire. For further details of our complaints policy and to make a complaint please click this link: thesun.co.uk/editorial-complaints/, Rebekah ended up pregnant by village butcher Rempesa's 19-year-old son Lawrence, The theatre worker met Rempesa when his dancing group performed in Norwich, Rebekah said there was instant chemistry between them, even though they couldn't speak each other's languages, Rebekah went to live in a hut with no electricity or running water in a village in Kenya, After their traditional wedding she fell pregnant, but broke up with Rempesa before the childs birth, Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). The Maasai are a semi-nomadic tribe inhabiting southern Kenya and northern Tanzania. They occupy a total land area of 160,000 square kilometres. Her relationship with him went the same way as her marriage to his father, and she came back to the UK again to give birth to their baby. 20:08 GMT 05 Jun 2016. 'We cook on fire and have no running water,' she said. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. She also found it challenging having little alone time with her partner - for he was always surrounded by other warriors. Her future husband, Sokoine, was adorned in red clothing and beautiful handmade jewellery. 'It's a very different life here in Tanzania but I'm happy. The Maasai are an African indigenous ethnic group of semi-nomadic people who currently inhabit the African countries of Tanzania and Kenya.