Kimara Culture Lecture: Maasai Wisdom

At the event, Erkki Kyllönen of the Finland–Kenya Society and Ossi Leppänen, originally from Keuruu, will расска́y the colourful story behind the creation of *Maasaikansan viisauksia* (Rosebud Books, 2025), a book compiled by Leppänen, and discuss the Maasai people’s punchy and memorable aphorisms. The idea for the book was to combine old Maasai wisdom with authentic photographs taken by the author in the Maasai region of Kenya in 1980–1982. The aphorisms are in three languages: Finnish, English and Maa. They contain plenty of wisdom that can also be applied to the present day. For example: “Don’t try to walk two paths; your hips will fall apart.” That would be good advice for many busy multitaskers today. Or, as the saying goes: “A backside and the ground do not enjoy being apart for long.” Could council decisions be better for the environment if meetings were held, as among the Maasai, seated in the shade of a leafy tree? In Maa culture, as surely in other cultures too, there is a saying: “Old age and wisdom.” The presenters of the book agree that this is exactly right; surely not all cultures can be wrong. Once a month, on Tuesday evenings, Kimara Culture Lectures feature people or topics with roots in Keuruu. The series is organised jointly by Keuruu Adult Education Centre, Keuruu City Library and Keuruu Museum. Lectures are held at Kulttuuritalo Kimara, Koulutie 3, Keuruu. The venue is accessible.