About Asante Sana Tanzania
A beautiful coffee-table book chronicling Donna and Martin’s Safari to Tanzania, it includes Donna’s journal recordings, accountings, and various tidbits along the way! The book is filled with Martin Seim’s beautiful photography—Donna’s inspiration for deciding to publish it.
Excerpted journal entries from the jacket flap: We were told that the women collect the firewood, carry the water from the well, mind the small animals, have babies, wash the clothes, and cook the meals. Men and older boys, until they become warriors at the age of seventeen, mind the cattle. The saying “a woman’s work is never done” is a truism for the Maasai. After a wife has been married for several years and has had a number of children, she will say to her husband, “Husband it is time for a new wife!” The new and younger wife will share in the burden of the work and also the husband!
Johnson, our Maasai guide, informed us that the Maasai men take as many wives as they can afford. A man’s bank account or wealth quotient is the number of cattle he owns. The more cows he owns, the more wives. All marriages are arranged between the father of the bride and the groom’s father. Once the number of cows is agreed upon, the groom or the groom’s family pays a dowry of cattle to the father of the bride. The number of cattle depends on the family; some brides are more expensive than others!
Asante sana, Tanzania! Asante sana, Thomson Safaris!
Awards for Asante Sana Tanzania
Next Generation Indie Book Awards Finalist in the Category Travel/ Travel Guides and also Finalist in the Category Best Cover Design Non-Fiction!
National Indie Excellence Awards Finalist for Travel Book category and for Best Cover Design in the Non-Fiction category!
Some of Martin Seim’s photos from the trip
Praise for Asante Sana Tanzania
Synopsis: With the publication of "Asante Sana Tanzania", armchair travelers can take an African journey with Donna and Martin Seim as they encounter, cheetahs, tented showers, incredible spices, and the proud Maasai people. "Asante Sana Tanzania" includes a Swahili pronunciation guide, vocabulary list, and fun animal facts. Featuring more than one hundred gorgeous full color photographs that fully capture the sights and reflect the experience of Africa, "Asante Sana Tanzania" is comprised of humorous and thrilling stories of animals in the bush, bartering in markets, visits to a Maasai Boma, and local schools, and more.
Critique: A beautifully produced and elegant volume, that is both informed and informative throughout, "Asante Sana Tanzania" is an inherently fascinating and thoroughly absorbing read from beginning to end. Very highly recommended for the personal reading lists of anyone with an interest in contemporary Africa, its people, and its wildlife, "Asante Sana Tanzania" is certain to be an enduringly popular addition to community library collections.
— Midwest Book Review
Micah Andrew
Reviewer