On the eastern slopes of Mount Marsabit, outside Marsabit National Reserve near the village of Badasa, the riverbeds are excavated for water by the Boran and Bulji tribesmen. To keep their livestock water-fed during the dry season, the men dig wells along seasonal streambeds, descending until water is reached.
Wearing only a small turban and a piece of white calico or lesso around their waist, the tribesmen bail water from the bottom of the deep well. Six to ten men, depending on the well depth, stand one above the other and bypass the empty bucket down, and the filled buckets up in an endless chain at great speed — and loudly sing a rhythm. At the top, the buckets are emptied into long concrete or wooden troughs. Livestock including camels, cattle, sheep and goats line up on both sides of the trough to quench their thirst.
The activities at the singing wells are utterly captivating — a living ritual that few outsiders ever witness.
“Six men deep, the buckets move faster than the eye can follow — and the song never stops.”
📍 Marsabit County, Northern Kenya
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