Corinne Hofmann
Encyclopedia
Corinne Hofmann is a Swiss
author most famous for her multi-million selling memoir Die weisse Massai (The White Masai).
Born on June 4, 1960 to a German
father and a French
mother, Corinne studied in the canton
of Glarus
and eventually went into the retail trade. At the age of twenty-one, she opened her own clothing store.
In 1986, Hofmann and her boyfriend Marco made a trip to Kenya
. There, she met a Samburu
warrior named Lketinga Leparmorijo and instantly found him irresistible. She left Marco, went back to Switzerland to sell her possessions, and, in 1987, returned to Kenya, determined to find Lketinga, which she eventually did. The couple moved in together, married, and had a daughter. The Samburu are a pastoralist people related to the Maasai, and live in small villages in an arid area of central Kenya. Hofmann moved into her mother-in-law's manyatta (compound) and learned to live as a Samburu woman, fetching wood and water. She opened a small shop in the village, to sell basic goods.
Hofmann suffered several hardships, including diseases (mainly malaria
) and marital problems. Increasingly paranoid jealousy from her husband, possibly a side effect of his addiction to the drug khat
(miraa), severely damaged her relationship, and in 1990 she decided to return to Switzerland for good, taking her daughter with her. Later on, she wrote a book about her experiences. The book, titled Die weisse Massai, went on to become a phenomenal success. It has then been translated into several languages, and in 2005, made into a movie starring Nina Hoss
and Jacky Ido
.
Hofmann has since written two other books, Zurück aus Afrika (Back from Africa) and Wiedersehen in Barsaloi (Reunion in Barsaloi), which are sequels to the first book. She returned to visit her Samburu family for the first time in 2004.
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
author most famous for her multi-million selling memoir Die weisse Massai (The White Masai).
Born on June 4, 1960 to a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
father and a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
mother, Corinne studied in the canton
Cantons of Switzerland
The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the member states of the federal state of Switzerland. Each canton was a fully sovereign state with its own borders, army and currency from the Treaty of Westphalia until the establishment of the Swiss federal state in 1848...
of Glarus
Canton of Glarus
The Canton of Glarus is a canton in east central Switzerland. The capital is Glarus.The population speaks a variety of Alemannic German.The majority of the population identifies as Christian, about evenly split between the Protestant and Catholic confessions.-History:According to legend, the...
and eventually went into the retail trade. At the age of twenty-one, she opened her own clothing store.
In 1986, Hofmann and her boyfriend Marco made a trip to Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
. There, she met a Samburu
Samburu
The Samburu are a Nilotic people of north-central Kenya that are related to but distinct from the Maasai. The Samburu are semi-nomadic pastoralists who herd mainly cattle but also keep sheep, goats and camels. The name they use for themselves is Lokop or Loikop, a term which may have a variety of...
warrior named Lketinga Leparmorijo and instantly found him irresistible. She left Marco, went back to Switzerland to sell her possessions, and, in 1987, returned to Kenya, determined to find Lketinga, which she eventually did. The couple moved in together, married, and had a daughter. The Samburu are a pastoralist people related to the Maasai, and live in small villages in an arid area of central Kenya. Hofmann moved into her mother-in-law's manyatta (compound) and learned to live as a Samburu woman, fetching wood and water. She opened a small shop in the village, to sell basic goods.
Hofmann suffered several hardships, including diseases (mainly malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
) and marital problems. Increasingly paranoid jealousy from her husband, possibly a side effect of his addiction to the drug khat
Khat
Khat, qat, gat or Waquish Spoken from true Yemeni, is a flowering plant native to tropical East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula....
(miraa), severely damaged her relationship, and in 1990 she decided to return to Switzerland for good, taking her daughter with her. Later on, she wrote a book about her experiences. The book, titled Die weisse Massai, went on to become a phenomenal success. It has then been translated into several languages, and in 2005, made into a movie starring Nina Hoss
Nina Hoss
-Early life:Nina's father, Willi Hoss, was a German trade unionist and politician . Her mother, Heidemarie Rohweder, was an actress at Stuttgart National Theatre and later director of the Esslingen-based Württemberg State Playhouse .-Career:In 1997 Hoss graduated from the Drama School "Ernst Busch"...
and Jacky Ido
Jacky Ido
Jacky Ido is a Burkina Faso-born French film actor. He is best known to English-language audiences for his role as Marcel, the film projectionist in Quentin Tarantino's 2009 film, Inglourious Basterds....
.
Hofmann has since written two other books, Zurück aus Afrika (Back from Africa) and Wiedersehen in Barsaloi (Reunion in Barsaloi), which are sequels to the first book. She returned to visit her Samburu family for the first time in 2004.