Day 178 - The Culture of the Maasai

I am by no means any sort of expert on the Maasai culture, but I will briefly describe what I have learned throughout my two week stay, from local people, the girls, and reading several books about the culture. The Maasai people are a nomadic and pastoral tribe that sprawls throughout Kenya and Tanzania. They are beautiful people, with very distinct facial features, who wear colorful clothing and have exquisite beaded jewelry (this is daily, not just costumes for tourists). The men are hunters and watch over the animals that roam, because there are no property lines or fences (you need to be careful when driving on the road, as the animals have the right of way, not the cars!). Young boys also help with the herding and once they are circumcised (between 12 - 15 years old) they begin their role as a warrior in the village and as an animal herder. The wealth of a Maasai man is determined by the number of cattle he owns. It is typical for a Maasai male to have numerous wives, which leads to many children (typically about 6 -10 per wife). Each man lives in a boma which is a circle of huts (it is believed the circular shape will keep out the evil spirits) and each wife lives with her children in one of the huts. The man just rotates which home he stays in at night (I think the biggest boma we saw had 35 huts, which meant he had 35 wives). Marriages in the Maasai culture are usually arranged by the parents, although the girls said elders are now starting to let the couple choose their partners. There is a large ceremony where a cow is exchanged for the girl who will be married. Girls are typically married around the age of 13 (after their excision or circumcision ceremony, which is now illegal in the country, but still practiced) and become pregnant soon thereafter. The age of their husband depends on if they are the first wife or a later wife. From what I gather, women see it as a benefit when their husbands marry more women, because they help each other with the daily tasks around the boma.
(L: Men with their cattle, R: A Boma)

The females build the homes, maintain the homes by cooking, carrying water and firewood, and they raise the children. Their huts are made of twigs, dung, and grass and have a room with the beds (which are raised for the baby goats and cows to sleep under), a room for the cooking area, and a room where the animals stay. Here are a couple other quick things:

• Because the Maasai raise animals and small crops they are a very self sustaining culture. A typical meal consists of meat and goat milk mixed with blood.
• The Elders are the most respected members of the community.
• The Maasai believe in spirits and the medicine doctor, who will cure all their aliments.
• The Maa language is spoken in the villages, but most also know Ki -Swahili (language spoken in Tanzania)
• If you look at the statstics in Africa, Tanzania is one of the poorest countries in the world, because many of the tribal people do not earn an income (cash). From what I have seen in the Monduli area the people are able to self sustain. However, north of here about 3 hours the Maasai people have endured a terrible drought this past year and people are starving. Their crops are not growing and their cattle are dying.
  

I have enjoyed getting to know some of the Maasai girls and learning about where they come from. It has been very interesting to witness the lifestyle of one of the few tribes left in the world. The school wants to help preserve this culture by providing the girls with more education before they return to their villages.