Maasai Tribes

The Rich Heritage of Maasai People

The Maasai tribe are one of the most popular tribes of Africa. They were the dominating tribe of Africa at beginning of 20th century.These tribes are semi-nomadic and pastoralist and are a Nilotic ethnic a group of people inhabiting mainly in  the northern, central, and southern Kenya and across the border near northern Tanzania.   They have retained most of their traditions, lifestyle and lore. In common with the wildlife with which they co-exist, the Maasai need a lot of land since they live by herding cattle and goats.

                                                 My Uncle Dancing with Maasai people

They were named  "Maasai" due to their traditional origins from areas surrounding Maasai Mara Game Reserve and Amboseli near the Tanzania border.  The Maasai have plenty of unique characteristics about their culture including their dress, diet, way of life and they are listed below. 

Life Style

The Maasai speak the Maasai language (also know as Maa). It is closely realted to Samburu (Sampur) an Eastern Nilotic language. The Samburu people reside in central Kenya and to Camus spoken south and southeast of Lake Baringo. Most Maasai also speak Swahili, the language of East Africa. 

Maasai tribes are know as  fierce warriors, and they  revolve around their cattle. One of their spiritual beliefs is that their God, Enkai, created cattle for the Maasai and that all the cattle on earth belong solely to them. This bond has led them to a nomadic way of life traveling from place to place following patterns of rainfall over vast lands in search of food and water for their cattle. They ate the meat, drank the milk and sometimes blood. Traditionally, all of the Maasai’s needs were met by their cattle all their clothing, shoes and bedding came from the hide, while cow dung was used for building. Cattle was  slaughtered for ceremonies. 

The Maasai tribe were nomadic poeple who travelled from one place to another. They depended on readily available materials and native technology to build thier uncommon and interesting housing. Since the Maasai tribe are nomadic people they built temporary houses. The shapes of the houses were either circular or loaf shaped. These houses were made by women. The men built circular fence around the village which were called Enkang. It protected their cattle from wild animls at night. 

Maasai people primary source of food was cattle which was primaruly based on their lifestyle. A man's wealth was mesaured in terms of children and cattle among the Maasai tribe. Maasai poeple had the myth that God afforded them all the cattle on earth, resulting in the belief that rustling from other tribes is a matter of claiming what is rightfully theirs, a practice that has now become much less common.Their belief was  that a man who has plenty of cattle but not many children is considered to be poor and vice versa. 

Clothing

They have noticeable attire and accessories which ranked according to thier customs and celebrations.  Women wore bright clothing with beaded jewelry while men wore red shukas. Maasai people's  age, societal, and marital status were identified by the type of jewellery they wore. Their housing was constructed with sticks, cow dung, mud, and grass called "manyattas".

Maasai tirbe raised dometic animals like cattle which provide them livelihood they did not have to hunt wild animals. They were always noted for the sumptuously colored and beautifully adorned tribe. They wore red clothing to differntiate them from other tribes who usually wore white clothing. During battle if a man was injured the blood would not show on their clothes so that the ememy would not recognize their weekened state. Today blue, black and checkered cloths are also worn. Jewellery especially beadwork done by women depicted ling history among the Maasai which defined their identity and position in the society through the type of jewellery they wore and the painting. Men and women of all ages including tiny babies wore jewellery. 

Maasai Diet

Maasai peopel fully relied on cattle for their livelihood. Thier diet consists of milk, meat, honey, blood, fat, tree bark etc. They drank both curdled and fresh milk. For the nourishmnet of the sick mixed blood and milk is mostly used as a ritual drink. The fresh milk is drunk from calabash and sometimes it's mixed with fresh cattle blood. For special occasions and ceremonies bulls, oxen and lambs are slaughtered for meat. Skin, hides and other by-products of animals were used for clothing and bedding. Thier life truly revolves around their cattle.  More recently, the Maasai people have supplemeted their diet with farm crops such as maize meal, rice, cabbage among other food crops.

Beliefs

Maasai tribe is patriarchal in naturewith elder Maasai men sometimes joined by retired elders, determining most major matters for the Maasai tribes. The end of life is virtually without a formal funeral ceremony, and the dead are left out in the fields for scavengers for Maasai people living a traditional way of life.Burial has in the past been reserved for great chiefs only, since it is believed by the Maasai that burial is harmful to the soil.

The Maasai people are monotheistic, and their God is named Engai or Enkai, a God who is mostly benevolent and who manifests himself in the form of different colors, according to the feelings he is experiencing. Colors have precise meanings: black and dark blue mean that the God is well-disposed towards men; red, on the other hand, is identified with God’s irritation.

Today most of the Maasai people are christians and very few are muslims. In the olden times they believed there are two Enkai Gods: Enkai-Narok, the Black God, good and beloved, brings grass and prosperity. He is found in thunder and rain. Enkai-na-Nyokie, the Red God, vengeful, brings famine and hunger. He is found in lightning and is identified with the dry season.The importance of cattle to the Maasai can be traced back to their religion and to Enkai. 

Rites of Passage

Rites of passage are a central part of the Maasai culture as ceremonies that celebrate significant life events. These includes birth, circumcision, and marriage. Their stories are usually passed on through history books and oral tradition. The men of Maasai people are trained to be mighty warriors. 

Tradition

There are numerous customary traditions performed by Maasai men. Perhaps best known is the ‘warrior’ jumping dance where young Maasai moran (youth) leap into the air from a standing position in order to demonstrate strength and agility. 

Traditionally, in order to earn the right to have a wife, a Maasai moran was required to have killed a lion. Officially this practice has stopped although there is evidence that it continues in the more remote areas. In earlier times groups of young boys were also required to build a new village and live in it for lengthy periods of time, often years, as part of their passage to manhood. This practice is now dying out due to lack of land.

Maasai Ornaments

Challenges

Maasai have faced challenges including economic erosion, land fights, and climate change which has posed a challenge in keeping their ancestral traditions and cultures. However, they have been able to withstand this by adapting and maintaining their traditions.  The Maasai have not get along well in modern Africa. Until the European settlers arrived, fierce Maasai tribes occupied the most fertile lands. The Maasai struggled to preserve their territory, but their spears were no match for armed British troops, and their lawyers never had a fair chance in British courtrooms. In 1904, the Maasai signed a first agreement, losing the best of their land to the European settlers.

Seven years later, in 1911, a very controversial agreement was signed by a small group of Maasai, where their best Northern land (Laikipia) was given up to white settlers. Surely they did not fully understand what the consequences of such a treaty were, and anyway the signatories did not represent the entire tribe. With these two treaties, the Maasai lost about two-thirds of their lands and were relocated to less fertile parts of Kenya and Tanzania. Other tribes of Kenya have adapted more readily to the progress of modern times. In contrast, the Maasai have persisted in their traditional ways, so as Kenya takes more land for growing tribes and agriculture.

Conclusion

The unique culture of Maasai have placed them at the spotlight of fascination by historians. The resilience of people can be witnessed through the Maasai people as proof of ancient traditions and customs. 

[All images courtesy of wikipedia]