THE MAASAI CULTURE & ITS PEOPLE
Everything mentioned here is a combination of what I have learned from my visit at the Maasai Museum, my interaction with people living in the Masai Community ( Stephanie) and reading essays and books. If anything is missing or isn't accurate, please let me know
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Credits: Moh_Mckenzie / BrestonKenya
The Maasai (not Masai) people live in both Kenya and Tanzania, generally living along the border of the two countries.
Even though they are widely known, they are a small tribe and only account for 0.7 % of Kenya's population, with a similar number living in Tanzania. Their official and principal language is called Maa and Maasai simply means " people speaking maa"
Although some people think they have similarities with the South African Zulu tribe, they are really quite different. The most closely related tribe to the Maasai is the Samburu Tribe since they share the same language, cultural practices and style.
THEIR ORIGINS
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Credits: Moh_Mckenzie / BrestonKenya
Folk stories tell us that Maasai ascended ascended from a crater. The emergence of the first Maasai prophet-magician (Laibon), the killing of an evil giant (Oltatuani) who raided Maasai herds, and the deception by Olonana of his father to obtain the blessing reserved for his older brother, Senteu (Bentsen, 1989), (Kerubo,27) (a legend similar to the Biblical story of Jacob and Esau) are all mythical stories that somewhat explain Maasai origins.
GEOGRAPHICAL EVOLUTION THROUGHOUT HISTORY
It is believed that the Maasai's ancestors originated in North Africa, migrating south along the Nile Valley and arriving in Northern Kenya in the middle of the 15th century. They continued southward, conquering all of the tribes in their path, extending through the Rift Valley and arriving in Tanzania at the end of 19th century. As they migrated, they attacked their neighbors and raided cattle. By the end of their journey, the Maasai had taken over almost all of the land in the Rift Valley as well as the adjacent land from Mount Marsabit to Dodoma, where they settled to graze their cattle.
The Rift Valley, Kenya
However large they were in the past, most of the Maasai population was swept away after what we call the "Dry Spell". Indeed, at the turn of the century, following an epidemic of deadly diseases that killed the majority of their animals, a severe drought that lasted years quickly followed. Thus, over half of the Maasai and their animals perished during this period.
Soon after, more than two thirds of the Maasai's land in Kenya was taken away by the British and the Kenyan government to create both ranches for settlers and Kenya and Tanzania's wildlife reserves and national parks such as The Amboseli National Park, Nairobi National Park, Masai Mara Game Reserve, Samburu, Lake Nakuru, and TsavoNational Parks in Kenya and the Manyara, Ngorongoro, Tarangire and Serengeti parks in Tanzania. (Kenya guide)
Today, the Maasai people live on a smaller piece of land in the Kajiado and Narok districts, surrounded by these now Kenya's fine game reserves. Many practice nomadic pastoralism, while others have modern day jobs working in tourism where they showcase their culture to tourists.
LIFESTYLE
Maasai people live in houses made of mud, wood, cow-dung and grass. It is apparently stronger than concrete and it doesn't smell ( trusting my guide on this one) .
In the Maasai culture, houses are built by women or « THE MAMAS » as we call them ! Men don’t build the houses and Yes I know you are ready to shout DISCRIMINATION , GENDER INEQUALITY but wait a minute.. Getting rid of our western way of thinking, we need to understand that women building houses in the Maasai culture has roots in the belief that women are stronger. Moreover, the past circumstances put more light on this situation.
I was told that because of their nomadic lifestyle, Maasai people used to sleep outside. Seeing this situation, THE WOMEN wanted to help the family especially because they saw children suffering from dangerous animals bites, coldness, rain etc. Therefore they decided to build something that will protect these children. They weren't houses per say as the ones we see today but they were more shelters which with time came to look like the type of house we see nowadays. Later on, they also realized that people other than the children were suffering with the same conditions caused by sleeping outside so they decided to expand such kind of shelters and make them available to everyone . This is how it stayed in the tradition that women build the houses because they have the knowledge !! #Power, isn’t that great???
WHERE & HOW DO THEY LIVE?
Credits to John Atterton
So, generally, the houses have ONE room but TWO beds (traditionally), one for the mother and the children and one for the husband. In the Maasai Tribe, husbands and wives don't sleep on the same bed, except for "special occasions" or as my guide said " if there is no need, they sleep separately even when they don't have children". Those beds are made of cow skin and grass ! How simpler can life get? Furthermore, since Maasai practice polygamy, the more wives you have the more houses you will get since each wife has her own dwellings.
Finally, despite having only one room, they cook in the same house and keep water in HUGE calabash containers ( & trust me, THIS KEEPS WATER FRESSSSHHH). Maasai diet heavily relies on their cattle herd from which they get meat, milk and blood.
Traditionally, they were dressed in animal skins. Today, typical Maasai dress consists of red sheets (shuka) wrapped around the body and loads of beaded jewelry placed around the neck and arms. These are worn by both men and women and vary in color depending on the occasion.
Non-married girls wear only one or two necklaces, sometimes even none (if they go to school) and only wear one cloth. Married women wear two clothes and many necklaces.
The Maasai often walk barefooted or wear simple sandals made of cow hide.
Ear piercing and the stretching of earlobes are also part of Maasai beauty, and both men and women wear metal hoops on their stretched earlobes.
HOW DO THEY DRESS?
Credits to Team Cwbwb
It is also widely believed that beads have always been part of the Maasai culture and that they represent different things depending on the color, but this isn't true. In fact, although some colors have a general meaning for the Maasai people, colors do not have a meaning in the jewelry. Many Maasai tell this to people this to get their attention and to sound more interesting.
As a matter of fact, only about 30 years ago the Maasai traditionally used NATURE to make their jewelry (tree seeds, roots, stones etc.). These now used plastic/ glass beads were only introduced to them when the Chinese started making business in Africa.
Maasai just wear whatever they like and chose the color according to personal taste.
"I see it with my own eyes every day and I had a discussion with the nearly 100 year old grandmother of my husband who told me: No, the colors we put on us are purely up to personal taste." said Stephanie Fuchs (@Masai_story)
SOCIAL CLASSIFICATION EXPLAINED BY MAASAI MYTHS
The Maasai are a patriarchal society within which most decisions are made by the elders. Many researchers agree that one origin myth reveals much about present-day Maasai relations between the sexes. It holds that the Maasai descended from two equal and complementary tribes, one consisting strictly of females, and the other of males.
The women's tribe, the Moroyok, raised antelopes, including the eland, which the Maasai claim to have been the first species of cattle. Instead of cattle, sheep, and goats, the women had herds of gazelles. Zebras transported their goods during migrations, and elephants were their devoted friends, tearing down branches and bringing them to the women who used them to build homes and corrals. The elephants also swept the antelope corrals clean. However, while the women bickered and quarreled, their herds escaped. Even the elephants left them because they could not satisfy the women with their work.
According to the same myth, researchers Spear and Bentsen agree that the Morwak—the men's tribe—raised cattle, sheep, and goats. The men occasionally met women in the forest. The children from these unions would live with their mothers, but the boys would join their fathers when they grew up. When the women lost their herds, they went to live with the men, and, in doing so, gave up their freedom and their equal status. From that time, they depended on men, had to work for them, and were subject to their authority ( Kerubo). Though in position of weakness, we have an exception. The perfect example of this exception is Chief Mary Kahingo, the only female Maasai chief in all of Kenya
Chief Mary Kahingo, only female Maasai chief in all of Kenya
MEN LIFE STAGES (Kerubo 29-32)
As for men, their lives are generally organized around an age-set system. This system "incorporates males of approximately the same biological age for the purpose of advancing them up a series of distinct societal levels, each of which require them to perform certain duties and to follow certain behavioral norms." (Morton 81). Usually, your age determines which life stage you are at.
LAIYONI
These are the uncircumcised boys of the Maasai. Their duties entailed herding the goats daily: taking the animal to the waterholes, protecting the animal against thieves and predators and undertaking training from the old people. From the age of 8 years, they were given the responsibility of herding the cattle. They are not allowed to keep any engagements with girls and are fully subordinate to the authority of their fathers. This changes when they are circumcised at the age of between 10 and 18. They are then referred to as warriors or Morans.
MORAN (Konrianga)
This group is made of young warriors. Their duties are to protect the kraal (village) and their families against predators and raids. Morans have to commit to the soldier life for 14-15 years, after which they will be able to retire as senior warriors.
They are supposed to be constantly on the look out for fertile areas and it is up to them to organize the move to these new areas. They are allowed to take up relationships with girls who had not undergone clitoridectomy (circumcision) in Maasai language referred to as endito. They are also allowed to move freely attending distance ceremonies without the permission of the father. The Moran is allowed to marry and has the right to have several wives.
Once a year,they chose a time to move into the bush for up to three months to focus on eating meat, blood, traditional medicine to get strong and to prevent illnesses.
One becomes a warrior only after circumcision, and only warriors are allowed to wear long hair
Credits to Dietmar Temps
KING'ONDE
King’onde is the group of senior warriors. Their work is to help the Moran to protect the village and take care of project solution and problem solving. They are also god-fathers (ol-piron) to the Moran and keep them under control as they often provoked unintentional incidents in neighboring villages or with authorities. They are forbidden to take beer and, at certain times, meat. In the case of beer, it is because it is thought to reduce one's ability to carry out military duties These items are reserved for the elders.
MAKAA & SEURI
These are old gentlemen (junior elders). They look after the apprenticeships of the younger generation and are there as reliable contact when people have any questions; they are resource people to the young men behind them. They provide security to the families and look after the essential interests of the clan. They also maintained the preservation of the classes and more importantly the continuity of the Maasai culture
MESHUKI
This is the chiefs' group (senior elders). They remain in the kraal (village) and are considered to be wise contact persons by all women and boys. They have the right stay at home and rest. They are exempted from carrying out any physical duties. The Meshuki are actively involved in any decision-making and have the last word. They often own status symbols in the form of wildebeests‘ tails and wooden staffs (eng’udi). They are greeted by children and Morans with heads stooped as a sign of respect, and they then touch the person‘s head with their hands.
RITUALS/ RITES OF PASSAGE
MALE CIRCUMCISION
When circumcision is opened, males of this 'age' are eligible for recruiting into the forming age-sets. In all systems, recruitment by circumcision is carried on at relatively fixed periods of time, which are separated by 'closed' periods'. Among the Masai, the 'open' period lasts from 5 to 9 years, while the 'closed' period ranges from 2 to 6 years (Morton 83). Among the Masai the closed period is initiated when the ritual expert (oloiboni) places a curse on the circumcision knife, and the open period begins only when he removes it.
Maasai circumcise boys as young as 13 years old and circumcision is done by a specialist who is often from a different tribe. You recognize a circumcised male by the clothes he wears : a non-circumcised boy wears one clothe whereas a circumcised one wears two clothes.
Yet, getting circumcised is not all! ! During circumcision YOU CANNOT CRY !!! If you cry it means you let the community down and they will isolate you and you can be chased out of your community !!!!!
Therefore, circumcision appears to be more a ritual of courage than anything else.
FEMALE CIRCUMCISION
Unlike Male circumcision, female circumcision doesn’t really have a meaning not does it represent a proof of courage to the community. For Maasai, female circumcision is another life ritual that marks the transition from girlhood to womanhood. They also practice female circumcision is to reduce these girls' sexual desire. Indeed, given that they are a nomadic tribe, it happens that they leave the women by themselves for a while. Therefore, so that ladies don't sleep with other men , they do such.. Another reason for such practice is cleanliness. For them, someone who isn’t circumcised isn’t clean.
DISCLAIMER : In many Maasai communities, Female circumcision is no longer practiced for various reasons (e.g. government prohibition). Thus, girls undergo an alternative right of passage ceremony. Although, the ritual passage is still called circumcision because it is ingrained and important to their culture, girls are no longer cut.
Circumcised' women get married and once women get married they start wearing lots of necklaces, all sorts of different colours
"ZE" WARRIOR DREAM
The warrior is of great importance as a source of pride in the Maasai culture. To be a Maasai is to be born into one of the world's last great warrior cultures. From boyhood to adulthood, young Maasai boys begin to learn the responsibilities of being a man and a warrior.
An elaborate ceremony - Eunoto - is usually performed to "graduate" the young man from their moran and carefree lifestyle to that of a warrior. Beginning life as a warrior means a young man can now settle down and start a family, acquire cattle and become a responsible elder. In his late years, the middle-aged warrior will be elevated to a senior and more responsible elder during the Olng'eshere ceremony. (Travel Kenya)
Credits to @Sirfriedwill
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