Maasai Tribe

Maasai Tribe
Kenya, 2008

Overview
The Masai are an indigenous African ethnic group of semi-nomadic people who live in Kenya and northern Tanzania. It is estimated that 350, 000 Maasai people live in Kenya. The Maasai make up about 0.7% of both Kenya's and of Tanzania’s population respectively.
Maasai speak Kimaasai or Maa, a Nilotic or Nilo-Saharan group of languages spoken in parts of the Nile valley. They are tall, elegant, muscular and extremely beautiful people.

Although the Maasai have managed to preserve most of their traditions and culture throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, they are currently faced with great challenges, such as droughts and health problems. As with other rural communities in Africa, the Maasai people suffer from common diseases and illnesses such as, malnutrition among children, respiratory infections, malaria, typhoid fever and other serious diseases including HIV/Aids and Tuberculosis.

The Masai have retained their traditional lifestyles -- living as their ancestors have been doing for thousands of years. The men protect the villages and cattle, and their wealth is measured in terms of the number of cattle (50 cattle is considered respectable) and children they have (the more children the better). The women build the houses, give birth, care for children, cook and maintain the households.

The Samburu tribe is the closest to Maasai in both language and authenticity of culture.

History of the Maasai tribe
Maasai ancestors are thought to have 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 the tribes in their path extending through the Rift Valley and arriving into Tanzania at the end of 19th century. As they migrated, they attacked their neighbors and raided cattle along the way. At the end, they had taken over almost all the land in the Rift Valley and adjacent land from Mt. Marsabit to Dodoma, where they settled to graze their cattle.

At the turn of the century, an epidemic of killer diseases struck and killed large herds of Maasai animals. This was shortly followed by severe drought. Over half of the Maasai and their animals perished during this period. Soon after, more than two thirds of the Maasai land in Kenya was taken by the British and Kenyan Government. They used the land to create settler ranches, wildlife reserves and national parks in both Kenya and part of Tanzania.

The Amboseli, Nairobi National Park, Masai Mara, Samburu, Lake Nakuru, Tsavo in Kenya and the Manyara, Ngorongoro, Tarangire and Serengeti in Tanzania all stand on what was once the territory of the Maasai tribe in the Kajiado and Narok Districts surrounded by the game reserves of Kenya.

They practice nomadic pastoralism (raising and living on the milk and meat from their livestock) while others have been absorbed into modern day jobs. Some Maasai now earn an income from the tourist industry (selling beads and craft-work, dancing).

The Maasai have always lived alongside the wild animals in the region and have an aversion to eating game and birds. Maasai society never condoned traffic of human beings. Outsiders looking for people to enslave avoided the Maasai.

Masai Law
The Maasai society is strongly patriarchal in nature with elder men deciding most major matters for each Maasai group. A full body of oral law covers many aspects of behavior. Formal execution is unknown, and typically, cattle are used as payment to settle matters. An out of court process called amitu (to make peace) or arop (substantial apology) is also practiced.

Faith & Religion
The Maasai are monotheistic (believe only one God exists). Their God “Enkai” or “Engai” is a single entity manifested in two forms--the Black God who is benevolent and the Red God who is vengeful. Engai is neither male nor female. Today many of the Maasai tribes-people are Christians with some practicing the Muslim faith.
The "Mountain of God,” or “Ol doinyo Lengai” in Maa, is a volcano located in the north of Tanzania. The spiritual leader in the Maasai religious system is the Laibon. The Laibon’s main functions are shamanistic healing, divination, prophecy, insuring success in war and adequate rainfall. The Maasai believe that the Laibon bridges the gap between man and God.

Death
The end of life for a Maasai is virtually without ceremony, and the dead are left out for scavengers (typically hyenas—see photo at right). Burial is reserved for great chiefs because the Maasai believe that burial is harmful to the soil.
The 2003 Demographic and Health Survey showed that, on average, one child under the age of five was dying every five minutes in Kenya. About one third of the almost 300 children who died every day were lost within the first month of life, which is why the Maasai wait until after the “third moon” to announce the birth of a child.

Other primary causes of child deaths are diseases such as malaria, diarrhea and respiratory infections, which are largely preventable or easily treated.

Society
The Maasai people are very independent and their society revolves around each generation of men becoming warriors. Their customs are very specific, and involve many "coming of age" rituals, that include both men and women.

The Maasai are polygamous by necessity--a long standing and practical adaptation to high infant and warrior mortality rates. A warrior may take more than one wife, providing he has the wealth (cattle) to support them.

Polyandry (simultaneous marriages to multiple husbands within the same age set) is also practiced by Maasai women.

In Maasai tradition, males and females circumcised on the same day are “age-mates and are expected to form a very close bond. When a male visits a married age-mate, the host is expected to leave his house and provide total access to the visitor, leaving his wife to provide food, drink and a place to sleep.

The woman decides strictly on her own if she will join the visiting male. However, married girls believe that they will be cursed if they do not have sex with age-mate visitors.

Any child conceived during these interactions is considered the husband's child and is his descendant in the patrilineal (tracing decent through males) order of Maasai society.

If a Maasai wife is grossly mistreated, "Kitala," a kind of divorce or refuge, is possible in the house of a wife's father. If Kitala takes place, repayment of the bride price, custody of children, etc, are mutually agreed upon.

Morans
The central unit of Maasai society is the age-set where various life stages such as circumcision are marked with rituals and ceremonies. Every 15 years or so, a new and individually named generation of Morans or Il-murran (warriors) are initiated. This involves most boys between 12 and 25, who have reached puberty and are not part of the previous age-set.

An elaborate ceremony is usually performed for a young man to become a warrior. Beginning life as a warrior means that men can settle down, start a family, acquire cattle and become a responsible elder.

The stages between boyhood and becoming tribal elders include young boys, junior warriors, senior warriors, junior elders and senior elders. Through rituals and ceremonies, including emorata (circumcision), Masai boys are guided and mentored by their fathers and other elders on how to become a warrior.

The role of a warrior is to protect their livestock from human and animal predators, build kraals (Maasai home) and to provide security to their families. In their later years, middle-age warriors are raised to a senior elder rank.

Taking 3-4 months to heal, the painful circumcision ceremony (emorata)--which marks the passage from boyhood to junior warrior--is performed without anesthetic. The boy must endure the operation in silence because expressing pain will bring dishonor to his family. They must wear black clothes for a period of 4-8 months following the emorata.

Women
Female circumcision or “female genital mutilation (FGM),” is the traditional practice of initiating girls into womanhood. It is one of the most strongly held Maasai tribal customs and is revered by both men and women.

Even though female circumcision is outlawed in Kenya, it is still performed secretly on very young Maasai girls. To avoid consequences of the law, circumcision is done when girls are young (typically nine years old) and the celebration is done when she is between 13 and 16 years old.

The common practice of female circumcision is regarded as an important aspect of cultural identity and essential to facilitating girls’ social and spiritual transition into womanhood. Girls feel that they will not be regarded as a woman until they are circumcised—men feel the same.

A Maasai warrior is traditionally not allowed to marry an uncircumcised woman. It is estimated that female circumcision among the Maasai is as high as 99%.

This practice creates a clear risk of HIV due to cross-transmission during the cutting ceremonies--when the same razor blade is used to circumcise different girls. Since this initiation defines a girl as an “adult,” it also contributes to early marriage.

Early betrothal and marriage is another cultural practice contributing to girls’ increasing vulnerability to HIV. The arrangement includes a bride price paid by the groom to the girl’s family and may occur when a girl is very young. It may take place long before the actual marriage.

The practice undermines the girl’s capacity to determine her own partner and limits her access to education, thus excluding her from the empowerment that education can facilitate, as well as important HIV prevention messages.

Nevertheless, the outside world is slowly influencing the Maasai way of life, with more girls and boys being enrolled in formal education institutions and learning about the risks associated with FGM. Many believe that the eradication of FGM would have the consequence of forever altering the traditions of what is one of the few remaining authentic African societies.

Therefore, some feel that the Maasai culture should be protected at all costs. The challenge anti-FGM campaigners’ face is how to change this one harmful aspect of Maasai tradition without tainting the authenticity, or undermining the richness, of their culture.

A woman is by birth a member of her father’s family line and cannot own land or cattle. Women are considered minors in the Maasai society and are always represented by their father or husband.

If a married Maasai woman bears no sons, she will be scorned by the tribe and will have no possessions, money and no one to care for her when she becomes old.

Music and Dance
Through their jumping dances and songs, the Maasai warriors show their strength. Maasai music traditionally consists of rhythms provided by a chorus of vocalists singing harmonies while a song leader sings the melody.

The leader begins by singing a line or title of a song. T

he group will respond with one unanimous call in acknowledgment, and the leader will then sing a verse over the group's rhythmic throat singing.

This structure of singing is called “call-and-response.”

Neck movements accompany the singing—the head is leaned forward when breathing out and is then tilted back for an inward breath.

Education
Due to the Maasai focus on pastoral land-use, the lack of a formal education did not cause them difficulty in the past. However, now that the Maasai have lost most of their grazing land to the national park system they must consider other alternatives--all of which require some kind of formal education

The language of the Maasai community is Kimaasai (Maa). However, classes in school are conducted in Kiswahili (Swahili language) and English which makes the first year of school very difficult for Maasai children.

As a result, many of the children have difficulty following the lessons in primary school. Because of this the children sometimes feel demoralized and either run-away from school or have poor attendance and performance.

Statistics show that about 90% of the Maasai people are illiterate. Most schools are very primitive e.g., there is no electricity or clean safe water. The Maasai families build the classrooms from mud, elephant dung and straw bricks (see photo above) unless the tribe is fortunate enough to have money donated to fund a classroom or school.

The Maasai women have traditionally not been given an opportunity to attend school. Their roles are mainly child rearing and performing household chores, such as getting water (see photo at right). Some Maasai have to travel several miles to find water and then carry it back to their hut.

The Maasai prefer to admit boys to school because they are used to sending girls to the husband in exchange for dowry. The husband is often twice or even triple the age of his wife, leaving her in a weak position to demand or suggest safe sex, and further contributing to the biological vulnerability of her age.

One of the most negative outcomes of these cultural practices is the denial of education for girls, whether forcing them to drop out early or forego attendance altogether. Despite the undeniable evidence that educating girls is a major key to reducing their vulnerability to HIV, many Maasai parents fail to see the need.

Several non-government organizations (NGOs) are currently working with Maasai women to help compensate for their lack of education. The NGOs are bringing in volunteers to work with the Maasai women to teach them skills, such as jewelry making, making paper from elephant dung (as shown in these photos) and other skills by which they can provide an income for their families.

Providing women with these skill sets also helps improve their self-image and helps them feel more empowered.

Many of the tourist lodges located near the Maasai villages (examples: Sabuk, Elephant Watch) donate a portion of each guests room charge to the Maasai to help with providing education for the Maasai women.

Maasai home
The Maasai tribe has a deep, almost sacred relationship with cattle and therefore leads a semi-nomadic life following patterns of rainfall over vast land in search of food and water for their large herds of cattle. Due to this nomadic lifestyle, their houses are loosely constructed and semi-permanent. They are usually small, circular houses built by women using branches, twigs and grass with a cement of cow dung and urine.

The men build the fences and sheds for the animals. The Maasai community (called manyattas) typically consists of approximately ten houses or “kraals” surrounded by a thorn fence to keep out predators and enemies.

There are separate huts for the father, each wife and her young children and for the Morans (young warriors).

Clothing & beauty
The Maasai are tall and elegant with muscular features. Both men and women dress in sheets called shukas that are wrapped around their bodies. The shukas are typically red, though some other colors such as blue, pink stripe or plaid may be worn on special occasions.

One piece garments known as kanga, a Swahili term, are also common.

Bead working, done by women, has a long history among the Maasai, who articulate their identity and position in society through body ornaments and body painting.

This bead work plays an essential part in the ornamentation of their body.

Although there are variations in the meaning of the colors of the beads, some general meanings for a few colors are-- white for peace, blue for water and red for warrior/blood/bravery.

Both men and women wear a great deal of beaded jewelry around their neck and arms. Ear piercing and stretching earlobes are part of Maasai beauty--both men and women wear metal hoops on their stretched earlobes.

Women wear various forms of beaded ornaments in both the ear lobes, and smaller piercings at the top of the ear.

The men sometimes cover their braided hair with a fatty ochre paste and may wear an elaborate head-dress during some ceremonies.

The women generally shave their heads and remove two middle teeth on the lower jaw (see photo at left). Head-shaving is a significant feature of some rituals for both for men and women.

Maasai go barefoot or wear simple sandals--which were until recently made from cowhides. They are now soled with tire strips or plastic.

Maasai Food
Traditionally, the Maasai diet consisted of meat, milk, and blood from cattle. Meat, although an important food, is consumed irregularly and cannot be classified as a staple food. Animal fat or butter is used in cooking--primarily porridge, maize, and beans. Butter is also an important infant food.

Soups are the most important use of plants for food by Maasai. Although consumed as snacks, fruits constitute a major part of the food eaten by the Maasai while gathering food/water and tending the animals.

The mixing of cattle blood, obtained by nicking the jugular vein and milk is done to prepare a ritual drink for special celebrations and as nourishment for the sick. However, the inclusion of blood in the traditional diet is waning due to the reduction in the number of livestock.

More recently, the Maasai have grown dependent on food produced in other areas such as maize meal, rice, potatoes, cabbage etc. The Maasai who live near crop farmers have engaged in cultivation as their primary mode of subsistence because the plot sizes they own are generally not large enough to accommodate herds of animals.

Health Issues
Among Kenyan Masai, HIV prevalence is estimated at 2.5%, about half of the national average, according to the Baltimore the Sun. However, the risk of HIV is increasing among Masai communities because of their polygamous practices.

In addition, due to the lack of formal education a high percentage of Masai have a low awareness of how to prevent transmission of the HIV/AIDS virus.

Masai men are beginning to travel to urban areas for work, having sex with non-Masai women and then transmitting the virus when they return to their communities.

HIV/AIDS remains a challenge in Kenya. Less than half of the population has access to safe drinking water making the lack of clean, accessible water one of the most pressing issues for the Maasai.

Droughts and floods have continued to worsen the well-being and livelihood of the Maasai. Malnutrition remains a key underlying factor in more than 55 per cent of all child deaths. About one third of Kenyan children under-five are chronically malnourished.

The International Red Cross/Red Crescent Societies and other NGO’s are actively working with the Maasai to overcome these health challenges.

The Maasai tribe today
The Maasai are a proud, intelligent and independent people who have survived despite the loss of their grazing land and their loss of freedom to roam throughout the country. They have fought very hard to maintain their cultural traditions and pastoralist lifestyle

However, the Maasai people, especially the younger ones, are being influenced by modern schools and city developments. Strict law enforcement has reduced the warrior's role in tribal fighting and cattle-raiding and has taken power from the elders.

Today the Masai people live on land in Kajiado and Narok Districts surrounded by the game reserves of Kenya. While some still raise livestock and live off the land, others have been absorbed into modern day jobs. Some Maasai now earn an income from the tourist industry (selling beads and craft-work, parading and dancing).