The second part of our first adventure took us from the Rift Valley in northern Kenya to the Masai Mara National Reserve in southern Kenya. Masai Mara National Reserve, named for the Maasai people who inhabit the area, and for the Mara River, which flows through this great reserve. It shares a border with Tanzania's Serengeti.  After spending time in Kenya we flew to Tanzania and visited the Serengeti West area of northern Tanzania which is also inhabited by the Maasai.

 

ORIGIN:  The Maasai originate from the Nilotes, a group of people who came originally from southern Sudan and migrated and settled along the Rift Valley in Kenya and parts of Tanzania around 17th century. They speak a language called the Maa which contains several different dialects shared amongst other tribes like the Samburu and the Camus. They are warriors and herdsmen and are easily recognized by their way of dressing and their herds of cattle, which play an important part in their everyday lives.

 

CULTURE AND LANGUAGE:  Traditional Maasai lifestyle centers around their cattle which constitutes the primary source of food. The measure of a man's wealth is in terms of cattle and children. A herd of 50 cattle is respectable, and the more children the better. A man who has plenty of one but not the other is considered to be poor. Elders generally decide they need a new group of warriors every 6-10 years at which point (perhaps over a couple of years) all suitably aged boys are circumcised. This age-related group of warriors (Morani) live together in a Manyatta for anything from 8-12 years or more, learning and developing their survival skills (as juniors) and performing other warrior duties. In the past a Moran could be expected to prove his manhood by killing a lion armed with nothing more than a spear - but this process is no longer allowed under protective government animal legislation. The warrior's job is to protect his village and cattle from predators and other tribes, to take cattle grazing and search for new pastures.

 

RELIGION:  The Maasai believe in one God, whom they call Ngai, the creator of everything. In the beginning, Ngai (which also means sky) was one with the earth, and owned all the cattle that lived on it. But one day the earth and sky separated, so that Ngai was no longer among men. The cattle, though, needed the material sustenance of grass from the earth, so to prevent them dying Ngai sent down the cattle to the Maasai by means of the aerial roots of the sacred wild fig tree, and told them to look after them. Cattle are the gift of God to man, and thus symbolize and substantiate the qualities of God. In the same way, the meat-eating and milk-drinking rituals are sacramental meals, due to the fact that they symbolize the unity of God, and man, through cattle. Therefore, at birth, circumcision, marriage and all the great age-set ceremonies livestock is ritually killed, and the meat (blessed by elders) publically consumed.I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It’s easy. Just click “Edit Text” or double click me to add your own content and make changes to the font. Feel free to drag and drop me anywhere you like on your page. I’m a great place for you to tell a story and let your users know a little more about you.

 

MARRIAGE:  Polygamous marriages account for a significantly high portion of most Maasai marriages. The Maasai of Kenya grow up with children of their own age and normally form relationships with these people. However, in marriage women are given to a man they do not know who is much older then themselves. The bride packs all her belongings and is dressed in her finest jewelry. At the marriage ceremony the father of the bride spits on the brides head and breasts as a blessing and then she leaves with her husband walking to her new home she never looks back fearing that she will turn to stone.

 

CLOTHING AND ADORNMENTS:  Head shaving is common at many rites of passage, representing the fresh start that will be made as one passes from one to another of life's chapters. Warriors are the only members of the Maasai community to wear long hair, which they weave in thinly braided strands. The Maasai have a simple yet distinctive appearance with ochre-covered warriors proudly holding their spear and wearing their bright blood-red shoulder cloak (shuka) and the women wearing bangles and strings of coloured beads around their neck (both sexes wear earrings, taking pride in stretching large holes in their ear lobes). The men sometimes cover their braided hair with a fatty ochre paste and may wear an elaborate head-dress, perhaps of a lion mane or eagle/ostrich feathers, during some ceremonies; the women generally have shaved heads (head-shaving is a significant feature of some rituals, both for men and women). Clothing varies by age, sex, and place. Young men, for instance, wear black for several months following their circumcision. However, red is a favored color. Blue, black, striped, and checkered cloth are also worn, as are multicolored African designs. The Maasai began to replace animal-skin, calf hides and sheep skin, with commercial cotton cloth in the 1960s.

 

HOUSES:  Maasai families live in an Enkang (a form of enclosure) formed by a thick round 'fence' of sharp thorn bushes; this protects the tribe and their cattle, especially at night, from rival tribes and other predators. The Enkang may contain 10-20 small squat huts made from branches pasted with fresh cow-dung (by the women) which bakes hard under the hot sun. Maasai huts are very small, with perhaps two 'rooms' and not enough height for these tall people to stand upright or lie fully stretched. They are also very dark with a small door-way and tiny hole in the roof. The hole in the roof serves two purposes; it lets a little light into the hut but just as importantly it lets some smoke escape from the smouldering (cow-dung) fire which is kept alight for warmth and cooking - and perhaps to smoke off unwanted insects.

 

 

 

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