Maasai Culture
The Maasai are a Nilotic ethnic group of semi-nomadic people inhabiting southern Kenya and northern Tanzania. They are among the best known local populations due to their residence near the many game parks of the African Great Lakes, and their distinctive customs and dress. The Maasai speak Maa, a member of the Nilo-Saharan language family that is related to Dinka and Nuer. They are also educated in the official languages of Kenya and Tanzania, Swahili and English. The Maasai population has been reported as numbering 841,622 in Kenya in the 2009 census, compared to 377,089 in the 1989 census.
The Maasai People have a reputation of being fierce warriors. Warrior-hood prepares the young males to be responsible people both for themselves and for their community. Known for their bravery and courage, typically the Maasai warriors are never seen without their sharply honed spears. They protect the homestead, maintain water sources for the community, and protect the livestock from wild animals and theft. It is true that when they surrounded a marauding lion, they crossed on it and speared it to death. Their nomadic way of life led to no attachments to possessions, and togetherness banded by the age sets of those who underwent circumcision ritual together. When a young man reaches junior adulthood he has the freedom to have sex with the wives of other elders, his comrades, if he so wishes. Likewise, a Maasai woman belongs to the entire age-set and sexual jealousy does not exist.
Economic activities among the Maasai society:
Livestock such as cattle, goats and sheep are the primary source of income for the Maasai. Livestock serves as a social utility and plays an important role in the Maasai economy. Livestock are traded for other livestock, cash or livestock products such as milk and siege. Individual, families, and clans established close ties through giving or exchange of cattle. “Meishoo iyiook enkai inkishu o-nkera”- so goes a Maasai prayer. The English translation of this praye is: “May Creator give us cattle and children. Cattle and children are the most important aspect of the Maasai people.
The Maasai economy is increasingly dependent on the market economy. Livestock products are sold to other groups in Kenya for the purchase of beads, clothing and grains. Cows and goats are also sold for uniform and school fees for children. It is now common to see young Maasai men and women in major towns and cities of Kenya selling, not just goats and cows, but also beads, cell phones, chacoal, grain among other items. The entrepreneurial spirit is something new in our society.
As the main economic activity among the Maasai community is livestock keeping. The Maasai keep zebu as their primary cattle. They also farm cows, sheep and goats, and occasionally chickens. Because of the wet and dry seasons, as opposed to summer and winter, men often have to graze their herds far from their settlements to find water and vegetation.
The cattle eat from the sparse vegetation in the area, whilst the people eat rice, dairy products, beans and ugali- a maize-based product. The Maasai do not eat their animals except on special occasions, they only trade them for crops, as they do not grow crops themselves.
However, the Maasai drink the blood of their animals to get important nutrients for their bodies, although they are careful not to kill the cattle, as their wealth is measured in the number of animals they keep.
People and the cattle get their water from the same sources – waterholes, wells and other natural sources such as rivers although do not drink from the ‘soda lakes’ which are polluted by volcanic ash.
To find enough vegetation, and in order to profit from the relief rain in the high mountain ranges of Tanzania, the Maasai move their cattle to higher terrain – mostly above 2000 meters – throughout the dry season. In the wet season, they then return to sub 2000 meters, as there is enough water to go around. They also have to move around a lot, as it takes the vegetation longer to recover with the dry, hot climate.
There are many ceremonies in Maasai society including Enkipaata (senior boy ceremony), Emuratta (circumcision), Enkiama (marriage), Eunoto (warrior-shaving ceremony), Eokoto e-kule (milk-drinking ceremony), Enkang oo-nkiri (meat-eating ceremony), Orngesherr (junior elder ceremony), etc. Also, there are ceremonies for boys and girls minor including, Eudoto/Enkigerunoto oo-inkiyiaa (earlobe), and Ilkipirat (leg fire marks). Traditionally, boys and girls must undergo through these initiations for minors prior to circumcision. However, many of these initiations concern men while women’s initiations focus on circumcision and marriage. Men will form age-sets moving them closer to adulthood.
Women do not have their own age-set but are recognized by that of their husbands. Ceremonies are an expression of Maasai culture and self-determination. Every ceremony is a new life. They are rites of passage, and every Maasai child is eager to go through these vital stages of life. Following is where a boy’s life begin in the Maasai society.
Enkipaata
The first boy’s initiation is Enkipaata (pre-circumcision ceremony), and is organized by fathers of the new age set. Enkipaata can only happen, when the senior warriors are settled.
A delegation of boys, aged 14 to 16 years of age, would travel across their section land for about four months announcing the formation of their new age-set. The boys are accompanied by a group of elders spearheading the formation of a new age-set.
A collection of 30-40 houses are built for the initiating boys. The houses are located in one large kraal chosen by the Oloiboni (prophet). This is where all boys across the region will be united and initiated. Before the ceremony, the Olopolosi olkiteng, chief of the boys, must be chosen. Olopolosi olkiteng is a position not desired by anyone because it is considered unfortunate. The new chief is to shoulder all of his age group’s sins. The day before the ceremony, boys must sleep outside in the forest. When early dawn approaches, they run to the homestead and enter with an attitude of a raider. During the ceremony, boys dress in loose clothing and dance non-stop throughout the day. This ceremony is the transition into a new age set. After enkipaata ceremony, boys are ready for the most important initiation known as Emuratare (circumcision).
Circumcision ceremony is the most vital initiation of all rite of passages in the Maasai society. Both men and women of the Maasai society are traditionally eager to undergo through circumcision. This initiation is performed shortly after puberty.
It is important to note that with the rising challenges of the 21st century in the Maasai society, many young Maasai women no longer undergo through circumcision.
Community leadership
The community has its own way of organization whereby the elder men are at the top of the hierarchy, then elder women, morans and finally the girls. Passage from one age set from the moran to young adult is marked by slaughtering of a cow as an offering to the Gods.
They have a ‘council of elders”, which makes decisions as to which tribe will graze where and when, to avoid over-grazing and the destruction of the land.
Maasai women are in charge of taking care of the entire home which includes milking cows, fetching water and firewood, preparing food for the entire family, repairing their homes, milking the cows and tending their small children. Children are taught to respect their elders, and they quickly learn the ways of Maasai family life. Young girls are taught to care for domestic duties and boys are instructed in the care and protection of livestock.
Parents pass on to their children knowledge of traditional medicines and instruct them about Maasai rituals and traditions that touch every aspect of Maasai life. Youths learn the customs and ceremonies that will mark their passage from childhood to adulthood learning rituals that deal with sickness, bad fortune, marriage, and death.
Homestead
Maasai homes are traditionally built by the women, constructed of branches woven together with grass and smeared with cow dung on the walls.
The homes are built in a large circle that serves to protect an inner kraal, where the cattle and goats lay for the night. The entire perimeter is fenced with sharp, thorny branches that protect both the Maasai and their cattle from marauding hyenas, leopards, and lions.
Dressing
Their dress is wonderfully colorful. Women commonly adorn themselves with great circular plate-like beaded collars and headbands of many colors. Arms and ankles may be wound tightly with thick strands of copper coils. Both men and women often elongate their ear lobes by fashioning them with heavy earrings and beaded ornaments. Ocher, a red mineral ground to a fine powder, is frequently mixed with cow fat and artfully applied to the body.
Maasai background and their traditional beliefs
The Maasai live in the vast open spaces of East Africa’s Great Rift Valley. Located in the countries of Kenya and Tanzania, their lifestyle reflects the harsh environment in which they live, with unpredictable rainfall and difficult agricultural conditions. The community has been one of the symbols of Tanzania. They are the famous colorful people who have managed to hold on to their traditional way of life till present time. Together with Samburu (Kenya), the Maasai are members of the Nilotic tribal group, both of them cattle herders.
They came from Sudan and occupied the central Kenya and extended to Northern East part of Tanzania, best parts for their huge cattle herds. These herds have been their measure of wealth which usually accumulates to adverse economic consequences. The bigger the herd size, the richer the owner is. They have been living side by side with wildlife and sharing pastures.
For centuries they have continued to believe that all the cattle in the world belong to them and were given to them by Enkai, the God. This belief stems from the legend that in the beginning God had three sons and that to each he gave one gift. The first son received an arrow for hunting, the second received a hoe for cultivating, and the third son received a stick for herding cattle. This last son, it is said, became the father of the Maasai nation. A fact that has been a source of trouble with other neighboring communities by generating inter-tribal conflicts. The young Maasai morans (warrior) job is to protect the cattle of their fathers and to capture those of other communities, because in their folklore God gave them all the cattle.
In the Maasai community, the size of a man’s herd and the number of his children determine his status and importance. The very survival of the Maasai depends upon the health and strength of their herds. Family members bond emotionally with their cattle. Cattle are often branded and marked with long curving lines and intricate patterns that are designed to enhance the animal’s beauty. Songs are sung describing physical beauty of certain herd and affection for them.
Large curved-horned bulls are specially prized, and a young calf is tenderly cared for and fussed over as though it were a newborn child. Rarely do the Maasai slaughter their cattle for food instead sheep and goats are commonly kept for eating. When one of the cattle is killed, every part of the animal is utilized. Horns are used for containers; hooves and bones are fashioned into ornaments; and hides are cured for shoes, clothing, bed coverings, and ropes.