1. Maasai
By D’kota Barrios

2. LOCATION Kenya and Northern Tanzania Along the Great Rift Valley
Migrated from Nile Valley Region in 1500’s
Residence near many game parks of East Africa

3. LITERATURE Language: Maa
Maa is a member of the Nilo-Saharan language family
Related to Dink and Nuer
All are educated in Swahili and English
Very few learn how to read, for education is secondary to cultural duties

5. HISTORY
In the 1800’s, their population was devistated due to years of drought and small pox epidemic.
In 1911, Maasai lands in Kenya were reduced by 60% when the British evicted them to make more room for settler ranches.
This confined the Maasai to present day Kajiado and Narok districts.
Maasai lands were further enclosed for the creation of game parks.

6. HISTORY continued
After their population was devastated, the Kenyan government took 2/3 of their land.
After independence, Tanzania implemented a socialist policy of villagization in Maasai areas.
This meant that people were physically resettled into boma’s, a circular cluster of homes.
In 1976, the government officially resettled the Maasai in Monduli and gave them a maximum of 3 acres of land to each for farming.

8. CLIMATE East Africa’s climate averages 70-90 degrees.
December-March are the warm/dry months
April-May produce the most rain
June-September are the cooler months

9. RESOURCES Use rocks and sticks as tools
Use cattle dung as cement for the homes
Use wooden, hand made spears for hunting
Use animal bones for tools and accessories such as earings

10. ECONOMIC LIFESTYLE Indigenous pastoral society
Raising their cattle is the most important thing to their society
Live in desert areas
Native

11. DECLINE STATUS
Much of their land has been taken by the Kenyan government
Small pox wiped out a lot of their population
As well as drought
Only 400,000 Maasai left

12. MIGRATION
They migrated from the Nile Valley region to The Great Rift Valley in Kenya
They owned a lot of land until the government kicked them out
They follow wherever the cattle migrate to

13. GOVERNMENT The elders make up the rules “court of elders”
Killing is legal, no punishment
In the morning, everybody in the village meets up and the elders tell everybody the schedule for the day
The elders assign jobs and decide who will marry who

14. CLOTHING Red is their favorite color to wear
Blue, black, striped, and checkered cloth are often worn
They used to use animal hide as clothing, but replaced that with cloth
SHUKA is the word for sheets wrapped around the body.
Shuka’s are usually red
They wear sandals made of cow hide, but more often are bare foot
Shuka’s are usually dressed with beaded earrings

16. MUSIC
Consists of a vocalist singing harmonies while a leader sings melodies
Women chant lullabies and hum songs to their sons
Singing and dancing in Maasai culture is viewed as an act of flirting
They use instruments such as drums and horns

18. ART Women wear many forms of beaded ornaments in their earlobes
Thorns, twigs, stones, and tusks are used as piercings
Women spend lots of time beading jewelry for friends and family

19. CUSTOMS
Marriages are arranged by the elders without consulting the bride or her family
Polygyny is an ideal
Most women marry older men
They can only marry one time
Patriarchal; father’s control is absolute
On the day of a wedding, the bride is alocated a herd of cattle
When the parents die, the oldest son inherits the residue of fathers cattle

20. CUSTOMS continued
Boys are trained to be warriors by father, uncles, and older brothers
A girls childhood is usually dominated by a strict avoidance, even fear, of her father

21. RELIGION Ngai means God (also sky) Ngai is not male nor female
Ngai is the creator of everything and owned all the cattle that Maasai have
Ngai sent the Maasai their cattle
When sun shines, they believe it is Ngai

22. EDUCATION
Maasai boys are forced to choose between secondary school and cultural education (becoming a warrior)
Girls are not allowed to attend school; they spend their time learning their household duties
Most young boys choose to become a warrior than go to school

23. RELATIONSHIPS
Girls get married at young age, usually a few days after they hit puberty
Girls are always married to older men who usually have other wives
Father has all control
Maasai society is organized around age-sets.
5 Boy sets: boys, warriors (morans), junior elders, senior elders, elders.
3 Girl sets: girl (ndito), woman (yeyo), koko, (grandmother).

24. RELATIONSHIPS continued
After a girl goes through puberty she becomes a woman
After a woman has 4 healthy babies, she becomes a koko
Most married women become widows because her husband was so much older than she

25. CULTURE The Maasai occupy a total of 160,000 square kilometers of land
Maasai society is comprised of 16 sections
They are a Nilotic ethnic group which means they are inhabitants of the Nile region
They are semi-nomadic which means they move usually following the route of the cattle
Women are circumsized right after puberty and right before marriage

27. Maasai Today
Are famous for their fearsome reputation as warriors and cattle-rustlers
Tourists can actually take a safari tour through parts of their village