
Discover the Maasai community of East Africa
Discover the Maasai community of East Africa : The Maasai people are always referred to as Wamasai in the swahili language are the Nilotic ethnic group inhabiting Northern ,Central and Southern Kenya and Northern Tanzania. They are known worldwide due to the residence near the many game parks of the African Great Lakes and their distinctive customs and their dressing mode. The Maasai speak the Maa language a member of the Nilotic language that is related to Dinka, Kalenjin and Nuer languages. The Maasai speak the official languages of Kenya and Tanzania, swahili and English except the elders living in the rural areas. The Maasai tribe both in Tanzania and Kenya welcome visitors to their villages to experience their culture, traditions and lifestyle in return for a fee.
The Maasai are the inhabitants of the African Great Lakes region and their migration point being South Sudan. Most Nilotic speakers within the region are the Maasai, the Turkana and the Kalenjin. They are known to be pastoralist and known for their fearsome reputation as warriors and cattle rustlers.
The Maasai territory reached its maximum during the 19th century, they had covered almost the whole of Great Rift Valley and its adjacent lands from Mount Marsabit in the North to Dodoma in the South . The Maasai and the larger Nilotic group raised cattle as far as Tanga coast in then Tanganyika now Tanzania. The Maasai used spears and shields but were most feared for their club throwing skills which they could accurately throwing up to 70 paces approximately 100metres. Most Maasai in Tanzania were displaced from the fertile lands between Mount Meru and Mount Kilimanjaro and the fertile highlands near Ngorongoro in the 1940s. In East Africa more land was taken to give way to wildlife reserves and National parks in Amboseli National park, Nairobi National Park, Maasai Mara National Reserve, Samburu National Reserve, Lake Nakuru National park and Tsavo National parks in Kenya. Lake Manyara ,Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tarangire National Park and Serengeti National park in Tanzania.
The Maasai are pastoralist and have always resisted the urging of both the Tanzanian and Kenyan governments to adopt the sedimentary lifestyle. They have always pushed and demanded for grazing rights I’m many of the National parks in both countries. They are also known for their strong stand and have always stood firm again slavery and never entertained traffic of human beings and outsiders who were looking for people to enslave avoided the Maasai.
There are twenty two sub-tribes of the Maasai community with each one having its appearance, customs, leadership and dialects. The subdivisions are known as nations in the Maa language: the Keekonyokie, Ildamat, Purko, Wuasinkishu, Siria, Laitayiok, Loitai, Liaison, Matapato, Dalalekutuk, Ilooldokilani, Ilkaputiei, Moitanik, Ilkirasha, Samburu, Ilchamus, Laikipia, Loitokitoki, Larusa, Salei, Sirinket and Parakuyo.
The Maasai are identified from their iconic red of their Shukas is the Maa word for sheets traditionally worn and wrapped cloth around the body to their Adumu dance ritual in which it involves a lot of jumping performed by the Maasai Moran warriors. The Community have lived in East Africa for more than hundred years. They live a nomadic way of live constructing their homes with the readily available materials using their indigenous technology. People from all over the world have been curious to explore their way of living their traditions and rituals.
The Maa language
The word Maasai means people who speak the Maa language which is their native language. They are Eastern Nilotic language spoken by the Maasai community. Other related ethnic groups to the Maasai are the Samburu, Ilchamus people and other Nilotic people found in Kenya. Their religion is Christianity ,Maasai mythology and Islam mainly. The Maasai are popular because of they have maintained their culture.

The Maasai worship a single deity called Enkai or Engai. The Engai has a dual nature with Engai Narok the Black God is benevolent and Engai Na-nyokie the Red God who is believed to be vengeful. There are also two pillars or totems of the Maasai society. Oodo Mongi ,the Red cow and Orok kiteng the Black cow with a subdivisions of five clans or family trees. The Maasai people also have a totemic animal which is the lion ,the animal can be killed. The Maasai people kill the lion as a rite of passage ceremony in which one earns a distinguished honour. This is different from those who kill it for trophy hunting. The Maasai have the mountain of God, Ol Doinyo Lengai located in the Northernmost Tanzania and can be viewed from Lake Natron in the southernmost Kenya. The central human figure in the community is the Laibon whose roles include Shamanistic healing, divination and prophecy and ensuring success in war and ensuring there is adequate rainfall. In modern day Maasai lifestyle the political role have lead to emergence of elevation of Leaders to the point now at which an individual Laibon has now remained as personality rather the position.
Jewellery and Adornment
The Maasai are famous and well known for their Jewellery adornments. They wear skilfully crafted jewellery crafted through a colourful beadwork. Maasai beadwork is a cultural practice with great importance and symbolism for the community. Each of the patterns and colours used in the jewellery pays homage to the tradition and belief system of the Maasai community.
The Maasai beadwork is an art which is synonymous with the Maasai culture. It is part of their identity since the last hundred years, the beadworks have prominently featured in their jewellery and accessories. Today, glass beads with a shiny and smooth exterior are the primary components of Maasai jewellery. Apart from glass beads, other materials used are cowrie shells, silver discs, leather and wires for binding. The recycled thread from old grain bags is rolled to create a strong thread for beading, and pieces of recycled plastic from yogurt pots are used to hold the thread in place. The Maasai are known for their intricate jewellery for decades have earned a living by selling these items to tourist as a business, Discover the Maasai community of East Africa
Traditionally the Maasai lifestyle centres around their cattle which is their primary source of food. They eat their meat, drink their milk daily and drink their blood on occasion. Bulls ,goats and lambs are slaughtered for meat during special occasions and ceremonies. Also a man’s wealth is measured by the cattle and children one has. The wives or the Maasai women generally are also counted as children. A herd of at least 50 cattle is considered respectable and the more the children the better and one must have both to command respect. Having none or one of the two one is considered to be poor.
Piercing and stretching of earlobes are a common practice among the Maasai with both men and women wear metal hoops on their stretched earlobes. They use various materials for piercing and stretching the lobes, they include thorns, twigs, bundles of twigs, stones ,the cross-section of elephant tusks and empty film canisters. The Maasai women wear various forms of beaded ornaments in both ear lobes with smaller piercing at the top of the ear. Masaai circumcise their males in a ritual of transition from boyhood to Manhood.
Hair
At the tender age of three “moons” the child hair is shaved clean apart from a tuft of hair after being named. It is only warriors of the Maasai community who are allowed to wear long hair, which they weave in thinly braided strands. At a special large gathering known as Eunoto a graduation from warriors to junior elders takes place. During the graduation ceremony the long hair of former warriors is shaved off and the elders must have short hair. Two days before the Maasai boys are circumcised, their hair is shaved and also when the worries become junior elders their hair is being shaved off.
