A unique and popular tribe due to their long preserved culture.
Despite
education, civilization and western cultural influences, the Maasai
people have clung to their traditional way of life, making them a symbol
of Kenyan culture.
MAASAI TRIBE
The Maasai tribe are a Nilotic ethnic
group 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 the Maa language and are
a member of the Nilo-Saharan 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 Tanzanian and Kenyan governments
have instituted programs to encourage
the Maasai to abandon their traditional
semi-nomadic lifestyle, but the people
have continued their age-old customs.
Recently, Organizations have claimed
that the lifestyle of the Maasai should
be embraced as a response to climate
change because of their ability to
produce food in deserts and scrublands.
Many Maasai tribes throughout Tanzania
and Kenya welcome visits to their
village to experience their culture,
traditions, and lifestyle.
The Maasai people of East Africa live in
southern Kenya and northern Tanzania
along the Great Rift Valley on semi-arid
and arid lands. The Maasai occupy a
total land area of 160,000 square
kilometers with a population of
approximately one and a half million
people.
The Maasai society is comprised of
sixteen sections (known in Maasai as
Iloshon): Ildamat, Ilpurko, Ilkeekonyokie,
Iloitai, Ilkaputiei, Ilkankere, Isiria,
Ilmoitanik, Iloodokilani, Iloitokitoki,
Ilarusa, Ilmatatapato, Ilwuasinkishu,
Kore, Parakuyu, and Ilkisonko, also
known as Isikirari (Tanzania’s Maasai).
There was also once Iltorobo section
but was assimilated by other sections. A
majority of the Maasai population lives
in Kenya. Sections such as Isikirari,
Parakuyu, Kore and Ilarusa lives in
Tanzania.
Meet the
MAASAI PEOPLE
ORIGIN, MIGRATION
AND ASSIMILATION
MAASAI PEOPLE HISTORICAL
ADAPTATION Today, the Maasai people live on a smaller piece
of land in the Kajiado and Narok districts,
Tragedy struck the Maasai tribe at the turn of the
century. An epidemic of deadly diseases attacked and
killed large numbers of the Maasai’s animals. This was
quickly followed by severe drought that lasted years.
Over half of the Maasais and their animals perished
during this period. Soon after, more than two thirds of
the Maasai’s land in Kenya was taken away by the British Many Maasai people have moved away from the
and the Kenyan government to create both ranches for
settlers and Kenya and Tanzania’s wildlife reserves and
national parks.
The Amboseli National Park, Nairobi National Park, Maasai emerge from the traditional family homestead
Mara Game Reserve, Samburu, Lake Nakuru, and Tsavo
National Parks in Kenya and the Manyara, Ngorongoro,
Tarangire and Serengeti parks in Tanzania all stand on
The Maasai People originated
from the lower Nile valley north
of Lake Turkana (Northwest
Kenya) and began migrating
south around the 15th century,
arriving in a long trunk of land
stretching from what is now
northern Kenya to what is now
central Tanzania between the
17th and late 18th century.
Many ethnic groups that had
already formed settlements in
the region were forcibly
displaced by the incoming
Maasai, while other, mainly
Southern Cushitic groups, were
assimilated into Maasai society.
The Nilotic ancestors of the
Kalenjin and Samburu likewise
absorbed some early Cushitic
populations.
surrounded by these now Kenya’s fine game
reserves. Many practice nomadic pastoralism,
while others have been absorbed into modern day
jobs working in tourism where they showcase
their culture to visiting tourists.
nomadic life to positions in commerce and
government. Yet despite the sophisticated urban
lifestyle they may lead, many will happily head
homewards dressed in designer clothes, only to
wearing a shuka (colourful piece of cloth), cow
hide sandals and carrying a wooden club (o-rinka)
– at ease with themselves.
MAASAI
CULTURE AND
TRADITIONS
The warrior is of great importance as a
source of pride in the Maasai culture.
To be a Maasai is to be born into one
o f t h e w o r l d ’s l a s t g r e a t w a r r i o r
cultures. From boyhood to adulthood,
young Maasai boys begin to learn the
responsibilities of being a man (helder)
and a warrior. The role of a warrior is
to protect their animals from human
and animal predators, to build kraals
(Maasai homes) and to provide security
to their families.

Maasai Traditions :
Maasai Circumcision
Through rituals and ceremonies, including

"EUN
circumcision, Maasai boys are guided and mentored
by their fathers and other elders on how to become
a warrior. Although they still live their carefree lives
as boys – raiding cattle, chasing young girls, and
game hunting – a Maasai boy must also learn all of
the cultural practices, customary laws and
responsibilities he’ll require as an elder.

An elaborate ceremony – Eunoto – is usually

OTO"
performed to “graduate” the young man from their
Moran and carefree lifestyle to that of a warrior.
Beginning life as a warrior means a young man can
now settle down and start a family, acquire cattle
and become a responsible elder. In his late years,
the middle-aged warrior will be elevated to a senior
and more responsible elder during the Olng’eshere
ceremony.

Traditional Maasai people’s lifestyle concentrates on

their cattle which make up the primary source of
food.  Amongst the Maasai and several other
African ethnic groups, the measure of a man’s
wealth is in terms of children and cattle. So the
more the better.A man who has plenty cattle but
not many children is considered to be poor and vice
versa. A Maasai myth says that God afforded them
all the cattle on earth, resulting in the belief that
rustling from other tribes is a matter of claiming
what is rightfully theirs, a practice that has now
MAASAI
become much less common.

CULTURE
SHELTER
The Maasai tribe, historically a
nomadic people, have traditionally
relied on readily available materials
and indigenous technology to construct
their unusual and interesting housing.
The traditional Maasai house was
designed for people on the move and
thus their houses were very
impermanent in nature. The Inkajijik
(houses) are either circular or loaf-
shaped, and are made by women.

Their villages are enveloped in a

circular Enkang (fence) built by the
men and this protects their cattle at
night from wild animals.
 MAASAI
WAY OF
LIFE
Maasai Clothing
Clothing varies by sex, age and place. Young men wear
black for several months after their circumcision.
Although, red is a favored color among the Maasai.
Black, Blue, checked and striped cloth are also worn,
together with mulitcoloured African garments. In the
1960s the Maasai began to replace sheep shin, calf
hides and animal skin for more commercial material.
The cloth used to wrap around the body is the called
Shúkà in the Maa language.Contact a Siyabona Africa
Consultant for more information on Kenya National
Parks and Kenya safari accommodation options.

The milk and blood of their cattle continue to be the

preferred diet of the Maasai, while the hides serve as
mattresses, sandals, mats, and clothing. Cattle also act
as marriage bonds, while a complex system of cattle-
fines maintains social harmony. Visually stunning, the
Maasai warrior with his swathe of scarlet shuka
(blanket), beaded belt, dagger, intricately plaited hair,
and one-legged stance remains the most enduring icon
of Kenyan tourism That said, many a modern Maasai
dons a suit for work but, come the weekend, and he ll
be back in his beloved trad1t1onal dress.

Ear piercing and the stretching of earlobes are also

part of Maasai beauty, and both men and women wear
metal hoops on their stretched earlobes. Women shave
their heads and remove two middle teeth on the lower
jaw (for oral delivery of traditional medicine). The
Maasai often walk barefooted or wear simple sandals
made of cow hide.

Maasai Food
All of the Maasai’s needs for food are met by their cattle. They
eat the meat, drink the milk and, on occasion, drink the blood.
Bulls, oxen and lambs are slaughtered for meat on special
occasions and for ceremonies. The by-products of the animals
– skin and hides – are used as bedding while cow dung is used
for building (it is smeared on the walls). The Maasai’s entire way
of life truly revolves around their cattle.

The effects of modern civilization, education and western

influence have not completely spared this unique and
interesting tribe. Some of the Maasai tribe’s deep-rooted
culture is slowly fading away. Customs, activities and rituals
such as female circumcision and cattle raiding have been
outlawed by modern legislation. Maasai children now have
access to education and some Maasai have moved from their
homeland to urban areas where they have secured jobs.

The Maasai tribe now occupy a much smaller area in the Kajiado
and Narok districts as their vast territory has been taken over
by some of Kenya’s game reserves. The Maasai’s territory now
overlaps with the Serengeti plains in Tanzania and Maasai Mara
National Reserve in Kenya – an area famous for the huge
Wildebeest migration that take place every year, when up to a
million animals move from the north end of the plains to the
south. However, the Maasai’s authentic and intriguing culture is
a tourist attraction on its own.
MAASAI CULTURE & INTERESTING FACTS

The Maasai believe God has given them all the

cattle in the world. This makes cattle rustling a
matter of taking back what belongs to them.
The Maasai have a patriarchal society. The
important matters of each group is decided by
elder men.
The Maasai believe in one god named Enkai or
Engai. He has a duel nature; one called Engai
Narok (Black God) who is benevolent, and the
other Engai Nanyokie (Red God) who is
vengeful.
The Maasai tribe speaks Maa and are also
schooled in English and Swahili (the official
languages of Tanzania and Kenya).
The piercing and stretching of earlobes is a
common practice of the Maasai.
Many Maasai have become Christian, and a
fewer amount have become Muslim.
Cattle play an important role in Maasai life. It is
their primary source of food.A man’s wealth is
measured in terms of cattle he owns and
children he has.
Maasai families live in an enclosure called a
Enkang which typically contains ten to twenty
small huts. The enclosure is protected by a
fence or bushes with sharp thorns.
Maasai huts are very small, with usually only
one or two rooms and not high enough for
these tall people to stand.
Traditionally these people of Africa do not bury
their dead. Burials are believed to harm the soil
and is reserved only for some chiefs. Most
dead bodies are simply left outside for
scavengers.
In the mid 1800’s the Maasai territory reached
its greatest size. It covered almost all of the