Maasai people in Kenya : Maasai tribe is known as the indigenous ethnic group in Africa of the Semi-nomadic people who are settled in Kenya and in the northern Tanzania. Kenya is known for the African safari destination and the home for the Maasai tribe, as these are most attractive people that you should not miss out on your Kenya safari during the cultural visits. The Maasai are well known for their special culture and the tribal dressing code. Maasai tribe is among the few tribes that have retained most of their traditions, lifestyle and lore.
Maasai people in Kenya.
Maasai tribe is the unique tribe and the famous one where the people are known for their distinct traditions, customs and their dressing code and the Maasai are known of residing near the national parks of Kenya. Traditionally the Maasai is the African ethnic group that are known internationally for their relationship national parks and national reserves this is the tribe that you see on a Kenyan safari. The Maasai tribe do have and speak the Maa language that was derived from the Nilo-Saharan, related to the Dinka and Nuer, though the Maasai speak as well the Kiswahili language that unites all of them as well as English.
Though Kenyan government has tried to encourage the Maasai people through the established programs to encourage the Maasai to leave behind their traditional semi-nomadic lifestyle, still the Maasai people are still depending on their age-old customs, though currently they have started changing slowly not compared to the past years.
Maasai shelter.
The Maasai tribe being known as the nomadic people historically, they have got the traditionally relied where they use the ready available materials to construct their interesting and unusual houses. The Maasai houses are constructed by the people who keeps on moving as their houses are impermanent in nature, their houses are known as the in kajijik houses as they are such either circular in their formations, or known as the roof-shaped and these houses are mainly constructed by the women.
Maasai culture.
Maasai tribe is known as the patriarchal in their living, with the cultural elders, and at times with the retired elders as these determines the matters of the Maasai tribes. The God of Maasai people is Engai or Enka. Maasai people do live in a very traditional way of living, even they do not have the funeral ceremony so incase their fellow one is dead they leave him or her in the fields for the scavengers. As the burials are only for the great chiefs as the Maasai believe that burials do harm their soil.
Maasai tribe traditionally depends on cattle for their living that makes their primary source of food, as other African ethnic groups and the Maasai tribe the measurements of the man’s wealth is the cattle and the children. As the man with more cattle and less number of children is known as poor and vice versa. The Maasai believe that God blessed them with the cattle as they are the owners of the cattle and the owner of every cattle in the world.
Maasai Music and Dance.
Maasai traditionally comprises the music of the rhythms with the chorus of the vocalists singing harmonies. Maasai have got the Olaranyani known as the person who can sing best that song. Maasai have the vocal creation of Maasai music which is the function of the horn of the Greater Kudu to summon morans for the Eunoto ceremony. As the ceremony takes more than 10 days. Singing and dancing around the manyattas that involves flirting. This is done as the young men lines and chant and the women stand in front of them as they sing the counterpoint to them.
Current living situation of the Maasai tribe.
Through the government policies on the preservation of the national parks and reserves with the presence of the Maasai tribe have tried changing the traditional way of how the Maasai people do live as to preserve for the coming generations. Different projects that have been set up to implement the Maasai tribal leaders to help in maintaining the way of living of the Maasai people as to balance education and providing the necessary needs in the family.
Today the Maasai tribe have started changing off from their traditionally nomadic life to the businesses, commerce and as well as the government roles. Not only the modernistic that the Maasai have been introduced to, still very happy in their homesteads, and in their dressings brands, only to emerge from the traditional lands while wearing the traditionally colorful shuka, cowhide sandals and among others.
Maasai clothing.
Maasai’s clothing is differentiated through the sex of an individual, age and the place. The Maasai young men wear the black for good time after the circumcision process, as red colour is the most loved colour in the Maasai people. As well as black, blue, checked and striped cloth are all loved by the Maasai and the multi-colour African garments.
During the period of 1960’s that’s when the Maasai began to replace the sheepskin, calf hides and the other animal skins to the shukas.They wrap themselves around their body as their way of dressing up which is known as ‘shuka’ in their Maa Language.
Diet of the Maasai tribe.
Maasai tribe heavily depend on the cattle to survive and sustain their lives, the traditional Maasai diet consists of the basic foods, milk, meat, blood, fat, honey, tree bark. In Maasai both the fresh and curled milk is taken as the fresh milk can be drunk from the calabash and at times it can be mixed with the fresh cattle blood.
Consider the cultural visits to see the Maasai people, during a safari in Kenya in various national parks and reserves of Kenya like Maasai Mara National Reserve, Amboseli national park where you will be impressed with the most attractive culture of the Maasai and this makes your safari the most meaningful one with unforgettable safari memories as this becomes perfect with focuseastafricatours.com
