We left the park about 4pm and headed for our Maasi Village tour. What an incredible experience that was - so interesting to learn about this culture.
Some things we learned:
- A community elementary school for Grades 1-8. Only about 30% go on to a boarding school for secondary education. The school has 14 teachers and about 500 students. The teacher we met has 65 students in his 5th grade class.
-Circumcision is done at age 14 with a ceremony attended by men. The one getting circumcised is not to scream or cry at all. They must be brave and endure the pain in silence or they will bring "much shame and disgrace" to the family.
-Dowry for a woman is about 10 cows. If the man can jump high (literally), the dowry is lower. So, the boys/men practice jumping.
-About 200 people live in this village, which is about average. Every in their community is related, so they must marry from another village. The woman goes to the mans' village.
-They move their community every 9 years. Moving gives them a chance to cultivate the land. The women of the village rebuild the homes with sticks and cow dung. It takes them about 3 months.
-6 or 7 kids per family
-They eat 2 meals per day. Mostly ugali (mace-corn, flour and milk) for most meals
-They drink blood from the cow mixed with milk. They take blood from the cow's neck (they don't kill the cow - just take some blood) and drink it warm with fresh milk
-There are a lot of ceremonies: here are a few
-A chief ceremony
-At 1 year old, there is a naming ceremony. You can name your child prior to this, but it's not official until this point
-Circumcision ceremony
-At age 10, children go to live with their grandparents to learn more about culture and traditions
Sarah and I were taken into a small house at the village we toured. There was a small calf/goat pen in the house. There were 3 very small bed areas (I probaby would have had to curl in a ball to fit in any of them - and I would have taken up the whole area). One area is for guests, one for the kids, one for the parents. I have no idea how they all fit! There were no lights - they started a fire in the middle of the house - it was so small, we could hardly maneuver ourselves in this house. Then, the 2 guides started to pass around a mug with milk -- I was just praying it wasn't mixed with cow's blood. It felt rude not to at least fake taking a small sip of this milk. BTW, I don't think there was blood mixed in!
The Maasai Dance
I did a google search for more information and found a few more pictures and I will copy and paste some of the information I found. Here is a little more info:
Taken from ( http://www.magiccarpetjournals.com/masai-village.htm )
The huts were small and square, not more than ten feet in any direction, and made of a combination of mud, dung and sticks, known as wattle. They consisted of several tiny rooms. Inside the rooms were dark with only small holes for windows and a short, narrow hole for a door. The roofs were low, flat and covered with sticks and straw. The huts were grouped in a circle joined by a fence of closely woven sticks. This formed a protective wall around the central compound which was used as a corral at night, when the cattle were brought inside to protect them from predatory animals.
The women and children were dressed in colourful sarongs or 'sheets,' as we heard them called. Bright colours were very popular. Plaids and stripes, prints and checks were worn together in a glorious explosion of colours. Another high stick fence sat in the centre of the compound. It was surrounded by Masai women in their colourful costumes. The women were holding beaded collars and bracelets to trade with the tourists. They were asking 40 or 50 shillings for these. I wish now I had bought a collection of them. Several of the women tried to make other deals with us. One wanted to trade beadwork for my shirt, another wanted to trade my friend for her hat.
These women had very shiny black skin. Their shaved heads gleamed in the brilliant sunlight. From their trading, some had T-shirts or pants under their sheets. Many were barefoot. They were mostly tall, and all were slim. They stood very erect, which gave them a proud, dignified appearance. As with the chief, these women had elongated earlobes with beads dangling from them. Traditionally the Masai women are the ones who carry the water and wood. They wash their clothing in streams, beating them on rocks. The people looked clean and their clothes looked amazingly clean too.
From: ( http://www.kenya-information-guide.com/maasai-tribe.html )
Maasai Culture
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 of the world's last great warrior 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.
Through rituals and ceremonies, including 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 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.
The Maasai tribe has a deep, almost sacred, relationship with cattle. They are guided by a strong belief that God created cattle especially for them and that they are the sole custodians of all the cattle on earth. This bond has led them into a nomadic way of life following patterns of rainfall over vast land in search of food and water for their large herds of cattle.
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.
SARAH's JOURNAL
Before leaving Masai Mara, we toured a Masai village ... there are approximately 30 villages in the Masai Mara area. Each village is surrounded by a fence that takes about 2 years to build from trees and sticks. Although it's thick and tall, lions and leopards are a daily threat to livestock in the village, who are sheltered in the middle of the village during the night. 4-5 men guard the fence every night, using spears to scare or kill predators. In the village are the houses and another fences / protected area for the goats and sheep - the second barrier is necessary, as leopards are known to climb or leap over the outer wall. I asked if they eat / cook the meat of predators they kill and was surprised that the Masai people do not eat any meat - that is their culture and tradition.
Another tradition is that when boys turn 15, they head out with 5-6 other boys to find and kill a male lion. They only have their spears and it can take up to a month for them to return with a kill. As is their custom, they must bring back the mane and teeth from the kill. The Kenyan government no longer allows the Masai people to hunt in the reserve, so they must go out to the wild.
It is a simple life the Masai people live - although a village can be longer or slightly smaller, the one we toured had 20 families, approximately 200 people. They are all related and so marriage is not permitted within a village. At ceremonies, other villages are invited and this gives them a chance to meet and interact with other Masai people. There is one chief in a village and he passes the baton to his eldest son when the time is right. Sallow, who was our guide, will be the next chief of his village - he is the eldest of 7 children. I was curious if he ever has a desire to travel and he answered "sometimes, I like to go to Tanzania to see my sister." He asked Miriam "how many cows for her dowry?" It took her a minute to understand his question! I don't think I could live life as the wife of a Masai village chief!
