Maasai Mara

I have a lot to say about the maasai -- so much so that I don't know where to start.

 We left Tarangire park and found ourselves winding and zipping through the hilly region that is a part of Ngorongoro crater.  (It is said Go RON GO Ro -- the N is silent).

 As our car bumped along the stoney/gravelly/clay path, we started to notice the Maasai.  All of them wear the maasai colors which are red or blue or some variation that incudes both together.  We would find them walking along the streets usually herding goats, cattle, or camel since that is how they eke out a living.  Below is a picture of some cattle herding maasai.  However their main mode of transport is the donkey (so cute). 

Within the community, Maasai are divided into groups. Women are responsible for building the home, cooking the food, and raising children.  Older children and men are responsible for raising the livestock and being warriors.  As warriors they are expected to protect that village against threats such as lions, wild buffalo, and cheetahs.  Despite the warriors training in killing wild animals, their diet consists of milk, meat (cow, camel, etc), and blood.  The last group, the elders of the community, sit on council and advice the Boma, or village, when controversies arise.  Below is a typical boma.

As for marriage, the community believes in polygamy for men.  Hence below is a picture of me with al the chief’s children with different women: ).

 

  When a young male warrior comes of age and he feels he is ready to marry 25+ he can approach the council of elders and inform them of his intention. Then, he waits. He waits until the elders find a girl 16 years of age or greater of their choosing  from another Boma and then a marriage takes place. 

Religion within the Maasai is a very dynamic, evolving concept.  Most Maasai are Christian.  However, there was a time when they had their own religion that some still practice today.  I met a famous Maasai artist yesterday (3/28) who told me the word for ‘god’ in maasai is Nagaii.  It seemed their religion is neither mono or polytheist.  Instead, they simply believe in Nagaii, and religion is incorporated into their way of life.  For instance, when a baby is born, they shave both the mother and child’s head completely.  After this, they raise the child to the sun and declare its name to the world (a la simba in lion king).  I found this interesting because in my culture too, we shave ONLY the child’s head, and write its name in rice instead of giving it to the sun god).  Despite the Christianity, they still continue their rituals  because they don’t recognize it as an act that contradicts Christianity. 

Lastly, Education. The maasai state the money they make (17-20,000TSH) from inviting tourists into their homes is directed towards educating the future.  Here are a few pictures of the school.  I would upload a video but the internet here is ‘acceptable’.

My experience visiting a Boma was nothing short of beautiful.  However, I can’t help but have a gnawing sense of guilt that I have contributed indirectly to their loss of culture.  With the growing dependence on tourist money, I feel Maasai are moving away from their lifestyle of herding and the bartering system. 

Point and case: these days, the Maasai do not like their  pictures taken because many see income potential (1000 tsh) with every picture taken.  This change in attitude is sad to me because both Maasai and Tanzanians in this country have shown me how, open, kind, and giving they are as a people.  We, the tourists, are corrupting their way of life to a degree that they now resort to begging, selling beaded and carved jewelry, and demanding compensation for pictures taken. 

 In order to further educate myself on the issue I started to interview 1. Our maasai cook - Obedi 2. Joneson- our tour guide, and 3. A Famous Maasai artist, Merinyo who carves art, makes batiks, owns clothing stores, and comments on socio-politico-economic aspects of both the Maasai and Africa as a part of his profession.

Obedi is a unique case.  He was a maasai from what I could see not living the ‘maasai lifestyle.’   He had left his boma 5 years ago and started to live in a house in Arusha.  He has one wife and 5 children with her.  When asked why, he responded he left due to his desire to see his children educated.  All indications of a culture lost, no?   However, Joneson reminded me that Obedi may see money, modern culture, etc. but ALL Maasai are expected to go back to the village and continue to live the  Maasai way of life. (This way of life includes living in a hut made of cowdung and straw, surrounded by flies, heat, no airconditioning, above mentioned food, and wearing maasai clothing, etc.  Obedi apparently ensures he AND his family visit and stay overnight at the boma, living the maasai lifestyle.  “The maasai are very proud of who they are…they won’t ever lose their culture,” Joneson promised me. 

My last interview with Mr.  Merinyo showed me a new perspective.  Mr. Merinyo felt culture was lost everyday.  However, his goal with his speeches was to empower Maasai to recognize the wealth and ‘capital’ they each possess within themselves.  For instance if a person is skilled at carving, then the ‘capital’ is not the physical money they  posess.   Rather he promotes viewing that skill itself as the capital.  Therefore, despite the tourism, and the Maasai being exposed to money and the ‘west’ instead of viewing themselves as relatively poor, they should view themselves for the ‘richness’ they possess within themselves to make the ‘capital’ they desire. A complicated response to a complicated question, I know.  But, it made more sense coming out of the horse’s mouth.

At the end of all of my interviewing I’m still left with one question: How much did my visit to the maasai impact their way of life?