THE MASAI.

Maasai are one of the best known African tribes.
Perhaps they are so well known because of their tall elegant muscular features or their fierce and brave reputation or maybe because of their simple yet distinctive appearance with ochre covered warriors proudly holding their spear and wearing their bright blood-red shoulder cloak
(shuka/kanga) and the women wearing bangles and strings of colored beads around their neck (both sexes wear earrings, taking pride in stretching large holes in their ear lobes).
The Maasai becomes clearer during the nineteenth century which saw increasing western encroachment into Kenya. This took the form of missionaries and explorers. The missionaries were keen to convert tribes to Christianity , halt slave trading and stop some of the Maasai practices which they perceived as barbaric ( such as dressing almost naked and leaving their dead for wild animals rather than having a burial ceremony). Under the great pressure from foreign influence and more inter tribe warfare; the Maasai were deeply affected when rinderpests (a cattle disease) struck their herds around 1880-1890. The reduced grazing led to more woodland which encouraged breeding of the harmful Tse Tse fly. The Maasai were also hit with drought, famine, smallpox and cholera. Later they were forced out of even more of their land which had already been bisected by the Kenya- Uganda railway and in the early 1960 they also lost more of their territory during the government land redistribution program which included the creation of the Maasai Mara game reserve. The Maasai still remain one of the great nomadic tribe of the modern world.
THE IMPORTANCE OF CATTLE.
The Maasai are semi nomadic pastoralists who rear cattle and as a result sometimes have to travel searching for new grazing pastures.  The cattle are fundamental to the tribe’s survival and this has led to an almost mystical relationship. The Maasai believe that their God granted all cattle to them for safe keeping when the earth and sky split (they feel this justifies them raiding cattle from other tribes). The cattle serve many purposes, their milk and blood is used for food. The hide is used for mattresses, shoes and other accessories; their dang is used for plastering hut walls, their urine for medicinal purposes, and their meet for food. Blood is obtained by shooting an arrow at close range through the cattle vein, then capturing he spilled blood into a gourd were it can be mixed with milk. Cattle are a major sign of wealth and exchanged during marriage to pay for the bride.
THE MAASAI HOME.
Maasai families live in an Enkang a form of enclosure formed by a thick acacia fence. This protects Maasai and their cattle especially at night from predators. The enkang may contain 10-20 small huts (manyattas). Maasai huts (manyatta) are very small with perhaps two rooms and not enough height for tall people to stand upright. They are also very dark with small halls at the wall which are used as vent to let the light in.
The Maasai are a proud and independent people who have survived despite incredible pressure; however their greatest challenges remain over. They are losing their grazing land and ability to roam freely throughout the country because most of the land has been taken for conservancy or large scale farming. The young generation is being influenced by modern school and town’s development. Some Maasai may seek comfort and income from tourism and neglect their ways of survival. Maasai are beautiful people.
PKP. Kenya safari desk