Maasai Mara Day 3

George, our Maasai guide

Today's game drive was rather disappointing, we did encounter two jackals, a flock of Superb Starlings, a Mongoose colony, and a lone Southern Reedbuck. Mostly we saw zebra's, wildebeest, and various antelope.

In the afternoon, George told us more about the Maasai people. There are 43 tribes in Kenya from 3 major groups. The Maasai are Nilo-Saharan speakers and came from Northern Africa. They believe in one god, called Enkai, who created the Maasai people and gave them all the cattle in the world as a gift. They live a semi-nomadic existence moving every few years to find grass for grazing their cattle. The tribe historically wore goat skins died red to easily distinguish

their people from a distance (now red cotton has been subsituted). Tradition remains strong among the Maasai. At age nine to twelve, they brand themselves on the arms and legs. The pain prepares them for circumcision at age sixteen to nineteen. The brave ones become warriors to protect the cattle and the tribe. Between ages 27-37, they end their warrior career and become junior elders. At this point, they take a wife, usually through an arranged marriage. In today's age many fall in love with a girl and then have to convince their parents and the elders to arrnge the marriage. You can tell a married man because they carry carry a dark walking stick. Their primary job is to construct a corral and tend the cattle. They often will have multiple wives though given that many have become Christian, this practice is also waning. At age 45 males qualify to become elders. The elders judge the whole community and decide when a person is worthy for their next role.

Maasai moving their cows

Women undergo female circumcision, though the government is trying to discourage this practice. Women usually marry a man 5-7 years older. Women construct their hut, fetch water, cook and tend the children. This is a culture, where they remember how Sampson lost his power when his hair was shaved. So warriors are the ones with long hair, and women shave their heads in this male dominated society. The world of the Maasai is changing. Since 1990, they must get an eighth grade education. In the past they were a barter society, now money exchanges hands. They also have been exclusively cattle grazers, now farming is becoming more important.