Background Information

Name: Maasai/Masai is a linguistice term, which refers to the speakers of Eastern Sudanic language, often called Maa, of the Nilo-Saharan language family.

Language: The official language of the Masai was first recorded by missionary Rev. Dr. Johann Ludwig Kraft; it was published using the Roman alphabet with its vowels and consonants in 1854's Vocabulary of the Engutuk Eloik ob. The language is shared within Kenya and is known as the Olmaa language or Ol Maa. F, q, v, x, and z alphabet do not occur in the Masai language. Roughly 900,000 people in southern Kenya and northern Tanzania speak this language. Maasai refers to "one who speaks the Maa language".

Population: The 2009 census revealed that Kenya has a population of 38.6 million people. Kenya's population is currently said to be at slightly over 40 million; CIA World Fact book lists the Kenya population at 41.7 million in July 2011. The Masai make up only 7% of Kenya's population. It is estimated that 1 million of Kenya's population is Masai; however most Masai people do not agree to that being the actual number.

History: The Maasai, at times spelled Masai, of East Africa consists of 5 clans; ilmakesen, il-laiser, il-molelian, il-taarrosero and il-ikumai, although there have been claims of an actual number of 7. The Masai have said that they came from a crater or deep valley known at Endikir-e-Kerio, however it is known that they initially came from the North likely from the region of the Nile Valley in Sudan, northwest of Lake Turkana. Not until the 1830's were the Masai a collective nation, yet their reputation proceeded them as fierce warriors whose livelihood consists of livestock/cattle, hence the need for strong warriors to obtain territory for pasturing and additional cattle. During the 19th century their herds were destroyed due to a cattle virus obtained called Rinderpest and drought. Treaties or colonial agreements in 1904 and 1911 with the European Government moved the Masai out of the northern lands of Laikipia. The Masai livelihood today consists of cattle and benefit by way of the national parks in which a small percentage of money generated from them provide schools, health centers and construction dams. The national parks and reserves were initially the Masai's territory and are now Kenya's tourism sector.

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Environmental Concerns


  • The Maasai survive off the cattle they herd, which in turn demands a large area of land. Kenya’s increasing population infringes on the Maasai’s communally shared land. As the area size decreases, the Maasai are forced to rely more upon farming for a food source rather than grazing animals. But other than population growth, the Maasai face many environmental issues concerning their land. These environmental issues can be divided into two types, the physical and the political.
  • There is only a small percentage of forested land in Kenya to make room for the growing population it is cleared. A forest provides a natural tool to collect water, and without it, the risks of flooding and drought are increased. Desertification, which leads to soil erosion, is another issue. It is the result of overgrazing and deforestation. Erosion is also worsened by runoff and wind, which are both heightened without forested areas. However, some efforts have been made by the Maasai to decrease soil erosion and desertification; they have successfully planted some trees and native plants near their homes to provide shade, windbreak, and a source of wood other than the forests themselves.
  • The political and economic issues concerning the environment that the Maasai face surround the issue of land ownership. The government imposed national parks and preservations on multiple indigenous tribes’ land. A total of six of Kenya and Tanzania’s national parks have issued the removal of Maasai people from a total of 13,000 square kilometers of land. The Kenyan Government established the Masai Mara, a national reserve, respectively named after the Maasai culture, which originally occupied the land. Unfortunately though, the establishment of conservation land is more of an economic effort rather than environmental, because conservation areas serve as tourism safaris. While the Maasai have little input on what actions the government takes concerning their land, they have taken action through the establishment of MERC, Maasai Environmental Resource Coalition. The foundation confronts the main problem of land ownership. The group formed because of the issues surrounding tourism, foreign pressure, and a lack of representation in Kenya’s government. The coalition works to return original land ownership to indigenous peoples, promote ecotourism and solve environmental protection problems.


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1 comment:

  1. AnonymousJuly 22, 2013 at 7:26 PM

    As stated in our book, anthropology always has been concerned with how environmental forces influence humans and how human activities affect the biosphere and the Earth itself. Just like the video that we watched in class about a large part of the forest being cut down in the Amazon, we also see that the environment is important to the Maasai as well. Deforestation is one major aspect of environmental anthropology, and the Maasai are experiencing that. Unfortunately it is not as a result from their way of living; this is not uncommon to find, because even early ecological anthropologists showed that many indigenous groups did a reasonable job of managing their resources and preserving their ecosystems.
    Being a biology major, this problem breaks my heart and I truly feel for the Maasai. Not only is their homeland being destroyed, but it is also being taken away from them. Just one of those issues is bad enough, but the fact that both are happening is devastating. They are the native people of that land and deserve every right to stay there and keep what was originally theirs. I think it is very wrong that the government came in and overruled them, and continue to do so.
    I am happy though that the Maasai are taking matters into their own hands and are trying to save their land. They are very smart and realize that it was beneficial in many ways to their lifestyle and environment to plant trees. I am also happy that a group has been created to rebel against the government in attempts in trying to keep their land.

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