The Masai culture is made of many different elements such as
their homes, food, wars, education and language. Their homes are called inkajijik and are made
of sticks, mud, dung, and grass, which they can find locally because they are a
nomadic people. The homes are circular
in shape and are designed and built by the women. The completion of a Masai women’s first house
is one of the most important moments in her life. More than one family usually lives in one of
the houses. The homes have poor light
and ventilation making them unhygienic for cooking. The food of the Masai consists primarily of
meat making them pastoralists. Their
diet helps to give them energy and bulk but it also brings them a heightened
risk of cardiovascular diseases. In an
effort to keep a balanced diet they sometimes eat fruit and a daily consumption
of gum and resin is important. The Masai
are a warrior people and become warriors after there circumcision. The warrior is taught of cattle raiding,
tactics for war and hunting strategies.
At one point the Masai warrior was the most powerful and disciplined
fighting force in East Africa but now they are due to smallpox and famine. Education for the Masai is only for the men
and even then very few actually go to it.
This is because they believe that livestock is more important than an
education and the women can’t get one because if they learn things then the
women would want to leave the village. The
boys of school age also are the ones that useful for helping out at home. Their language is similar to others such as
the Samburu and Camus peoples. It can be
heard spoken from the southern tip of the Nile to Tanzania and west to the
Congo. The language has 25 consonants
and 9 vowels to though they may be pronounced slightly different based on what
region you are in.
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.
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.
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