Maasai Culture Research Paper

The Maasai are semi-nomadic tribes that have lasted for hundreds of years. Many changes in the Maasai culture have taken place during this time. Even so, their location, language, cattle, age-sets, and traditions are very important to their culture. Some unique features of their culture include diet, clothing, and jobs. Because of their diverse way of life, the Maasai culture is complex and unique.
The Maasai first started to develop as a tribe in the 15th century. Because the Maasai pass down information by word of mouth, it is not known when the first settlement was formed. The original Maasai were believed to start in Northern Africa, and then slowly worked their way south towards Kenya. Because the Maasai are good warriors, they were able to fight any tribe. When the warriors conquered a tribe, they took that tribe’s cattle. This is how the Maasai became reliant on cattle for generations. The Maasai traveled along the Rift River, and owned most of the land along the river. Today, Maasailand, which is the area owned by the Maasai, is being broken up into different sections by countries. It is about 500 kilometers by 300 kilometers. The total population between …show more content…
Cattle are very important to them, so cattle are used in terms of wealth, not money (5). As western cultures influence the culture of the tribe, cattle herding has become less popular. The British were one of the first cultures to colonize the area known as “Maasailand.” They brought along Rinderpest which was a deadly cattle disease, and this resulted in killing 80 percent of the Maasai’s cattle. In addition, they moved Maasais to an area in southern Kenya, and tried to colonize them with a more European lifestyle, which took cattle herding out of their lives even more. Despite all of the challenges involving cattle, the Maasai would rank cattle as very important, and continue to keep cattle in their culture at this time