The Maasai

                                                                         The Maasai

Environment: The Maasai are located in East Africa in Southern Kenya and the Northern part of Tanzania. The climate in this area is diverse but is mostly pretty warm with the temperature throughout the year ranging from 75-85 degrees Fahrenheit, they also get some rain with there being 2 rainy seasons one in March to May which are the “long rains'' and then from October to December which are the “short rains.” It is very sunny with there being an average of 8.6 hours of sunshine throughout the year. The population of the Maasai live in the rural areas of Tanzania and Kenya in the savannah grasslands and they are migratory pastoralists. Their main resource is the cow since it provides basically everything for them like food, clothing, and shelter. They make sure it is sustainable by migrating based on seasons in order to let the grasslands regenerate. They protect their cattle from predators which is what the warriors in the tribe are in charge of. Animals in the area consist of lions, elephants, cheetahs, wildebeests, and other common savannah species. Plants in the area consist of many grasses like kleingrass, kangaroo grass, and sixweeks threeawn. An environmental stress would be the presence of predators and also scarce water and land since the warriors also have to spend their time herding the cattle for pasture and water. Climatic stresses would be as mentioned earlier the warm sunny days and also the times of drought. 

Adaptations:  Physical: One physical adaptation that is specific to the Maasai would be their long and muscular bodies which comes from their diet high in protein. With the Maasai men averaging around 6 feet they are one of the tallest ethnic groups. The next adaptation is what allows their bodies to utilize this very interesting diet of blood, milk, and meat. Although nowadays they have added other foods into their diet like cornmeal. Another long term physical adaptation would be their body's adaptation to their diet. Their diet consists mainly of blood, milk, and meat which are all high in cholesterol, but they actually have low incidences of cholesterol gallstones, coronary disease, and low blood pressure. This has come from generations of eating this diet, their bodies have adapted by having higher levels of the FABP1 gene which plays a role in lipid homeostasis. They also have higher levels of LCT gene which produces lactase which is the enzyme that breaks down lactose allowing for them to digest milk normally rather than be lactose intolerant like many people in the world are. 

Cultural: The Maasai have many cultural adaptations like how the boys and young men are the warriors of the tribe and their tasks are to defend the herd against predators. They have an age set society where they have ceremonies to determine when a group of people are going on to the next set. It plays a big role in their society for reasons like how people in the older age set look after those in the younger age sets and also they must show respect to those in different age sets especially if they are older. They also select a chief for each age group that is in charge of their respected age group. This allows for them to have a structured society that is organized and provides protection while also allowing for maintenance of the cattle herds. Another culture adaptation is how they are semi-nomadic and migrate seasonally to allow for the grasslands to regenerate which is necessary when trying to feed and sustain cattle. Without this their herds would die off from starvation. Lastly, another cultural adaptation would be their worldwide view that their God Ngai sent cattle down from the heavens for their safekeeping. This has led them to have a very strong connection with cows that has allowed their culture to live for centuries. 

Language: The name of the language spoken by them is called Maasai or also called Maa. This language is an Eastern Nilotic language and it is unique that tone has a lot of importance as they can change the meaning of words. It is traditionally an oral language but now there are books like the Bible written in Maa and also Maa dictionary. 

Gender Roles: In the Maasai there are only two genders and they split up their tasks in order to benefit the tribe the most. Men are involved in herding the cattle and also protecting them from predators while the women in the tribe take care of the homes and children, but they also milk the cows. Both males and females go through ceremonies involving circumcision and for males it shows that they are capable of becoming warriors and for women it is necessary if they want to marry. There are some negative repercussions in the form of social disapproval since the gender roles are for the tribe benefit. These would likely be not being able to marry and have a family and also consist of gossip and talking badly about these people behind their back since they are going against the tribe's traditions. Biology and culture go hand in hand since women are the birth givers and they feed babies with breasts it makes sense for them to take care of them when they are young. Men are the strong physically fit ones that practice fighting off predators and herding cattle to areas for feeding and drinking water. Based off of “The Blessed Curse” the protagonist would likely be accepted since they are not a very aggressive tribe. 

Subsistence: The subsistence pattern of the Maasai is pastoralist. They have been doing it for centuries. For them cattle are the center of their lives and they use it for everything important. Their diet consists of milk, meat, and blood. They often do not kill cows because it is not sustainable, which is why they drink their blood which has a lot of nutrition and does not kill the cow. They do this by using an arrow to slice a vein in the neck and let the blood pour out.

This would be the traditional diet of the Maasai but nowadays they have added some other foods such as cornmeal which they use to make porridge like food which is cornmeal, water, milk, and sugar. They also have a polenta like food which is just cornmeal and water. The labor is divided among gender as mentioned in gender roles. Age also has an impact since the younger men are the warriors while the older ones lead them in the pasture. They are a nutritionally healthy tribe despite the high cholesterol and protein diet. Their bodies have adapted allowing them to maintain low heart disease and low incidences of nutrition related illnesses. 

Economic systems: They do not produce surplus, but they have many cattle which contain a ton of resources but they have to keep them alive and maintain a herd size that can sustain their tribe, especially since in today’s world colonialism has impacted indigenous people. There is no specialization of labor since everyone is involved in food production but recently some members may farm or work in tourist trade if resources are low. They do not redistribute wealth and cattle is the only form of currency. Since cattle are the economic system in the Maasai it also allows for men to buy more wives, the more cattle they own the more wives they can afford. An interesting fact about their cattle economy is that they do not count their cattle since it is seen as bad luck.

Marriage: Marriage for the Maasai is interesting and polygynous relationships are allowed. In Maasai culture first and second cousins cannot marry. Marriage is determined and arranged by elders. The father of the girl would be the one who chooses who she has to marry and it would be an older man that owns cattle. Even if the girl did not want to go she had to and as a woman states in a video she would “learn to love him” rather than have it be a traditional romantic Western marriage which often ends in divorce anyways. Depending on the man's herd size he can get more wives and then these would be co-wives and they spend their time talking with each other, taking care of children, milking cows, and making food. This is the traditional way of marriage but a Maasai woman has said that nowadays if a girl likes a Warrior they may get together and marry. If a boy likes a girl he will have to ask the parents for permission. After they get permission they will meet and bring a dowry in the form of goat, sheep, or cattle. Then the man will likely take care of the women depending on how many cattle the man owns and older men are usually married to younger women. If the woman declines she may be beaten till she accepts. Homosexual relationships are unacceptable in this culture and they will not be permitted. 

Kinship: They are a patrilineal tribe and the kinship is followed through the males. Traditionally when a man dies the oldest son will be in charge of his wives and cattle. The father would have the most authority since he owns the cattle. Descent lines are emphasized and have a big impact on who you are in the tribe since men own the cattle it is important to stay with kinship since they are also passed down when they die. The lineages are only about one to two generations beyond the oldest living elders. Although today these clan bonds and kinships are weak and only have significance in certain situations like if one is isolated from their kin. A clan would be everyone from the same male ancestor and since men have multiple wives whom they have multiple children with each, these clans are often large. 

Social Organization: Social organization is egalitarian in that they are not classes like there are in Western culture, but cattle are everything so the more cattle you have the more power you have. They are stratified in that way but individuals are usually seen as equals. The social organization is based a lot on the age set or age group. There are ceremonies that signify one’s advancement to the next age set. This is the basis of their social organization since each age set has a different role in the society which are Warriors and Elders. The Warrior age set is initiated by circumcision and starts when they are young boys and teens. A few months after this initiation they would become junior warriors and will learn the art of survival, cattle raiding, and warfare. During this period the junior warriors all live together in circular huts called manyatta.  After completing a long period of junior warriors about 5-12 years they will become senior warriors allowing the next generation of junior warriors to come in. This is when they can go home to marry and start families.  After being senior warriors for about 15 years they will become elders who are in charge of the village's ceremonies and politics. For women they are the wives of the men and also have to get circumcised or they will not be fit to marry. There is a difference in gender since men own the cattle and there is mobility since one is able to acquire more cattle and also lose them from them dying or being eaten by predators and also possibly from some other tribe stealing them. 

Political Structure: Traditional political structure of the Maasai consists of a council of Elders. They are older men that make most of the decisions of ceremonies, maintaining law and order, and also settling disputes in the tribe. This council of elders consists of ritual leaders, heads of clans, and the leaders of the age sets. As stated earlier there are senior warriors which will be able to start families and own a home then after about 15 years they will become elders. There is not a strict set of laws and everyone is following the culture's traditions without much dispute and there is the council of elders who would step in and determine what will happen next. 

The Role of Violence: Some violence that may occur in the Maasai comes in the form of protecting their cattle from predators, like lions and jaguars. This is why young men and boys have the responsibility of becoming warriors. These predators may come into the herd trying to kill cattle or even the people in the tribe. In a video of the Maasai they show how a child was attacked and mauled by a lion but he ended up surviving with scars of the bites. The boy is seen as a hero and respected throughout the tribe for his bravery and ability to withstand such a beast. Another form a violence that is no longer allowed is the hunting of lions. They hunt the lions with only spears and knives and then wear the manes of the lions to signify their manhood and strength. Before it was seen as a way for a boy to become a man but now lions are protected and only the stories of the elders exist. Instead of lion hunting, nowadays they will hold the Maasai Olympics which consists of education and sport activities. 

Religion: The Religion of the Maasai is monotheistic and the story consists of their God Ngai also known as Enkai who is the creator of the Earth and used to live with the humans until one day he went into the sky taking the cattle with him, until he saw they need to graze and get their nutrients so he sent them back to Earth, sliding down the branches of the trees where they ended up in possession of the Maasai to take care of them for Ngai. They have two manifestations of Ngai, a black God who brings grass, rain, and prosperity. Then there is the Red God who is vengeful and brings dry seasons, famine, hunger, and lightning. There are shaman like ritual leaders that will complete rituals to predict the tribe's future and see when they should do certain tasks. This is how they adapt to their pastoralist way of living, they have cattle as the center of their lives and make them a priority since they are what sustains them and keeps them surviving for centuries. 

Art: In the Maasai culture art is dominated by bridal necklaces. These bridal necklaces are meant to be worn on wedding day and also worn by married women to demonstrate their wealth. They often are linked and influenced by the amount of cattle their husband owns.  They also have art on their shields which are used when hunting lions and also singing and chanting.  Killing a lion was a way of showing one's manhood and they would wear the mane as headdress. They may also wear ostrich feathers as a headdress. Hunting lions is not allowed anymore but the elders will tell stories of how they would back in the day. Another form of art is a mating dance as a way to show off to the females. The dance consists of the males jumping straight up and the higher they jump the more attractive they will seem. As warriors they often perform the dance likely as practice or to see who can jump the highest. 

Conclusion and Cultural Change: The Maasai have had many encounters with other cultures including the Kikuyu which is another tribe in the area and they are involved in cattle rustling. They steal each other's cattle and this has led to issues in which the Kenya government has had to get involved and tell the Elders of the tribe to settle this dispute. They are starting to encourage education to be taught to the children since the cause of this cattle rusting comes from the people who follow the traditional way of life. Due to situations like this one which results likely from the changing climate making droughts more severe and causing cattle to starve the Maasai are in some danger. But they have a very rich culture which will likely not completely change for a while but right now they must change some aspects. In some villages they have had to switch to more resilient animals like sheep and goats. This is slowly getting rid of their cultural identity since cattle are the center of their lives and it is shown by their spiritual beliefs but they are now having to change that due to climate change which is causing loss of land and water. In the modern world they do not play a very big role although they do have many tourists visiting them and this is how some members make money when leaving the tribe and they act as guides for people who want to visit the Maasai and learn about their culture in person. 

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