Maasai+-+FA11

**Language**: The language of the Maasai people is Maa. The Maa language is spoken by many tribes in Kenya and Tanzania but there are more than twenty different dialects of it. The dialect of the Maasai is specifically referred to as Olmaa. These dialects are part of two categories, the northern group and southern group. The Maasai belong to the southern group. When traced back to its roots, the Maa language goes back to east of modern day Juba, in Southern Sudan.

**Beliefs**: The Maasai people have tried to stay steeped in their traditions. A lot of Maasai culture and life revolves around their cattle. With that said, they believe that at the beginning of the world, the sky and earth were united. They believe their God, whom they refer to as Enkai, sent them all the cattle that exists in the world, and only them, on along a rope. When another tribe found that they had not received cattle as Maasai had, they went on to cut the rope. Therefore, the Maasai believe that their cattle are a direct connection to their God. They are monotheistic, one of the few tribes that are. The Maasai put a lot of faith and trust in their Laibon, who is not only their religious, but he is also believed to have healing powers, the power to vex, and the ability to prophesy. In Maasai religion, they pass down a story that greatly parallels the story of Isaac and his two sons from the Bible. They rely on a lot on stories that have been passed down from generation to generation to explain the unexplainable. Today, due to the spread ideas, a few Maasai have chosen Christianity or Islam.

The Maasai people have a lot of interesting and important values. The first, is linked to their religion. Maasai very greatly value cattle. In fact, the believe that all of the cattle in the world belongs to them and was a gift to them from their God. Since cattle is so deeply rooted in their belief system, it is one of the things they value most. Something else Maasai value is their art. They are popular for their intricate bead work and large colorful collar type necklaces. Women use bead working to demonstrate their creativity and "social understanding." Whilst their jewelry is for beauty and aesthetic appeal, it is also important for many rituals. The different colors have also come to symbolize different things.Another thing that the Maasai value is new births and pregnancies. The mothers to be are waited on hand and foot, having meals prepared for them and not going out to work. They follow a strict diet and are cared for by midwives until the arrival of the newborn. The baby is then looked after and raised by the entire community.
 * Values **:

**Behaviors**: There are many behaviors/ traditions unique to the Maasai. They have a naming ceremony for babies/toddlers, a circumcision ceremony for teenage boys (the circumcision of girls has for the most part been discontinued), milk drinking and meat eating ceremonies, senior boy shaving and warrior shaving ceremonies, marriage and junior elder ceremonies, and many more. The boys of the Maasai tribe definitely go through a lot more than the girls; with the circumcision seeming to be one of the more gruelling. The Maasai have a couple "non traditional" solutions to common problems. Elders suffering from heavy intoxication or a hangover (not uncommon in the tribe) drink blood from cattle to relieve their symptoms. Blood is known to have high nutritional volume, but can no longer be used in their regular diet due to a decrease in cattle. Also, though many homes in Africa are made from traditional mud bricks, the Maasai also use cow feces and urine.

**Cultural Change**: The Maasai people pick and choose what aspects of modern culture they would like to adapt. Regardless of their strong reliance and routine embedded in their tradition, they were bound to change with the times. **Technology**- Before, education wasn’t really an important part of Maasai life. Whatever you needed to know, you most likely learned from your family. Only a select few occupations went on to get an education. Now, with all of the technology that is being spread through travel, the Maasai are starting to put a bit more emphasis on education. Likewise, they had relied mostly on their knowledge of plant life and their Laibon for medicine and healing. Now, a few clinics have opened up in Kenya and Tanzania from which the Maasai are learning from. **Travel**- Many people travel to Kenya for their wildlife and safaris. These tourist bring their cultures and ideas with them. Also, many people go to Kenya and Tanzania to study, observe, and help advance the Maasai. A big change currently facing the Maasai is that of religion. Islam and Christianity have spread to their area and some are choosing to convert. **Commercialization**- Ever since the the early 1900’s, The Maasai have been trading with the Europeans in Kenya and Tanzania for glass and plastic beads. That trading is what made bead work even more popular throughout the tribe. Livestock is a big source of income for the Maasai. They can trade it for other livestock, and even things like money or milk. These days, cows and goats are sold to pay off school fees. You will even see young men and women of the Maasai in the cities, trading or selling not only livestock but grains, beads, charcoal and even cell phones. The Maasai people are becoming more and more dependant on the market economies of surrounding areas. Private ownership was not something practiced by the Maasai until quite recently. The Maasai land is now divided and subdivided into ranches, which parts of are even sold to private developers. The fate of the Maasai is at risk due to some of their commercialization. They are losing land and these normally prideful and independent people are forced to beg for relief food.

**Works Cited ** <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Gall, Timothy L., and Jeneen Hobby. Worldmark encyclopedia of cultures and daily life. 2nd ed. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Cengage Learning, 2009. Print. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">***Print source**- This document is relative and important because not only is it a very reliable source, but it is also filled with information directly relating to our topic. It provided pictures and information on a broad spectrum of Maasai cultural aspects.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">"Maasai - Introduction, Location, Language, Folklore, Religion, Major holidays, Rites of passage, Relationships, Living conditions." Countries and Their Cultures. Advameg, Inc., n.d. Web. 31 Aug. 2011. < <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">[|http://www.everyculture.com/to-Tajikistan-to-Zimbabwe/Maasai.htm] <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">l>. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">***Secondary source**- This document is relative and important because it has information on all aspects of Maasai culture and their lifestyle. It is organized and after doing some research on Advameg, Inc., I concluded that it was a reliable source.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Maimai, Ole. "Maasai People, Kenya." Maasai Association Kenya. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Aug. 2011. < <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">[] <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">>. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">***Primary source**-This website was important to our research because the founder of the <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Maasai Association is a member of the tribe himself. He was one of the few Maasai who <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">go to college, and he happened to come here for college. He is now writing about the <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Maasai from an educated and personal point of view.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Summitt, April R.. "Cell-Phones and Spears: Indigenous Cultural Tradition Within the Maasai of East Africa." Kuscholarworks. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Aug. 2011. < <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">[|kuscholarworks.ku.edu/dspace/bitstream/1808/5774/1/ins.v03.n1.63-75.pdf] <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">>. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">***Primary source**- This document is relative and important because the author, April R. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Summitt, is not only a historian, but he has traveled to see the Maasai first hand. He <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">wasn’t part of an organization or anything, so his information was mostly factual with <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">very little bias.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Webb, Madeleine. "MED Maasai Culture Maasai History." Maasai Education Discovery. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Aug. 2011. < <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">[] <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">>. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">***Primary source**- This website was relative and important because it was rich in <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">information on a broad spectrum of required topics. It is managed by a volunteer <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">organization that has bases in the US, UK, and Kenya which led me to believe it is pretty <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">accurate.