Masai Mara 3, Kenya - Wander the Planet .net

MASAI MARA (CONT.), KENYA

On Monday, we left Acacia Camp site and went to visit Kioss' Masai village. The Maasai or Masai are an indigenous African tribe of semi-nomadic people located in Kenya and northern Tanzania. The Masai are part of the Nilotic family of African tribal groups, and probably migrated from the Nile valley in Sudan to central and south-western Kenya and northern Tanzania sometime after 1500 AD, bringing their domesticated cattle with them. The Masai speak the Masai language, an Eastern Nilotic language closely related to Samburu, the language of the Samburu people of central Kenya, and to Camus spoken south and southeast of Lake Baringo. The Masai, Samburu and Camus people are historically related and all refer to their language as l Maa, although they acknowledge mutual cultural and economic differences. Most Maasai also speak Swahili, the official language (in addition to English) of East Africa.

Kioss let us go into his hut and meet his baby boy and wife (he just has one for the moment). When we went outside I took a photo of one of the huts and then showed one of the Masai men. He was fascinated and wanted to take a Masai Crafts

photo himself. He took a photo of 3 of the men but didn't understand about the view finder - so he just got their chests (photo above). The men were laughing at his photo asking where their heads were.

Then the women did a traditional 'party' dance and I shot a video clip of it with the camera. I showed the clip to the men and they were laughing sooo hard at the women. The women then stopped the dance and came over to see themselves on the video. At one point, I had 15 Masai around me watching the video - it was very cool!

Then the women brought out their crafts so we could buy them and help support the village. I bought a bunch of masai bead bracelets for the high school students I work with and some earings for my mom.

Masai Flag

Despite their reputation as fierce warriors, Masai culture revolves around their cattle.

Masai huts are built from dried cattle dung, and certain sacred rituals involve the drinking of cow blood.

There are numerous traditions and ceremonies performed by Masai men. Perhaps best known is the warrior "jumping" dance, where young Masai morani (warrior-youth) leap into the air from a standing position, in order to demonstrate their strength and agility.

Unlike many tribal cultures, Masai women have a strong voice in their culture. Masai women are easily identified by their shaved heads, bright clothing and beads, and the removal of one of the bottom teeth.