Maasai-land

There are many tribes that have traditionally lived in East Africa. Mazzoldi House in Kenya is in Kikewyu land, and the place where we stayed in Tanzania is traditionally Merian Land (I think- I'll have to verify). But the tribe who has had the most expansive territory and who has clung most successfully to their traditional way of life is the Maasais.

It's hard to explain what the Maasai people represent to Africans; they are almost hailed as the mascots of East Africa. While most of the tribes still exist in regards to family structure and geographical location, they have largely embraced modern life. The best analogy I can think of is the Amish in Central Pennsylvania/Ohio. Even the people who see them everyday still marvel when they see a horse-drawn buggy. Fr. Kamanzi comments every time we see a traditionally-clad Maasai boy driving a herd of cattle across a dusty plain.

The Maasai live in Bomas, that is, enclosed clusters of huts made from wood, mud, and cow dung. They practice polygamy (we passed one Boma of a man who has 50 wives!) and observe ancient circumcision rituals, for both boys and girls. This is a major point of contention with the modern world, as female circumsision, or "Female Genital Mutilation" as it is officially called, has been illegalized in both Kenya and Tanzania.

It is beautiful, seeing the Maasai people in villages, swathed in their red-plaid cloths, their long earlobes heavy with beaded jewelry. Every souvenir shop seems to have an exhaustive supply of Maasai necklaces, bracelets, rings, earrings, spears, shields, shoes, blankets, figurines... They are a graceful and proud people, and the deservedly the pride of East Africa.