The Maasai (;) are a
Nilotic
The Nilotic peoples are peoples Indigenous people of Africa, indigenous to South Sudan and the Nile Valley who speak Nilotic languages. They inhabit South Sudan and the Gambela Region of Ethiopia, while also being a large minority in Kenya, Uga ...
ethnic group inhabiting northern, central and southern
Kenya
Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...
and northern
Tanzania
Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...
, near the
African Great Lakes
The African Great Lakes (; ) are a series of lakes constituting the part of the Rift Valley lakes in and around the East African Rift. The series includes Lake Victoria, the second-largest freshwater lake in the world by area; Lake Tangan ...
region.
[Maasai - Introduction](_blank)
Jens Fincke, 2000–2003 Their native language is the
Maasai language
Maasai (previously spelled ''Masai'') or Maa ( ; autonym: ''ɔl Maa'') is an Eastern Nilotic language spoken in Southern Kenya and Northern Tanzania by the Maasai people, numbering about 1.5 million. It is closely related to the other Maa va ...
,
a
Nilotic language related to
Dinka
The Dinka people () are a Nilotic ethnic group native to South Sudan. The Dinka mostly live along the Nile, from Mangalla-Bor to Renk, in the region of Bahr el Ghazal, Upper Nile (two out of three provinces that were formerly part of southern ...
,
Kalenjin and
Nuer. Except for some elders living in rural areas, most Maasai people speak the official languages of Kenya and Tanzania—
Swahili and
English.
The Maasai population has been reported as numbering 1,189,522 in Kenya in the 2019 census
compared to 377,089 in the 1989 census. However, many Maasai view the census as government meddling and either refuse to participate or actively provide false information.
History
The Maasai inhabit the
African Great Lakes
The African Great Lakes (; ) are a series of lakes constituting the part of the Rift Valley lakes in and around the East African Rift. The series includes Lake Victoria, the second-largest freshwater lake in the world by area; Lake Tangan ...
region and arrived via
South Sudan
South Sudan (), officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the north by Sudan; on the east by Ethiopia; on the south by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Kenya; and on the ...
.
[A. Okoth & A. Ndaloh, ''Peak Revision K.C.P.E. Social Studies'', East African, p.60–61.] Most
Nilotic
The Nilotic peoples are peoples Indigenous people of Africa, indigenous to South Sudan and the Nile Valley who speak Nilotic languages. They inhabit South Sudan and the Gambela Region of Ethiopia, while also being a large minority in Kenya, Uga ...
speakers in the area, including the Maasai, the
Turkana and the
Kalenjin, are
pastoralists
Pastoralism is a form of animal husbandry where domesticated animals (known as "livestock") are released onto large vegetated outdoor lands (pastures) for grazing, historically by nomadic people who moved around with their herds. The anima ...
and have a reputation as fearsome warriors and cattle rustlers.
The Maasai and other groups in
East Africa
East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...
have adopted customs and practices from neighbouring
Cushitic-speaking groups, including the
age-set
In anthropology, an age set is a social category or corporate social group, consisting of people of similar age, who have a common identity, maintain close ties over a prolonged period, and together pass through a series of age-related statuses. T ...
system of social organisation,
circumcision
Circumcision is a procedure that removes the foreskin from the human penis. In the most common form of the operation, the foreskin is extended with forceps, then a circumcision device may be placed, after which the foreskin is excised. T ...
, and vocabulary terms.
[S. Wandibba et al., p.19–20.]
Origin, migration and assimilation
Many ethnic groups that had already formed settlements in the region were forcibly displaced by the incoming Maasai.
Other, mainly Southern Cushitic groups, were assimilated into Maasai society. The Nilotic ancestors of the Kalenjin likewise absorbed some early Cushitic populations.
Settlement in East Africa
The Maasai territory reached its largest size in the mid-19th century and covered almost all of the
Great Rift Valley
The Great Rift Valley () is a series of contiguous geographic depressions, approximately 6,000 or in total length, the definition varying between sources, that runs from the southern Turkish Hatay Province in Asia, through the Red Sea, to Moz ...
and adjacent lands from
Mount Marsabit in the north to
Dodoma in the south. At this time the Maasai, as well as the larger Nilotic group they were part of, raised cattle as far east as the
Tanga coast in
Tanganyika (now mainland Tanzania). Raiders used spears and shields but were most feared for throwing clubs (orinka) which could be accurately thrown from up to 70
paces (approx. 100 metres). In 1852, there was a report of a concentration of 800 Maasai warriors on the move in what is now Kenya. In 1857, after having depopulated the "Wakuafi wilderness" in what is now southeastern Kenya, Maasai warriors threatened
Mombasa
Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital status in 1907. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...
on the Kenyan coast.
Because of this migration, the Maasai are the southernmost Nilotic speakers. The period of expansion was followed by the Maasai "Emutai" of 1883–1902. This period was marked by epidemics of
contagious bovine pleuropneumonia
Contagious may refer to:
* Contagious disease
Literature
* Contagious (magazine), a marketing publication
* ''Contagious'' (novel), a science fiction thriller novel by Scott Sigler
Music
Albums
*''Contagious'' (Peggy Scott-Adams album), 1997 ...
,
rinderpest
Rinderpest (also cattle plague or steppe murrain) was an infectious viral disease of cattle, domestic water buffalo, and many other species of even-toed ungulates, including gaurs, African Buffalo, buffaloes, large antelope, deer, giraffes, wilde ...
(see
1890s African rinderpest epizootic), and
smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...
. The estimate first put forward by a German lieutenant in what was then northwest
Tanganyika, was that 90% of cattle and half of wild animals perished from rinderpest. German doctors in the same area claimed that "every second" African had a pock-marked face as the result of smallpox. This period coincided with drought. Rains failed in 1897 and 1898.
The
Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
n explorer
Oscar Baumann travelled in Maasai lands between 1891 and 1893 and described the old Maasai settlement in the
Ngorongoro Crater
Ngorongoro Conservation Area (, ) is a protected area and a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Ngorongoro District, west of Arusha City in Arusha Region, within the Crater Highlands geological area of northeastern Tanzania. The area is name ...
in the 1894 book ("Through the lands of the Maasai to the source of the Nile"). By one estimate two-thirds of the Maasai died during this period. Maasai in Tanganyika (now mainland Tanzania) were displaced from the fertile lands between
Mount Meru
Mount Meru (Sanskrit/Pali: मेरु)—also known as Sumeru, Sineru or Mahāmeru—is a sacred, five-peaked mountain present within Hindu, Jain and Buddhist cosmologies, revered as the centre of all physical, metaphysical and spiritua ...
and
Mount Kilimanjaro
Mount Kilimanjaro () is a dormant volcano in Tanzania. It is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain above sea level in the world, at above sea level and above its plateau base. It is also the highest volcano i ...
, and most of the fertile highlands near
Ngorongoro in the 1940s. More land was taken to create wildlife reserves and national parks:
Amboseli National Park
Amboseli National Park, formerly Maasai Amboseli Game Reserve, is a national park in Loitoktok District in Kajiado County, Kenya. It is in size at the core of an ecosystem that spreads across the Kenya-Tanzania border. It harbours 400 species ...
,
Nairobi National Park
Nairobi National Park is a national park in Kenya that was established in 1946 about south of Nairobi. It is fenced on three sides, whereas the open southern boundary allows migrating wildlife to move between the park and the adjacent Kitenge ...
,
Maasai Mara
Maasai Mara, sometimes also spelt Masai Mara and locally known simply as The Mara, is a large national game reserve in Narok County, Kenya, contiguous with the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. It is named in honour of the Maasai people, th ...
,
Samburu National Reserve,
Lake Nakuru National Park and
Tsavo in Kenya; and
Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tarangire and
Serengeti National Park
The Serengeti National Park is a large national park in northern Tanzania that stretches over . It is located in eastern Mara Region and northeastern Simiyu Region and contains over of virgin savanna. The park was established in 1940.
The Se ...
in what is now Tanzania.
Maasai are pastoralists and have resisted the urging of the Tanzanian and Kenyan governments to adopt a more sedentary lifestyle. They have demanded grazing rights to many of the national parks in both countries.
The Maasai people stood against slavery and never condoned the traffic of human beings, and outsiders looking for people to enslave avoided the Maasai.
Essentially there are twenty-two geographic sectors or sub-tribes of the Maasai community, each one having its customs, appearance, leadership and dialects. These subdivisions are known as 'nations' or 'iloshon' in the
Maa language: the
Keekonyokie, Ildamat, Purko, Wuasinkishu, Siria, Laitayiok, Loitai, Ilkisonko, Matapato, Dalalekutuk, Ilooldokilani, Ilkaputiei, Moitanik, Ilkirasha,
Samburu, Ilchamus,
Laikipiak, Loitokitoki, Larusa, Salei, Sirinket and
Parakuyo.
Genetics
Recent advances in genetic analyses have helped shed some light on the
ethnogenesis
Ethnogenesis (; ) is the formation and development of an ethnic group. This can originate by group self-identification or by outside identification.
The term ''ethnogenesis'' was originally a mid-19th-century neologism that was later introduce ...
of the Maasai people.
Genetic genealogy
Genetic genealogy is the use of genealogical DNA tests, i.e., DNA profiling and DNA testing, in combination with traditional genealogical methods, to infer genetic relationships between individuals. This application of genetics came to be use ...
, a tool that uses the genes of modern populations to trace their ethnic and geographic origins, has also helped clarify the possible background of modern Maasai.
Autosomal DNA
The Maasai's
autosomal
An autosome is any chromosome that is not a sex chromosome. The members of an autosome pair in a diploid cell have the same morphology, unlike those in allosomal (sex chromosome) pairs, which may have different structures. The DNA in autosome ...
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...
has been examined in a comprehensive study by Tishkoff et al. (2009) on the genetic affiliations of various populations in Africa. According to the study's authors, the Maasai "have maintained their culture in the face of extensive genetic introgression".
[ Also se]
Supplementary Data
. Tishkoff et al. also indicate that: "Many Nilo-Saharan-speaking populations in East Africa, such as the Maasai, show multiple cluster assignments from the Nilo-Saharan
..and Cushitic
..AACs, in accord with linguistic evidence of repeated
Nilotic
The Nilotic peoples are peoples Indigenous people of Africa, indigenous to South Sudan and the Nile Valley who speak Nilotic languages. They inhabit South Sudan and the Gambela Region of Ethiopia, while also being a large minority in Kenya, Uga ...
assimilation of
Cushites over the past 3000 years and with the high frequency of a shared East African–specific mutation associated with lactose tolerance."
Maasai display significant
West-Eurasian admixture at roughly ~20%. This type of West-Eurasian ancestry reaches up to 40-50% among specific populations of the
Horn of Africa
The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004), ...
, specifically among
Amharas
Amharas (; ) are a Semitic-speaking ethnic group indigenous to Ethiopia in the Horn of Africa, traditionally inhabiting parts of the northwest Highlands of Ethiopia, particularly the Amhara Region.
According to the 2007 national census, Amh ...
. Genetic data and archeologic evidence suggest that East African pastoralists received West Eurasian ancestry (~25%) through Afroasiatic-speaking groups from Northern Africa or the
Arabian Peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world.
Geographically, the ...
, and later spread this ancestry component southwards into certain
Khoisan
Khoisan ( ) or () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for the various Indigenous peoples of Africa, indigenous peoples of Southern Africa who traditionally speak non-Bantu languages, combining the Khoekhoen and the San people, Sān peo ...
groups roughly 2,000 years ago, resulting in ~5% West-Eurasian ancestry among Southern African hunter-gatherers.
A 2019 archaeogenetic study sampled ancient remains from Neolithic inhabitants of Tanzania and Kenya, and found them to have strongest affinities with modern Horn of Africa groups. They modelled the Maasai community as having ancestry that is ~47% Pastoral Neolithic Cushitic-related and ~53% Sudanese Dinka-related.
Y-DNA
A
Y chromosome
The Y chromosome is one of two sex chromosomes in therian mammals and other organisms. Along with the X chromosome, it is part of the XY sex-determination system, in which the Y is the sex-determining chromosome because the presence of the ...
study by Wood et al. (2005) tested various Sub-Saharan populations, including 26 Maasai men from Kenya, for paternal lineages. The authors observed haplogroup
E1b1b-M35 (not M78) in 35% of the studied Maasai.
[ (cf]
Appendix A: Y Chromosome Haplotype Frequencies
E1b1b-M35-M78 in 15%, their ancestor with the more northerly Cushitic men, who possess the haplogroup at high frequencies
lived more than 13,000 years ago. The second most frequent paternal lineage among the Maasai was
Haplogroup A3b2, which is commonly found in Nilotic populations, such as the
Alur;
it was observed in 27% of Maasai men. The third most frequently observed paternal DNA marker in the Maasai was
E1b1a1-M2 (E-P1), which is very common in the Sub-Saharan region; it was found in 12% of the Maasai samples.
Haplogroup B-M60 was also observed in 8% of the studied Maasai,
which is also found in 30% (16/53) of Southern Sudanese Nilotes.
Mitochondrial DNA
According to an
mtDNA
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA and mDNA) is the DNA located in the mitochondria organelles in a eukaryotic cell that converts chemical energy from food into adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial DNA is a small portion of the DNA contained in ...
study by Castri et al. (2008), which tested Maasai individuals in Kenya, the maternal lineages found among the Maasai are quite diverse but similar in overall frequency to that observed in other Nilo-Hamitic populations from the region, such as the
Samburu. Most of the tested Maasai belonged to various
macro-haplogroup L
In human mitochondrial genetics, L is the Human mitochondrial DNA haplogroup, mitochondrial DNA macro-haplogroup that is at the root of the anatomically modern human (''Homo sapiens'') mtDNA phylogenetic tree. As such, it represents the most an ...
sub-clades, including
L0,
L2,
L3,
L4 and
L5. Some maternal gene flow from
North
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography.
Etymology
T ...
and Northeast Africa was also reported, particularly via the presence of mtDNA
haplogroup M lineages in about 12.5% of the Maasai samples.
Culture

The
monotheistic
Monotheism is the belief that one God is the only, or at least the dominant deity.F. L. Cross, Cross, F.L.; Livingstone, E.A., eds. (1974). "Monotheism". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (2 ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. A ...
Maasai worship a single deity called ''Enkai'', ''Nkai''
or ''Engai''. Engai has a dual nature, represented by two colours:
Engai Narok (Black God) is benevolent, and Engai Na-nyokie (Red God) is vengeful.
There are also two pillars or totems of Maasai society: Oodo Mongi, the Red Cow and Orok Kiteng, the Black Cow with a subdivision of five clans or
family trees. The Maasai also have a totemic animal, which is the lion. The killing of a lion is used by the Maasai in the rite of passage ceremony. The "Mountain of God",
Ol Doinyo Lengai, is located in northernmost Tanzania and can be seen from
Lake Natron
Lake Natron is a salt lake, salt or soda lake, alkaline lake located in north Ngorongoro District of Arusha Region in Tanzania with its far northern end crossing into Kenya. It is in the Gregory Rift, which is the eastern branch of the East A ...
in southernmost Kenya. The central human figure in the Maasai religious system is the whose roles include
shaman
Shamanism is a spiritual practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with the spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritual energies into ...
istic
healing
With physical trauma or disease suffered by an organism, healing involves the repairing of damaged tissue(s), organs and the biological system as a whole and resumption of (normal) functioning. Medicine includes the process by which the cells ...
,
divination
Divination () is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic ritual or practice. Using various methods throughout history, diviners ascertain their interpretations of how a should proceed by reading signs, ...
and
prophecy
In religion, mythology, and fiction, a prophecy is a message that has been communicated to a person (typically called a ''prophet'') by a supernatural entity. Prophecies are a feature of many cultures and belief systems and usually contain di ...
, and ensuring success in war or adequate rainfall. Today, they have a political role as well due to the elevation of leaders. Whatever power an individual laibon had was a function of personality rather than position. Many Maasai have also adopted
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
or
Islam
Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
. The Maasai produce intricate jewellery and sell these items to tourists.

Educating Maasai women to use clinics and hospitals during pregnancy has enabled more infants to survive. The exception is found in extremely remote areas. A corpse rejected by scavengers is seen as having something wrong with it, and liable to cause social disgrace; therefore, it is not uncommon for bodies to be covered in fat and blood from a slaughtered
ox.
[''Cultural and Public Attitudes: Improving the Relationship between Humans and Hyaenas'' from Mills, M.g.L. and Hofer, H. (compilers). (1998) ''Hyaenas: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan''. IUCN/SSC Hyaena Specialist Group. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. vi + 154 pp.]
Traditional Maasai
lifestyle centres around their
cattle
Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...
, which constitute their primary source of food. In a patriarchal culture that views women as property, a man's wealth is measured in cattle, wives and children. A herd of 50 cattle is respectable, and the more wives and children the better. A man who has plenty of one but not the other is considered to be poor.
All of the Maasai's needs for food are met by their cattle. They eat their meat, drink their milk daily, and drink their blood on occasion. Bulls, goats, and lambs are slaughtered for meat on special occasions and ceremonies. Though the Maasai's entire way of life has historically depended on their cattle, more recently with their cattle dwindling, the Maasai have grown dependent on food such as
sorghum
''Sorghum bicolor'', commonly called sorghum () and also known as great millet, broomcorn, guinea corn, durra, imphee, jowar, or milo, is a species in the Poaceae, grass genus ''Sorghum (genus), Sorghum'' cultivated for its grain. The grain i ...
, rice, potatoes and cabbage (known to the Maasai as goat leaves).
One common misconception about the Maasai is that each young man is supposed to kill a
lion
The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...
before he can be circumcised and enter adulthood. Lion hunting was an activity of the past, but it has been banned in
East Africa
East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...
– yet lions are still hunted when they maul Maasai livestock. Nevertheless, killing a lion gives one great value and celebrity status in the community.
Body modification

The piercing and stretching of
earlobes
The human earlobe (''lobulus auriculae''), the lower portion of the outer ear, is composed of tough Loose connective tissue#Areolar tissue, areolar and adipose connective tissues, lacking the firmness and elasticity of the rest of the auricle (a ...
are common among the Maasai as with other tribes, and both men and women wear metal hoops on their stretched earlobes. Various materials have been used to both pierce and stretch the lobes, including thorns for piercing, twigs, bundles of twigs, stones, the cross-section of elephant tusks and empty film canisters. Women wear various forms of beaded ornaments in both the ear lobe and smaller piercings at the top of the ear. Among Maasai males,
circumcision
Circumcision is a procedure that removes the foreskin from the human penis. In the most common form of the operation, the foreskin is extended with forceps, then a circumcision device may be placed, after which the foreskin is excised. T ...
is practiced as a ritual of transition from boyhood to manhood. Women are also circumcised (as described below in
social organisation
In sociology, a social organization is a pattern of relationships between and among individuals and groups. Characteristics of social organization can include qualities such as sexual composition, spatiotemporal cohesion, leadership, structu ...
).
This belief and practice are not unique to the Maasai. In rural Kenya, a group of 95 children aged between six months and two years were examined in 1991/92. 87% were found to have undergone the removal of one or more deciduous canine tooth buds. In an older age group (3–7 years of age), 72% of the 111 children examined exhibited missing mandibular or maxillary deciduous canines.
Genital cutting

Traditionally, the Maasai conduct elaborate
rite of passage
A rite of passage is a ceremony or ritual of the passage which occurs when an individual leaves one group to enter another. It involves a significant change of social status, status in society. In cultural anthropology the term is the Anglicisa ...
rituals which include surgical
genital mutilation
Genital modifications are forms of body modifications applied to the human sex organs, human sexual organs, including invasive modifications performed through genital cutting or surgery. The term genital enhancement seem to be generally used for ...
to initiate children into adulthood. The Maa word for
circumcision
Circumcision is a procedure that removes the foreskin from the human penis. In the most common form of the operation, the foreskin is extended with forceps, then a circumcision device may be placed, after which the foreskin is excised. T ...
, "emorata," is applied to this ritual for both males and females. This ritual is typically performed by the elders, who use a sharpened knife and makeshift cattle hide bandages for the procedure.
The male ceremony refers to the excision of the prepuce (foreskin). In the male ceremony, the boy is expected to endure the operation in silence. Expressions of pain bring dishonor upon him, albeit only temporarily. Importantly, any exclamations or unexpected movements on the part of the boy can cause the elder to make a mistake in the delicate and tedious process, which can result in severe lifelong scarring, dysfunction, and pain.
Young women also undergo
female genital mutilation
Female genital mutilation (FGM) (also known as female genital cutting, female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and female circumcision) is the cutting or removal of some or all of the vulva for non-medical reasons. Prevalence of female ge ...
as part of an elaborate
rite of passage
A rite of passage is a ceremony or ritual of the passage which occurs when an individual leaves one group to enter another. It involves a significant change of social status, status in society. In cultural anthropology the term is the Anglicisa ...
ritual called "Emuatare," the ceremony that initiates young Maasai girls into adulthood through ritual mutilation and then into early arranged marriages. The Maasai believe that female genital mutilation is necessary and Maasai men may reject any woman who has not undergone it as either not marriageable or worthy of a much-reduced bride price. In Eastern Africa, uncircumcised women, even highly educated members of parliament like
Linah Kilimo, can be accused of not being mature enough to be taken seriously.
The Maasai activist
Agnes Pareyio campaigns against the practice. The female rite of passage ritual has recently seen excision replaced in rare instances with a "cutting with words" ceremony involving singing and dancing in its place. However, despite changes to the law and education drives, the practice remains deeply ingrained, highly valued, and nearly universally practised by members of the culture.
Hair

Upon reaching the age of 3 "moons", the child is named and the head is shaved clean apart from a tuft of hair, which resembles a
cockade
A cockade is a knot of ribbons, or other circular- or oval-shaped symbol of distinctive colours which is usually worn on a hat or cap. The word cockade derives from the French ''cocarde'', from Old French ''coquarde'', feminine of ''coquard'' (va ...
, from the nape of the neck to the forehead.
Among the men, warriors are the only members of the Maasai community to wear long hair, which they weave in thinly braided strands. Graduation from warrior to junior elder takes place at a large gathering known as Eunoto. The long hair of the former warriors is
shaved off; elders must wear their hair short. Warriors who do not have sexual relations with women who have not undergone the "Emuatare" ceremony are especially honoured at the Eunoto gathering.
This would symbolise the healing of the woman.
Two days before boys are circumcised, their heads are shaved. When warriors go through the ''Eunoto'' and become elders, their long plaited hair is shaved off.
Music and dance

Maasai music traditionally consists of rhythms provided by a chorus of vocalists singing harmonies while a song leader, or olaranyani, sings the melody. Unlike most other African tribes, Maasai widely use
drone polyphony
Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice ( monophony) or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chord ...
.
Women chant lullabies, humming songs, and songs praising their sons. Nambas, the call-and-response pattern, repetition of nonsensical phrases,
monophonic
Monaural sound or monophonic sound (often shortened to mono) is sound intended to be heard as if it were emanating from one position. This contrasts with stereophonic sound or ''stereo'', which uses two separate audio channels to reproduce sou ...
melodies, repeated phrases following each verse being sung on a descending scale, and singers responding to their verses are characteristic of singing by women. When many Maasai women gather together, they sing and dance among themselves.
Eunoto, the coming-of-age ceremony of the warrior, can involve ten or more days of singing, dancing and ritual. The warriors of the Il-Oodokilani perform a kind of march-past as well as the
Adumu, or aigus, sometimes referred to as "the jumping dance" by non-Maasai. (Both adumu and aigus are Maa verbs meaning "to jump" with adumu meaning "To jump up and down in a dance".)
Cuisine

Traditionally, the Maasai cuisine consisted of raw meat, raw milk, honey and
raw blood from
cattle
Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...
—note that the Maasai cattle are of the
Zebu
The zebu (; ''Bos indicus''), also known as indicine cattle and humped cattle, is a species or subspecies of Bos taurus, domestic cattle originating in South Asia. Zebu, like many Sanga cattle breeds, differs from taurine cattle by a fatty hump ...
variety.
Most of the milk is consumed as fermented milk or
buttermilk
Buttermilk is a fermented dairy drink. Traditionally, it was the liquid left behind after churning butter out of cultured cream. As most modern butter in Western countries is not made with cultured cream but uncultured sweet cream, most mode ...
(a by-product of butter making). Milk consumption figures are very high by any standards.
The Maasai herd goats and sheep, including the
Red Maasai sheep, as well as the more prized cattle.
Although consumed as snacks, fruits constitute a major part of the food ingested by children and women looking after cattle as well as morans in the bush.
Medicine
The Maasai people traditionally used the environment when making their medicines, and many still do, due to the high cost of Western treatments. These medicines are derived from trees, shrubs, stems, roots, etc. These can then be used in a multitude of ways including being boiled in soups and ingested to improve digestion and cleanse the blood. Some of these remedies can also be used in the treatment or prevention of diseases. The Maasai people also add herbs to different foods to avoid stomach upsets and give digestive aid. The use of plant-based medicine remains an important part of Maasai life.
Shelter
Clothing

Maasai clothing symbolises ethnic group membership, a pastoralist lifestyle, as well as an individual's social position.
From this they can decide the roles they undertake for the tribe. Jewellery also can show an individual's gender, relationship status, and age.
Maasai traditional clothing is both a means of tribal identification and symbolism: young men, for example, wear black for several months following their circumcision.
The Maasai began to replace animal skin,
calf hides and sheep skin with commercial cotton cloth in the 1960s.
Shúkà is the
Maa word for sheets traditionally worn and wrapped around the body. These are typically
red
Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...
, sometimes integrated with other
colour
Color (or colour in Commonwealth English; see spelling differences) is the visual perception based on the electromagnetic spectrum. Though color is not an inherent property of matter, color perception is related to an object's light absorp ...
s and patterns. One-piece garments known as
kanga, a
Swahili term, are common. Maasai near the coast may wear
kikoi, a
sarong
A sarong or a sarung (, ) is a large tube or length of textile, fabric, often wrapped around the waist, worn in Southeast Asia, South Asia, Western Asia, Northern Africa, East Africa, West Africa, and on many Pacific islands. The fabric often ...
-like garment that comes in many different colours and
textiles
Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, and different types of #Fabric, fabric. ...
Influences from the outside world
A traditional pastoral lifestyle has become increasingly difficult due to modern outside influences.
Garrett Hardin
Garrett James Hardin (April 21, 1915 – September 14, 2003) was an American ecologist and microbiologist. He focused his career on the issue of human overpopulation, and is best known for his exposition of the tragedy of the commons in a 1968 p ...
's article outlining the "tragedy of the commons", as well as
Melville Herskovits' "cattle complex" influenced ecologists and policymakers about the harm Maasai pastoralists were causing to savannah rangelands. This was later contested by some
anthropologist
An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...
s.
[McCabe, Terrence. (2003). "Sustainability and livelihood diversification among the Maasai of Northern Tanzania". Human Organization. Vol 62.2. pp. 100–111.] British colonial policymakers in 1951 removed all Maasai from the
Serengeti National Park
The Serengeti National Park is a large national park in northern Tanzania that stretches over . It is located in eastern Mara Region and northeastern Simiyu Region and contains over of virgin savanna. The park was established in 1940.
The Se ...
and relegated them to areas in and around the
Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA).
Due to an increasing population, loss of cattle due to disease, and lack of available rangelands because of new park boundaries and competition from other tribes, the Maasai were forced to develop new ways of sustaining themselves. Many Maasai began to cultivate maize and other crops to get by, a practice that was culturally viewed negatively.
Cultivation was first introduced to the Maasai by displaced
WaArusha and
WaMeru women who married Maasai men.
In 1975 the Ngorongoro Conservation Area banned cultivation, forcing the tribe to participate in Tanzania's economy. They have to sell animals and traditional medicines to buy food. The ban on cultivation was lifted in 1992 and cultivation became an important part of Maasai livelihood once more. Park boundaries and land privatisation has continued to limit the Maasai livestock's grazing area.
Throughout the years, various projects have attempted to help the Maasai people. These projects help find ways to preserve Maasai traditions while also encouraging modern education for their children.
Emerging employment among the Maasai people include farming, business, and wage employment in both the public and private sectors.
Many Maasai have also moved away from the nomadic life to positions in commerce and government.
Eviction from ancestral land
The Maasai community was reportedly being targeted with live ammunition and tear gas in June 2022 in
Tanzania
Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...
, in a government plan to seize a piece of Maasai land for elite private luxury development. Lawyers, human rights groups, and activists who brought the matter to light claimed that Tanzanian security forces tried to forcefully evict the indigenous Maasai people from their ancestral land for the establishment of a luxury
game reserve
A game reserve (also known as a game park) is a large area of land where wild animals are hunted in a controlled way for sport. If hunting is prohibited, a game reserve may be considered a nature reserve; however, the focus of a game reserve ...
by Otterlo Business Corporation (OBC) for the royals ruling the
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...
. As of 18 June 2022, approximately 30 Maasai people had been injured and at least one killed, at the hands of the Tanzanian government Field Force Unit (FFU) while protesting the government’s plans of what it claims are delimiting a 1500 sq km of land as a game reserve, an act which violates a 2018
East African Court of Justice (EACJ) injunction on the land dispute, per local activists. By reclassifying the area as a game reserve, the authorities aimed to systematically expropriate Maasai settlements and grazing in the area, experts warned.
This was not the first time Maasai territory was encroached upon. Big-game hunting firms along with the government have long attacked the groups. The 2022 attacks are the latest escalation, which has left more than 150,000 Maasai displaced from the
Loliondo and Ngorongoro areas as per the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
. A hunting concession already situated in Loliondo is owned by OBC, a company that has been allegedly linked to the significantly wealthy
Emirati royal family as per Tanzanian lawyers, environmentalists as well as human rights activists. Anuradha Mittal, the executive director of the environmental think-tank,
Oakland Institute cited that OBC was not a "safari company for just everyone, it has operations for the royal family".
A 2019 United Nations report described OBC as a luxury-game hunting company "based in the United Arab Emirates" that was granted a hunting license by the Tanzanian government in 1992 permitting "the UAE royal family to organise private hunting trips" in addition to denying the Maasai people access to their ancestral land and water for herding cattle.
When approached, the UAE government refrained from giving any statements. Meanwhile, the OBC commented on the matter without addressing alleged links with Emirati royals, stating that "there is no eviction in Loliondo" and calling it a "reserve land protected area" owned by the government.
Notable Maasai
*
Linus Kaikai – Kenyan journalist and Chair of the Kenya Editors Guild
*
Francis Ole Kaparo – Former
Speaker of the National Assembly of Kenya
The speaker is the presiding officer of the Kenyan National Assembly. From 1966 to 2013 the National Assembly was the unicameral body of the Kenyan Parliament.
Qualifications
The speaker is elected by the National Assembly (Kenya) from amon ...
*
James Ole Kiyiapi – associate professor at Moi University and permanent secretary in the Ministries of Education and Local Government
*
Olekina Ledama – Founder, Maasai Education Discovery
*
Stanley Shapashina Oloitiptip – Former Kenya politician and cabinet minister
*
Josephine Lemoyan – social scientist, Tanzanian member of the 2017-2022
East African Legislative Assembly
The East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) is a sub-organ of the larger East African Community, being the legislative arm of the Community. Members are sworn into five-year terms.
History
Since colonial times, a number of organizations have ...
*
Nice Nailantei Lengete – First woman to address the Maasai elders council at
Mount Kilimanjaro
Mount Kilimanjaro () is a dormant volcano in Tanzania. It is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain above sea level in the world, at above sea level and above its plateau base. It is also the highest volcano i ...
, and persuaded the council to ban
female genital mutilation
Female genital mutilation (FGM) (also known as female genital cutting, female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and female circumcision) is the cutting or removal of some or all of the vulva for non-medical reasons. Prevalence of female ge ...
among the Maasai across Kenya and Tanzania
*
Joseph Ole Lenku – Cabinet Secretary of Kenya for Interior and Coordination of National Government from 2012 to 2014
*
Mbatian – Prophet after whom Batian Peak, the highest peak of
Mount Kenya
Mount Kenya (Meru people, Meru: ''Kĩrĩmaara,'' Kikuyu people, Kikuyu: ''Kĩrĩnyaga'', Kamba language, Kamba: ''Ki nyaa'', Embu language, Embu: ''Kĩ nyaga'') is an extinct volcano in Kenya and the Highest mountain peaks of Africa, second-highe ...
, is named
*
Katoo Ole Metito – Member of Parliament for
Kajiado South sub county
*
Joseph Nkaissery – Former Cabinet Secretary of Kenya for Interior and Coordination of National Government from 2014 to his death in 2017
*
William Ole Ntimama – Former Kenyan politician and leader of the Maa community
*
Damaris Parsitau – gender equality advocate, feminist, and scholar
*
David Rudisha
David Lekuta Rudisha, State Commendations of Kenya, MBS (born 17 December 1988) is a retired Kenyan Middle-distance running, middle-distance runner who is the world and Olympic record holder in the 800 metres. Rudisha won gold medals in the 800 ...
– Middle-distance runner and 800-meter world record holder
*
George Saitoti
George Musengi Saitoti, State Commendations of Kenya, E.G.H. (3 August 1945 – 10 June 2012) was a Kenyan politician, businessman and American- and British-trained economist, mathematician and development policy thinker.
As a mathematician, ...
– former Vice-president of Kenya
*
Moses ole Sakuda – Kenyan politician
*
Jackson Ole Sapit – Sixth Archbishop and Primate of the
Anglican Church of Kenya
The Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK) is a province of the Anglican Communion, and it is composed by 41 dioceses. The current Leader and Archbishop of Kenya is Jackson Ole Sapit. The Anglican Church of Kenya claims 5 million total members. Accordin ...
*
Edward Sokoine –
Prime Minister of Tanzania from 1977 to 1980 and again from 1983 to 1984
*
Sanaipei Tande – Kenyan musical artist
See also
*
Maasai language
Maasai (previously spelled ''Masai'') or Maa ( ; autonym: ''ɔl Maa'') is an Eastern Nilotic language spoken in Southern Kenya and Northern Tanzania by the Maasai people, numbering about 1.5 million. It is closely related to the other Maa va ...
*
Maasai religion
*
Maa Civil Society Forum
*
1899 famine in central Kenya
References
Bibliography
*
External links
African People Ethnography , MaasaiWorking for a just and self-sustaining community for the Maasai PeopleMaasai TrustThe Maasai People - History and Culture (dead link)Indiana University Art Museum Arts of Kenya online collectionMaasai Mara Tribe Facts
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maasai People
Ethnic groups in Kenya
Indigenous peoples of East Africa
Nilotic peoples
Indigenous peoples of Arusha Region
Ethnic groups divided by international borders
Members of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization
Ethnic groups in Tanzania