Contemporary Issues of the Maasai
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Many groups of indigenous people from around the world are dealing with issues of sustainability. Traditional lifestyles often clash, to some degree, with an attempt to stay active and participatory in the growing global economy. For the Maasai, small scale practices are being pushed aside to make way for western expansion. The Maasai are caught between a desire to maintain their cultural traditions and their need to adapt to a changing social, political and economic background.
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[edit] Maasai culture
The Maasai are indigenous to North Central Tanzania and Southern Kenya. In old traditional Maasai stories it is said that the Maasai journeyed from Northern Africa in search of fertile grasses to feed their cattle. That their cattle were dying and consequently they didn’t have enough food to feed their children. The elders knew that they must move their people to a more prosperous place, but they had no idea where to go. Upon turning to nature to provide them with answers, they saw a bird land in a bare tree with green grass in its beak; working on building a nest. They watched the bird as if flew over the horizon and up into the cliffs. The elders sent a few boys to go climb that cliff and see what was beyond it. The boys did so and they came back with the news that they had seen a green and lush land with rivers, there was nothing they could do for those left behind. They began a new life and prospered in the new land; they were the Maasai and that is how they came to be separate from other peoples (Zeleza 1994). This is an important story in Maasai oral culture and it tells how they feel they became a people.
Current Maasai population is roughly 1 million people and they live in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa; North central Tanzania and Southern Kenya (Philips 2001). At one point Maasailand was spread over an area more than 77,000 square miles (200,000 km²) of the richest grazing lands in around the rift Valley. Maasai have lived sustainably for hundreds of years on these lands and have developed a culture rich in knowledge and understanding of their environments. Maasai are often known as bright and colorful ornamented warriors. Their beadwork and other body adornments have a rich meaning and they can spend hours creating intricate pieces. Maasai community members adorn themselves according to traditional age and gender designs and body adornment is a sought after ritual at each stage in their lives.
The main staple to Maasai life and culture is cattle (Mathews 2006). For hundreds of years the Maasai have been sustainably through grazing their herds. Cattle are the traditional staple of Maasai diet, which used to consist of meat, milk and blood, and also are tightly intertwined in Maasai economy, social structure, religion and relationships. Herd size has always been a way to distinguish the rich from the poor and have long been the bond between many social and personal bonds. Upon marriage tradition constitutes the bride price of cattle and upon social disputes cattle have been used for trading or reconciliation. Of equal importance is the use of cattle slaughtering in religious transitional ceremonies for boys. As boys move up to the status of men a cow is slaughtered as an offering, marking their completion into the next chapter of their lives. For the Maasai, cattle have always been an integral part of culture and survival (Mathews 2006).
The Maasai are a semi nomadic pastoralist culture. Traditionally they have far more equalized gender roles than that of Western Culture. The cultural roles of men and women have traditionally been balanced out by gender specific tasks that promoted equality and sharing of power. While the male specific tasks of cattle grazing and watering, digging wells, protecting the herd, making weapons and building enclosures, where important, they were balanced out by equally important women’s tasks. Women have the jobs building huts, household chores, childcare, crop cultivation, animal tending and slaughtering. Women were also in charge of allocating milk and food within the family system. It was not until the infiltration of western influences, such as agriculture, that the Maasai began to feel an inequality of gender roles (Zeleza 1994).
The picture of Maasai culture and lifestyle is very quickly being distorted. Tradition is challenged and many times overthrown by a lack of customary resources. Time-honored practices have little chance for survival within the context of rapid western influence. Everything is threatened. No longer are the times where the Maasai can maintain a cattle centered lifestyle. Kenyan and Tanzanian governments, along with some conservationalist groups, have come close to eradicating the Maasai way of life. Traditional means of sustenance, medicine, water and education have been labeled as inefficient by western influences and newly empowered Kenyan and Tanzanian governments. Due to changes in political structure the Maasai are facing devastating issues, the most pertinent being Maasai land allocation, wildlife preservation, disease, poverty, lack of education, no healthcare, and lack of clean and safe drinking water. These issues are all tightly intertwined and endlessly complex; altering cultural practices, shifting traditional power dynamics, redefining survival essentials and threatening lives.
[edit] Water
The most unexpected threat to the Maasai is the lack of clean drinking water. Maasailand is located in an ideal position to benefit from the largest water resources in Kenya, the Kilimanjaro Water Development, whose pipelines actually cut right through Maasai territory itself. Water is diverted out into to Machakos, Makueni district, and Athi-River Town, leaving the Maasai people unnerved. Only the wealthiest of the Maasai can afford to divert any water, leaving almost all Maasai to fight disease, hunger, and poverty without this precious, and ironically very local, resource that can be of fundamental use to exponentially improve the quality of life for all Maasai [1].
[edit] Land allocation and wildlife preservation
The Maasai currently inhabit just a fraction of the land in which they once had free rein (Hillman 1994). Their land has been confiscated for mass agricultural purposes and wildlife conservation. Conservationalists have depicted them as incompatible with nature and consequently much of their land has been taken away from them in order to make way for animal reserves (Schaffer 2007). Although seemingly well intentioned, Game Parks and reserves are a cause of great stress and injustice for the Maasai. Upon implementation of these reserves and promotion of ecotourism the Maasai were completely left out of the equation. The Maasai have been living with the land, as opposed to off the land, for hundreds of years. They have a profound knowledge of wildlife, trees herbs, roots, grasses and other plants in their country. They have long been utilizing all of their natural resources for medicinal purposes, both for themselves and their livestock. Despite evidence that Maasai pastoralism has no negative effects on nature their traditional ways of life have been challenged by limited access to traditional land uses, they are losing some of their best land and being pushed into drier areas (Kimani 1998). Due to increased emphasis on wildlife preservation many Maasai have been forced to convert to a more western way of life. Maasai herd sizes have shrunk significantly and many Maasai are now involved in agriculture. This western imposed sedentary lifestyle has proven to yield insufficient food for the Maasai and has left the land overused and eroded. The seasonal climatic shifts and poor soil quality of most of Maasailand have proven to be far more favorable for traditional Maasai sustenance methods of pastoralism. Western impositions have put the Maasai in a position of poverty, famine and economic duress (Hillman).
[edit] Disease and healthcare
In villages of southern Kenya, the nearest clinic is over sixty miles away. Most of the sick can not afford to make this journey and many that try do not survive. Maasai have traditionally been able to take care of themselves through the use of traditional homeopathic medicine, but their modern sedentary lifestyle often prohibits them from being able to have access to traditional medicines. Furthermore Maasai people and cattle have fallen ill due to diseases brought upon by western colonization. It used to be standard practice of the Maasai to graze their cattle at night, as to avoid the dangerous disease laden tsetse flies, but with grazing land being converted into game reserve areas, areas that had been free of flies in the past had become unsuitable for grazing. What were once safe lands to travel, across now turned into dangerous hosting grounds for these disease carrying insects. Cholera is another disease prevalent within Maasailand, completely preventable, if the Maasai had access to the Kilimanjaro Water Development, hundreds are dying from drinking unsafe contaminated water. Also prevalent In Kenya are TB,malaria, HIV and trachoma (Crowe 1997). Many Maasai members are unaware that all of these diseases preventable or treatable to some extent.[citations needed, the Crowe article does not support these statements]
[edit] Lack of education and poverty
The Maasai are not rigid and opposed to learning about the western ways that have been imposed upon them. To the contrary, most Maasai feel that some change in inevitable and welcome the education as a means to better understand and act within the Kenyan and Tanzanian governments that rule so many aspects of their lives and culture. Maasai leaders are eager to see a progress is made, but they have strong obstacles to overcome. There are very few schools in Maasai region and no colleges. There is no investment into the children of Maasai; government leaders live a lavish lifestyle while their privileged children are sent to get a proper education over seas. The Maasai have become the underprivileged and often overlooked minority group. Kenyan and Tanzanian governments have done little in the way of supporting Maasai culture. As more land is being taken away, and more conditions are being placed on government aid, the Maasai are faced with the difficulty of having to navigate an entirety new sociopolitical system with very little education into it.[citation needed for every statement in this section]
[edit] Conclusion
Although the prognosis seems grim for the Maasai the fact still remains that they have proven to be a strong and vibrant culture that can and have tackled many adversities. There are programs implemented to empower the Maasai to force a change in their best interest. A culture known as warriors, the Maasai will continue to work hard towards the survival of not only their people, but their culture as well.
As a result of the many 21st century issues that are plaguing the Maasai many support groups have been founded. Organizations from around the world seek the aid of everyday individuals, such as you and me, with an interest that all humanity should be served. One such organization is Village Volunteers. “Village Volunteers works in collaboration with rural non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to implement sustainable solutions for community survival, education, and growth. Village Volunteers brings together self-sacrificing and passionate community leaders who empower local people, rely on indigenous resources, and build upon their existing cultural and economic context” (Village Volunteers.org). Village Volunteers are strong believers that we should all see ourselves as global citizens and take part in the lives of others around the world. We are all capable of facilitating change. “Village Volunteers is dedicated to assisting village communities in their quest to achieve a healthy, sustainable life. By exploring ways to stimulate economic development, and always working in partnership with local villages, we are working to help insure sustainable self-sufficiency” (Village Volunteers.org). By signing up with Village Volunteers you get the opportunity to directly make a positive change in the life of the Maasai community members. Visit their website for more information, [2].
[edit] References
- Arts and Life in Africa Online. Maasai People: [3]; Accessed May 2007.
- Conroy, Ronan. Solar Disinfection of Drinking Water and Diarrhea in Maasai Children: A Controlled Field Trail. The Lancet: 1996; pg 1695.
- Crowe, Sam. The Maasai Move to Eliminate Trachoma. British Medical Journal: 1997; pg 1784.
- Hillman, Eugene. The Pauperization of the Maasai in Kenya. Africa Today: Fall 1994; pg 57 (9).
- Kimani, K., Pickard, J. Recent Trends and Implications of Group Ranch Sub-Division and Fragmentation in Kajiado District, Kenya. The Geographical Journal: 1998; pg 202.
- Little, Peter D. Maasai Identity on the Periphery. American Anthropologist: 1998; pg 444.
- Mathews, Lisa. The Battle for Cattle. Cultural Survival Quarterly: Summer 2006; 30 (2) pg 12-18.
- Maasai Association.org. Maasai Issues in Summary: [4]; Accessed May 2007.
- Nomads Tread Lightly. New Scientist: 2007; 4(1).
- Phillips, J.S. The Maasai's Education and Empowerment; Challenges of a Migrant Lifestyle. Childhood Education: 2001; pg 140-146.
- Problems Plaguing the Maasai. Website for Maasai Warriors: [5] ; Accessed May 2007.
- The Maasai. Maasai-Mara: [6]; Accessed May 2007.
- Schaffer, D., Eshan, M., Ndege, Y., Bagla, P., Mantell, K. Dry: Life Without Water. Environment: Jan-Feb 2007; 8(11).
- Village Volunteers.org. [7]; Accessed May 12 2007.
- Zeleza, Tiyambe Ph.D. Maasai. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group;1994.
