The Masai





The Masai tribe of Kenya is one of the few tribes that has held tightly to their heritage and traditions.  In the hospital, the Masai are easy to pick out.  They all shave their heads; men, women, and children alike.  They dress in bright colors, typically red, sometimes orange or pink, and adorn themselves with lots of beaded jewelry.  Sometimes, they will have earlobes which are stretched out with large holes through them.  This past weekend we went to safari in Masai Mara.  Everywhere you looked you could see Masai men or boys herding their cattle, sheep, or goats.  In the Masai culture, the number of cows you have is equivalent to the amount of money you have in the bank.  It is a status symbol.  The goal of a Masai is to raise a good cow.  Often times a man gains more cows through a dowry given to him by his wife's father.  Polygamy is prevalent in the Masai tribe.  The more wives a man has, the more repect he will have in the tribe.  It is extremely different from our ways.  We heard of women leaving the Masai tribe to get an education, which is an unusual occurence, only to return to the Masai man they were promised to and completely reenter the culture. 



This weekend we had the opportunity to visit a Masai village.  The chief's son gave us a tour.  The wives have the responsibility of building the houses which are made from cow dung and sticks. The village is surrounded by a fence made from vertical sticks stuck in the ground.  There is an inner circular fence in the middle of the village where the cows are kept at night for protection from predators.  In the past, the Masai would hunt down any predators -typically lions- that killed one of their cows.  Today, because lions are endangered in many areas, the Masai are no longer allowed to kill lions, but are reimbursed by the government for any cows taken by lions.

Another unusual part of the Masai culture is a jumping ritual in which the Masai men jump as high as they can vertically while singing and chanting.  One of the highlights of our trip was when they pulled Michael into their circle to join in the jumping.  Afterwards, the men formed a line and chanted and hollered and took each of the women in our group by hand.  I was certain they were trying to take us as one of their wives.  I was ready to fight. :) Thankfully, we were only getting escorted to our van.