Tanzania: Learning about the Maasai

A huge part of Tanzanian culture lies in the hands of the Maasai that reside in both Tanzania and Kenya.  A huge aspect in the Maasai lifestyle is the focus around cattle raising and they move from place to place with their animals. It seems that most of their life is focused on animals; they rely on them for food, such as milk, meat and blood and they also believe that one high god, Enkai, created the world, and when he created the Maasai he gave them cattle and the gift to raise them. When you talk about the Maasai - with two a's - it refers to the people, and with one, it refers to Masai land where the Maasai people live. 

The Maasai people are a very patriarchal, male-dominated society; men typically speak for women and make decisions in the family. Male elders decide community matters. In the Maasai tribe, the men are known to be fierce warriors, and can be recognized by their red cloth they wear called a Shuka. Women are treated very poorly and are responsible for cooking, cleaning, collecting sticks to make fire and building the home.


I have recently watched the movie "The White Massai", which is about an European woman named Carola, who falls in love with a Maasai man, Lemalian. The movie shows the controversial aspects of the clash of cultures and different views on the world. Each culture believes that their belief is the correct one, and since they are unable to understand each other's perspectives it brings out conflict. She learns about how women are treated in the Maasai culture; they are considered less important than cows and goats, how men are not able to even eat food a woman has touched, or even looked at. Girls are also treated differently, where they learn to fear and respect their fathers and are not allowed near them when they eat as well. 
Seeing this movie showed me a lot about the Maasai culture. They are a people and a culture steeped in their traditions and very devoted to their culture. They seem very committed to maintaining their culture and lifestyle without modernization of any kind. While researching and watching this movie, I have begun to understand what life is like for a Maasai woman. Maasai women are usually exploited to make handicrafts that are then sold to tourists.
Coming from an American standpoint, after researching and seeing the difference of how women are treated in Masai land compared to where I live, their life is so alien and unheard of, that we comprehend it as being treated poorly and unfair. If I was to ask a Maasai woman anything, it would be if she feels that she is treated fairly, or unfairly, or if it is just a century-old custom and the differences don't cross her mind. 

Maasai culture for women and men both are extremely different from culture living in the Vail Valley. For example, life for the Maasai is mostly a series of tests for manhood and womanhood that involve the endurance of pain. For boys and men, there is a series of tests from childhood to warriorhood to elder hood. When a boy is four, they are burned by hot coals on their legs and arms and submit to tattooing on their stomachs and arms as well, all without any flinching or look of pain. Circumcision is the next stage, (called excision for girls) and is considered the most important part of a Maasai's life. Circumcision itself will involve immense pain but tests a youth's courage. Girls endure a much longer and more painful circumcision, which they consider preparing for childbearing.