A fascinating tribe, still unwilling to give up their ancestors' traditions in favor of modern life, the Masai tribe is representative for Africa. See more about their values and life in this article.
Masai are probably the most discussed tribe in the world. There has always been some sort of fascination for these savage, noble, independent and freedom-loving people. This has been also due to the many writings, documentaries, even movies like "The White Masai".
Such tribes are to be found in the African region of Kenya, where one may also encounter other peoples like Samburu, Turkana, Pokot, Rendille or Gabbra. Yet, the Masai are obviously far more famous than the previously mentioned ones.
When going on a safari trip, one of the main attractions seems to be seeing or even meeting the Masai peoples. It seems as interesting as seeing for the first time animals like leopards, cheetahs, lions, and so on. They are to be found in the wild parks of Maasai Mara and Amboseli. This journey may either be regarded as a touch of the real African continent, or seen from a more depressive perspective, namely seeing the sad side of the story-the Africans being enforced to sell their own culture, values and traditions to the Westerners.
What are mostly characteristic of the Masai's appearance are their red robes, usually wearing spears, braided hair dyed with ochre, and adorned with lots of traditional jewels. They are generally admired for their dignified, graceful, impressive look, and their highly trained bodies.
Many western people consider the Masai and the Zulu as being the typical, archetypal tribes of Africa. For this very reason, they are being paid a lot of attention from their part. This phenomenon seems to have started back in 1885, when an explorer named Joseph Thomson wrote a best-seller entitled "Through Maasailand". Since this fascination with the Masai has had many victims, some even gave it a name: "Maasai-itis."
Throughout the years, the Masai were seen by some scholars as the "Lost Tribe of Israel" due to their historical background. At any rate, this could also be applicable for other people in Africa (like Ethiopians, for instance.) The most astonishing fact is, anyway, that this tribe is capable to live in perfect harmony with nature, rejecting the elements and notions of western civilization. One of the things they seem to refuse is social inequity that always seems to occur in developed countries. They prefer keeping their ancient traditions and lifestyle, and the principle of sharing. They are awfully proud of their spiritual inheritance and unwilling to make compromise when it comes to modernization issues.
One of the most important aspects of the Masai way of life is breeding cattle. These animals are their major source of food, and are considered a highly important element in their culture. The importance of the cattle is so deeply rooted in the minds of the Masai peoples that they virtually believe that all the cattle have been sent to the earth by God only for them. Because of that, they also think they have the right to take cattle from other people, as they consider that cattle which don't belong to them had actually been stolen from them.
From the social point of view, the Masai are in favor of the principle of male domination, and practice polygamy. But this polygamy is mostly due to the high level of mortality in the case of infants and warriors. The fact is a woman most often actually marries her entire age group, not only one man (her husband.) Another Masai practice is inheriting one's wife.
An interesting thing is that their dwellings, the so-called 'manyatta', were initially built by women from wooden structures, mud and cow dung.
From the religious point of view, the Masai are monotheistic people. They believe in the existence of one God, whom they call Enkai/Engai. Yet this God has a double nature: a positive, loving side, represented by Engai Narok (The Black God), and a more vengeful side which they call Engai Nanyokie (The Red God) is vengeful. The religious leader of the Masai is the "laibon" who can perform shamanist acts like prophecy, healing, brings luck in wars or good weather for crops.
Nowadays, there are many Masai members who have turned to Christianity, and also just a few who have chosen the Muslim path.
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