Curious Questions for The Maasai: Part 1

"Maasai in general doesn't prefer having hair as they believe that hair may lead to headaches. Maasai women are allowed to grow their hair only within the limited time of three months after delivering a child. As per our old rituals, we could not worship our Gods while having long hair. Only Morans are allowed to have long hair, which is shaved off after their ceremony, signifying their coming of age."

"The main struggles in our society today are fighting poverty, climatic change, and the scarcity of land for livestock. We need water for our herds and for domestic uses. Most of our living areas are situated in areas with semi-arid climatic conditions. This means that water is scarce. Another struggle is for the land. The main job in Maasai society is to graze cattle so we struggle to get a favourable climate to get enough grass for our cattle, goats, and sheep. We are also pastorals and so we struggle to find the vast land for livestock, we have multiple herds, so we need a large plot of land. We also fight for equality, as we face biases and are underestimated in the cities by other people."

"A few decades ago, the Maasai society didn't see the advantage of education. It was perceived by society that education has been brought by the whites intentionally as a way of removing the blacks. As a result, they hid their children whenever the government officials came to look for the parents who didn't send their children to school. There was a change in the 1980s, when Eduard Moringe Sokoine, a Maasai man, became the country’s first Prime Minister. Seeing a fellow Maasai in such a high position of leadership brought a change in the perception of society, and they slowly began sending their children to schools to get formal education. Many young Maasai, therefore, are now heading to cities and other countries for the same.

The community earlier also believed that the child who is sent to school is not loved by his parents. So the child who left home to pursue education was regarded as not part of the family. But now, with changing times, this perception has also receded, with the help of interaction with people from outside and globalization. The community members are now very excited with the impact of education and pushing their children to pursue it."

"In the Maasai society, menstruation is a taboo subject. Cultural norms and religious taboos on menstruation are often compounded by traditional association with the evil spirits, shame and embarrassment around sexual reproduction. Maasai women use cloth instead of sanitary pads. In some cultures, as in Maasai culture, women bury the used cloth so as to prevent them from being taken by evil spirits. The good news is that there are people who are working towards spreading awareness about safe and hygienic menstruation practices. Many women are now adopting this practice into their lives."

"The main source of income for the Maasai is their livestock. Before they started crop cultivation, the Maasai were dependent on animal husbandry. They would sell milk, butter produced from the milk, animal fats and skin to other people. With the privatization of lands and ownership, land became scarce, which led to many Maasai men looking for sources of income through other trades, like mining and tourism. There are different mining industries in the Arusha region where many Maasai people work. With exposure to the ‘external’ world and interaction with foreigners, the society was inspired to venture into different trades, looking for their personal economic growth."

"Most of the Maasai society lives in semi-arid climatic areas, experiencing long summer and short winter seasons, which leads to limited resources. Maasai communities used to move towards the mountainous regions with their livestock in search of water and pastures. The society learned to survive with the limited resources available in their region. They would sometimes also sell their cattle to afford other needed resources. Another means of survival with limited resources is by living a communal life. For example, it was taboo for a single Moran to eat alone. They were encouraged to eat in pairs to maintain the power of society and also benefited the Morans from the poor family."