THE ORIGIN OF THE MAASAI by Kelvin Leina Biwott  (This essay has been slightly edited.)

The origin of this ancient warrior tribe is believed to have originated in North Africa and migrated South along the Nile Valley, arriving in Northern Kenya about the fifteenth century.  They conquered tribes in their path as they continued southwards and by the end of the nineteenth century they extended from Northern Kenya through the Great Rift Valley into central Tanzania.  Today Maasai land covers much smaller areas as land was taken from them by European settlers and later by African agriculturalists.

The Maasai are composed of a rather loose association of sub-tribes or sections.  Each section has its own territory, dialect and custom but all Maasai are united by a common language and clan system.  Maasai believe in a supreme God, “Engai” who lives in heaven and on earth and to whom they pray.

Traditionally, the Maasai are a cattle keeping people.  Cattle provides almost all of their daily needs; milk and blood for drinking, hides for leather and meat on ceremonial occasions.  They live a semi-nomadic life as they search for good pastures and water for their herds.  The welfare of their animals is paramount, even their settlements are built within a strong enclosure to protect their livestock from predators.  The women build low oval huts of branches and grass plastered with a thick layer of cow dung which keeps the family warm and dry.

Each Maasai male passes through three main life stages; boyhood, warrior and elder hood.  Before becoming warriors, the youths are circumscribed.  Girls too are circumcised at puberty, making them eligible for marriage.  The boys will  lead a carefree existence in a special village called “Manyatta” built for them by women relatives.  The warriors protect the herds against predators and cattle raiders.

After every ten years, a new generation of warriors come of age and passed junior elder hood in a colorful ceremony.  This marks a period of greater responsibility, beginning with marriage and security in the form of cattle and children.  Maasai elders have the right to sit in council with other elders to dispense justice and make decisions about important issues of the day.  Maasai elders may have one or several wives.  Still some Maasai cling to their traditional way of life to a great extent.