Most of Africa’s local tribes and cultures have been assimilated into a hodgepodge of Western-wannabes. Not so the Maasai people – they cling tenaciously to their ancient customs yet still integrate into mainstream African society. The Maasai are a large tribe spread over several African countries. They are most prevalent in Tanzania and Kenya, visibly herding their cows along almost any road. They do not deliberately draw attention to themselves but if you look around, they are quite prevalent, both in urban and rural areas. The red-checkered, ever-present shawl and bare legs makes them standout in any crowd. Most carry a cudgel. Some wear a flat, white headpiece that hangs down the back of their neck. The women wear elaborate beaded neckpieces and iron bracelets. These items all bounce rhythmically when they perform their famed jumping, chanting dance for paying tourists.
The handsomest young Maasai men dress immaculately with all their traditional garb accoutrements while working the tourist beaches on Zanzibar to get paid for photos and hawking bric-a-brac. Precocious sons are sent into the modern world to become doctors and accountants, during which time they blend in with their surroundings, but when they go home they relinquish all evidence of Western influence and again don traditional attire. Maasai business acumen is legendary - they must be the wealthiest mud-and-stick hut dwelling people in the world. Because they are nomadic, following their cattle herds from season to season, they have few possessions. They do not even own coats or blankets but when traveling sleep in the open on the cold ground, wrapped in their shawls.
Maasai certainly adhere to the consummate protein diet: curdled cow blood, goat meat, no vegetables or even fruit. There is no such thing as an overweight Maasai. Their dwellings are not even tall enough to stand up in – and they are tall people. A man can have several wives and many children – each family has its own hut and the man rotates visits. Women are circumcised when married – very controversial in the West. The life of a Maasai is isolation within a multitude but they appear proud and confident, which is admired by everyone who sees them. I suspect the Maasai lifestyle, language and culture will survive into generations to come.
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