Masai is a tribe of proud warriors, one of the most ancient and numerous throughout Africa. They live in Kenya and Tanzania. A distinctive feature of this tribe is that none of its members has a passport or any other document. That is why it is simply impossible to determine the exact number.
In the 15-16 centuries. Masai led a nomadic life, they came from the banks of the Nile. In modern times, many of them, not without the pressure of today's realities, are forced to become sedentary. However, not all of them surrender, most of them still remained nomads.
Who are the Masai?
Children under 14 are considered the happiest Masai. The tribe does not force them to learn anything, go to school, engage in social work, and so on. At this time, they just dance, have fun and sometimes go hunting. However, none of the children refuses personal self-improvement, they all observe adults, especially the leader. Seeing how they act and what they do, the kids build their own model of behavior.
After 14 years, the next 2-3 years, the Masai walk and look. Gradually, they enter the established structure of the tribe, where each person has his own responsibilities. Teenagers do not immediately determine their employment, they try themselves in all areas. So, for example, one of the girls may become a cook, the other will begin to look after the children.
Then, at the age of 16-17, the Masai get married or get married, build their own house, where they will live as a young cell of society. The accumulation of funds is gradually taking place. Since there are no banks in the villages, the status is determined by the number of livestock. The larger it is, the correspondingly higher is the position in society. After the wedding, a measured life begins, the formed person already knows exactly what responsibility lies with her. And so it goes on until old age.
How do the Masai live?
160 km from Nairobi, the Masai live in a relatively large village. The tribe has preserved its original way of life to this day. Since the area where it lives does not differ in fertile soil, people are forced to engage in cattle breeding. Each person determines his age only approximately, he does not have a passport, and the Masai’s calendar is not used to monitoring.
Each village has about 100 inhabitants. And they are all members of this large family. The leader is at the head. The way of life, respectively, is only patriarchal. Modern men, since there are no wars, graze cattle. Previously, this was the duty of the weaker sex. Women cook and raise children. There is no special upbringing either, the young simply follow the elders, imitating them in everything.
Three wives may have a Masai leader. The tribe, of course, is belligerent, but this does not apply to women. They deserve the respect and trust of men with delicious food. By the way, the leader determines his beloved spouse daily. And his choice will depend directly on the goodness of the prepared dinner.
Masai wedding
In the Masai tribe, wealth is accumulated through the sale of daughters. Therefore, a man who has more girls has a high status. The wedding begins with the groom coming to his bride’s house. On the threshold sits her father, guarding the home (so that the daughter is not stolen). Before handing over his daughter, he determines how much a young guy will have to give cows for her.
The bride must be a virgin. Many guests come to the wedding, each of whom gives a little (or a lot) of money for the benefit of the young. The mother-in-law collects all funds. At first, she will live with the young, performing the work of the treasurer. As for the celebration itself, it takes place in a standard and familiar mode - guests, fun, host, holiday costumes, and so on.
A terrible tradition is that on the wedding night the spouse will not sleep with her husband, but with the host. This is because a young man should not see the blood of his Masai woman.
If the warrior decided to marry again, then the new bride is chosen not by his mother, but by his first wife. The same is with the subsequent ones. That is, no matter how many brides a man requests, they all go through the selection of the one that was captured at the beginning.
Masai food
Very peculiar are the food and drink of the tribe. Moreover, the faint of heart is better not to get acquainted with the cuisine in question. Masai's favorite drink is fresh blood. Sometimes it is bred with milk. Drinking is as follows. A man punctures an animal’s artery with a sharp object and substitutes a container under pressure. The beast does not die, if only for the 10th time of quenching thirst. After the warrior has filled his cup, he fills the hole with clay, and the cow or ram continues to live.
But the Masai tribe of Africa has a very negative attitude to meat products. This is not due at all to the fact that they are ideological vegetarians. Just livestock - the main income, and eating it - means depriving yourself of status, lowering their importance in society.
Interesting Masai Facts
The Masai African tribe has amazing traditions that, for a European or Slavic person, may seem terrible. So, for example, all the girls go through the rite of circumcision, along with the guys. Moreover, if a woman did not do this, then she will never be married.
Also, all girls have to
shave their heads
baldly . Apparently, the men of the tribe do not believe that female beauty lies in long ringlets.
Each tribe also has its own distinctive sign - tattoos. They cover both human bodies and livestock. Only in this way on grazing can they distinguish their ram from someone else's. By the way, if strangers accidentally fell into the tribe, then they will immediately return it. No one has forgotten about the Masai militancy, even after decades of peaceful existence.
Conclusion
The originality of the Masai tribe is literally striking. A photo of each of its members proves militancy and self-will. There are also often notes that they put themselves above other African tribes, as well as Europeans or Americans visiting the continent.
Moreover, when the colonialists came to the territory of Africa, they were really afraid and even afraid of meeting with the Masai. With all this, the Europeans had modern technology and weapons, the tribe was primitive. It should be noted that this ancient culture is still preserved only due to militancy and unwillingness to surrender its original territories to the colonialists.