Why the Serengeti Cultural Maasai
Background
Apart from the wildlife and the rich plains Serengeti ahs a lot to offer which are the Serengeti Cultural Maasai; are perhaps Africa’s most popular and unique ethnic group. The Maasai as a group of people are found in Northern Tanzania and Kenya; in Tanzania they stay in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro. They are semi-nomadic and have lived for thousands of years on the Serengeti plains herding their cattle there. It is said that the Maasai migrated from the Nile Valley of Northern Africa and descended to the south with all their cattle in around the 15th Century.
Historians say they mainly migrated in such for better grazing land for their animals. Once said to be aggressive warriors; they used to be feared by almost every tribe in Serengeti but with time they lost power during the 19th century and also somehow the colonial rule affected them. They consider their wealth in children and Cattle; today due to the different government restrictions they can no longer roam around from place to place with their animals; they are a welcoming group of people always happy to meet new people especially the tourists.
Their way of life
Though considered as fierce, tough warriors; they live a life of rearing cattle and this is so because they believe spiritually that their god Enkai made cattle for them and interestingly most of them believe that all the cattle on the face of the earth belongs to them. With cattle all their needs where/are met; they drank milk, blood and also ate meet from their cattle, because of civilization and change in the way the world thinks they now grow crops for food which used not to be the case before.
They used to slaughter animals for ceremonies; all their shoes, beddings and clothing, was made from the hide as well as cow dung used for building houses. Over the year they have tried to maintain these traditions and it’s an interesting thing for you when you visit you get to learn and discover a lot about their culture.
While on a visit in the Maasai village of Serengeti you are welcomed by dances and singing from the Maasai themselves which shows that they are happy to see you. Also the Maasai live in Bomas, they are well built and come with a thrilling experience for the tourists who will take as many photos as they want also enter into some Bomas which are totally different from the houses you stay in back home.
The warriors
In their culture when young men grow up; they are meant to be warriors but this is not to everyone since this kind of lifestyle requires one o be courageous and strong because in most cases they have an open circumcision ceremony which firstly welcomes the boy to manhood and he is later sent to kill predators n the bush after he heals; they have to keep in mind the caution of not killing wildlife.
Dress code
Over the years the Maasai have been known for wearing extravagant beautiful and colored clothes since they are Nomads. They would dye their clothes to red in order to distinguish themselves from other tribes and also this would help them while in battle that if one is injured the blood would not show so the enemy would never realize that a certain warrior is weak.
Today other colors are worn such as black, blue and checkered clothes. The women also do mainly bead work which is also sold to the tourists in order for them to earn a living.
Like any other community the Maasai also have elders who are the people in charge of discipline, they have schools where children go and study; this means that you can have a visit to one of the school and see how the children study. They have a village clinic where those in need of medication go.
Above all;
when you visit Serengeti though its main highlight is the wildlife; you won’t regret ever visiting a Maasai community since you will be exposed to the other side of how people live and associate with one another. It is a great experience!
