THE MAASAI PEOPLE DESCRIPTION 3
TheMaasai People
TheMaasai People
Maasaipeople form one of the few communities which have maintained itsindigenous culture and traditional way of life. Despite of drasticcultural shift among other Kenyan communities in favor ofcivilization and western influence, Maasai community still maintainsits traditions in most aspects including family setup and sharing ofroles and responsibilities. However, changes in socioeconomic andadministrative structure in East African countries, Kenya inparticular, contribute to socio-cultural transformation among theMaasai people. Significant percentage of the Maasai community is nowtaking children to school hence changing the roles of boys as well asthat of parents. Note that boys assume the responsibility of herdingduring school holidays and on weekends and parents take theresponsibility when school session is on. In this regard, takingchildren to school is the major contributor of cultural changes amongthe Maasai community since children are able to learn foreign ways ofdoing things and interacting with other communities hence developinga different approach towards life.
Naturaldisasters such as climate change and changes in land managementsystem in the Maasai community have also affected people’s way oflife. Private ranches have become popular especially among thewealthy people. The element of communal land is slowly diminishingdue to subdivision of land and decreasing livestock in the community.The subsistence economy is taking a different route and the communityis adopting crop farming in some areas hence facilitating thetransformation. The increasing rate of transformation is likely toturn Maasai People to a different community twenty years to come.Things are totally different in US especially on the aspect ofcommunity leadership where the Maasai rely on council of elders. Thefamily set-up is also different where the Maasai value the clan andmembers of extended family in sharing resources.
Reference
MaasaiAssociation: Preservingand Celebrating Maasai Cultural Heritage.Retrieved from http://www.maasai-association.org/maasai.html.