A peek into the lives of the Maasai

Across the expansive and arid grasslands of Tanzania, 18-year-old Sanoto Topiwo watches keenly over his livestock. Armed with his staff, the young eagle-eyed Maasai warrior observes the landscape daily for signs of wild animals and other threats to his cattle.

Sanoto is one of the estimated 900,000 Maasai tribesmen who live in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa. The region, which stretches from southern Kenya to northern Tanzania, is home to a host of wildlife, including lions, hyenas, and leopards. Nevertheless, Sanoto is not daunted. This warrior, who is called a morani in the local Maa language, has prepared for this role his entire life.

“You have dangers like lions and leopards who can come at nights for the cows and goats, but the warriors will be there. The warrior must have their knife and their spear so they can protect all the cows for the village,” Sanoto explained to The Sunday Gleaner.

Young men are raised to assume this role from very young. When they reach their 17th birthday, their fellow tribesmen gather to sing, eat, and have a ceremony to celebrate the coming of age for the new warriors.

Known for their physical prowess and distinctive dress, the Maasai have long captured the imagination of visitors. Yet despite their popularity, the tribe is facing challenges due to evictions and resettlements.

With assistance from my Maasai guide and translater, Erick Manyeck, we travelled to a local village to observe the tribe’s culture. On the way, Erick shared that several communities are being moved to expand the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. The reserve, which is famous for its stunning landscape and the ‘Big 5’ – elephants, lions, leopards, buffalo, and rhinoceros – is home to 80,000 Maasai.

Even though Erick believes that resettling the community outside of the conservation area will lead to more opportunities, this decision has proven to be controversial. Most recently in June, tensions reached a boiling point where violent clashes occurred. While on September 30, the regional East African Court of Justice ruled that Tanzania’s decision to demarcate land for wildlife protection was legal, which has added another chapter to the ongoing saga.

After travelling for more than two hours from the nearest city of Arusha, we diverted from the highway towards an isolated settlement along the dusty plains.

THE CHIEF AND THE MANY WIVES

The Maasai, who are polygamous, do not live in traditional villages but in family compounds known as manyattas. Headed by a male, the homesteads consist of a circular arrangement of houses or bomas for each wife and their children. The bomas, which are made from mud and cow dung, are enclosed by a wall of brush that protects the community and their livestock from predators.

As we approached the entrance to the manyatta, we were greeted by Chief Lesian Topiwo. Lesian is a stocky man in his early 30s, adorned with a striped black and red shuka. The chief, who is known in Maa as the laigwanan, handed me a rungu, a short staff adorned with colourful beads, which symbolises authority.

One by one, a steady train of colourfully dressed women and warriors carrying staffs filed out to perform the welcome song dance. Wearing vibrant shukas with dazzling patterns of red, yellow, blue, and purple, the tribe danced and chanted in a circle as they invited me to join in the welcome.

From there, we proceeded to the centre of the manyatta to participate in the singolio, a ceremonial dance where a young Maasai man demonstrates his strength to attract a bride by jumping. Leaping to unparalleled heights is another defining quality of the Maasai. On this occasion, they did not disappoint as I attempted in vain to match the heights of the tribesmen.

After completing the ceremony, Sanoto invited us to one of the bomas where he shared more about the daily life of the tribe. Inside the boma, the walls were unadorned, maintaining their plain austere appearance. The room was small with a low roof and the only source of light was from the entrance.

As we sat on stools in the home, the young lanky teen smiled as we prepare for an interview.

Sanoto revealed, “The daily routine for the men is to take care of cows. They go near the mountains for the grasses and water, then at evening, they return to the village. The women, they build the houses and take care of the children. Also, they take the firewood for cooking and they fetch water.”

THE FRESH BLOOD OF A COW

Cattle hold a prominent place in the tribe as one’s wealth is determined by the number of cows owned. It is also the primary source of food for the community’s protein=rich diet. A typical Maasai meal comprises beef or mutton, roots, and chips. Meals are cooked at night, and in the morning, milk is had before the start of the day.

Erick noted that for the Maasai, the fresh blood of a cow is good for health. Right after a cow is killed, one takes a cup and drinks the blood immediately in order to access the nutritional benefits.

Cows also play a major role in the marriage process for Maasai men.

“If you want to marry a Maasai woman, you have to bring about 15 cows to the father of the woman,” Sanoto shared.

A man can have up to ten wives but this is dependent on the size of his herd.

On average, men marry at about 20 years of age, while women can marry by age 18.

When I asked if Sanoto had any plans to marry, he chuckled and said he would wait two more years.

Unlike Western societies, dating is non-existent in the Maasai culture due to the closeness between families.

According to Erick, “You know the woman of that family before. So you just point out that ‘I will marry you and you’, and that’s when you start planning. You meet at night, and there is dancing at the ceremony and then you marry her.”

‘THE MOUNTAIN OF GOD’

We visited the back of the manyatta where the mwalimu or teacher was seated with the children who recited the Swahili alphabet, “Moja, mbili, tatu, nne, tano …”

The mwalimu, Naseiku Motokaa, is a graceful woman adorned in a bright purple shuka which complemented her radiant smile. She shared that children learn Swahili after mastering Maa.

Before we left the village, Chief Lesian inquired about Jamaica’s fighting spirit demonstrated by our musical, sporting, and historical achievements.

I took out a $50 bill to explain that resilience is engrained in Jamaica’s psyche from very early. This was demonstrated by national heroes such as Sam Sharpe.

As Erick and I returned to Arusha, in the far distance the towering volcano, Oldonyo Lengai, laid still. Translated as “the mountain of god”, this represented a subtle reminder of the longevity of the tribe. However, time will tell if the mountain’s gaze will continue to watch over them.

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