(2002). [107] A woman who has miscarried in a previous pregnancy would position the hair at the front or back of the head, depending on whether she had lost a boy or a girl. Maasai land now has East Africa's finest game areas. [14] At this time the Maasai, as well as the larger Nilotic group they were part of, raised cattle as far east as the Tanga coast in Tanganyika (now mainland Tanzania). Broken Spears - a Maasai Journey. These are typically red, though with some other colors (e.g. Fewer and fewer Maasai, particularly boys, follow this custom. A big male lion took a Masai cow. Owner of a flock of sheep. Born in the bush or outside the homestead. The peaceful one. A Tribe is an organization of people who share the same culture and language. This one is given to children who are born in the evening. Masai Names From A to Z. Born in the evening. [92], Soups are probably the most important use of plants for food by Maasai. [40] A corpse rejected by scavengers is seen as having something wrong with it, and liable to cause social disgrace; therefore, it is not uncommon for bodies to be covered in fat and blood from a slaughtered ox. [91] Electrocardiogram tests applied to 400 young adult male Maasai found no evidence whatsoever of heart disease, abnormalities or malfunction. According to the study's authors, the Maasai "have maintained their culture in the face of extensive genetic introgression". This probably given to those who are big. As the Maasai community stay glued and reserved about their culture, many of their practices have been kept traditional, one of them being the names. To further complicate their situation, in 1975 the Ngorongoro Conservation Area banned cultivation practices. There are many beautiful maasai names that men from the community are identified with. Beforethey.com. 100–111. [42], Traditional Maasai lifestyle centres around their cattle, which constitute their primary source of food. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. 87% were found to have undergone the removal of one or more deciduous canine tooth buds. [8], The Maasai inhabit the African Great Lakes region and arrived via the South Sudan. Learn the meaning of Maasai, origin, popularity and more name info. Note that the Maasai cattle are of the Zebu variety. The one who is always in a hurry. History can point to the success of a tribal organization as a means of living, if not particularly a means of creating wealth and well-being. "The technology of traditional milk products in developing countries", "Livestock as food for pastoralists in Africa", "Maasai herding: An analysis of the livestock production system of Maasai pastoralists in eastern Kajiado District, Kenya", "Ethnobotany of the Loita Maasai: towards community management of the Forest of the Lost Child; experiences from the Loita Ethnobotany Project; People and plants working paper; Vol. [110] When warriors go through the Eunoto, and become elders, their long plaited hair is shaved off. Men are expected to give up their bed to a visiting age-mate guest; however, today this practice is usually abandoned. Overall the effect is one of polyphonic syncopation. Kerubo. Blue, black, striped, and checkered cloth are also worn, as are multicolored African designs. Kerubo is a name given to … Camerapix Publishers International. Elizabeth L. Gilbert. As a historically nomadic and then semi-nomadic people, the Maasai have traditionally relied on local, readily available materials and indigenous technology to construct their housing. The period of expansion was followed by the Maasai "Emutai" of 1883–1902. Facts about Maasai Tribe of Kenya 1: language. The Last of the Maasai. The Last of the Maasai. Maasai. Nevertheless, killing a lion gives one great value and celebrity status in the community. Some maternal gene flow from North and Northeast Africa was also reported, particularly via the presence of mtDNA haplogroup M lineages in about 12.5% of the Maasai samples.[32]. [37] Many Maasai have also adopted Christianity and Islam. ", "Song Structure of Maasai Music (archived copy)". [9] The Maasai and other groups in East Africa have adopted customs and practices from neighboring Cushitic-speaking groups, including the age set system of social organization, circumcision, and vocabulary terms. Whatever power an individual laibon had was a function of personality rather than position. [103], Head shaving is common at many rites of passage, representing the fresh start that will be made as one passes from one to another of life's chapters. An out-of-court process is also practiced called amitu, 'to make peace', or arop, which involves a substantial apology. Similarly to the young men, women who will be circumcised wear dark clothing, paint their faces with markings, and then cover their faces on completion of the ceremony.[65]. The tribe migrated south across Kenya and into Tanzania, and made this area their home between the 17th and 18th centuries. Garrett Hardin's article, outlining the "tragedy of the commons", as well as Melville Herskovits' "cattle complex" helped to influence ecologists and policy makers about the harm Maasai pastoralists were causing to savannah rangelands. More recently, the Maasai have grown dependent on food produced in other areas such as maize meal, rice, potatoes, cabbage (known to the Maasai as goat leaves) etc. [10][11], According to their oral history, the Maasai originated from the lower Nile valley north of Lake Turkana (Northwest Kenya) and began migrating south around the 15th century, arriving in a long trunk of land stretching from what is now northern Kenya to what is now central Tanzania between the 17th and late 18th century.