MAASAI TRIBE_ Origin and Culture [Kenya and Tanzania]

The Maasai tribe found in East Africa specifically in Kenya and Tanzania. The Maasai are a nailotic semi-nomadic ethnic group that has stuck to its old traditions and failed to bow down to western modernization. The Maasai are known for their distinctive way of dressing. They are known for very beautiful jewelry and also great culture. My name is Gani and this is the African Meats show where I spread good vibes about the African continent. I share great stories about the African continent. So if you want to learn a bit more about the African continent, consider subscribing to the channel. Turn the bell notification on as well so that every time I have a new video out, I get you notified. So let's look at the Maasai tribe. Their origin. They are believed to have migrated from northwestern Kenya specifically around Lake Tukana and they started their migration journey in the 15th century. The Maasai tribe continued migrating and as of today they actually settled in areas like southern Kenya and others spread out further through northern Tanzania. So this is the specific area where you can actually be able to find the Maasai tribe. On their migration journey, they were able to meet many other tribes that had earlier settled in these areas and for many of these, they actually had to take them down through a fight. So for many of these tribes that were conquered by the Maasai, they were forced out of these areas and they had to flee these areas and then for those that actually agreed to work with the Maasai, these were actually assimilated into the Maasai culture and they became part of the Maasai. As of today, they are believed to be a total of close to 2 million people spread out through both Kenya and Tanzania. Let's look at the Maasai culture. In the Maasai culture, men, especially the old men, these run everything around the society. It is them that actually determine how everything should be done in society. So in case of anything that has to be done in society, it is the men who actually decide whether society should be ruled in a certain way or in some other kind of way. So it is the men that have absolute powers over the women and the children in society. And then also cattle is something they treasure so much in the Maasai culture. When someone has cattle, they are actually taken as someone very big in society. So cattle can be used to do things such as maybe dowry. If they are paying for, let's say, a daughter's dowry, they use cattle to actually settle this. Then in case there are any disagreements, maybe in a family or in society, it is still cattle that can be used to settle these disagreements. So this is basically how the Maasai society is governed. In the Maasai tradition, they have their most high god and that is Laibon. They do respect him because he is responsible for giving the society powers, such as maybe if they want rain in the area, let's say if they need rainfall, it's the Laibon that they actually pray to. Then in case someone needs healing, it is still Laibon that is prayed to. Then other things like maybe prophecies, if one needs to maybe determine what will happen in the future, it is still the Laibon that grants this in the Maasai culture. So basically or generally, this is like their religional leader who heads everything in the Maasai culture in terms of religion. So when you need that spiritual connection, it is the Laibon that you have to talk to in the Maasai culture. Looking at the food for the Maasai people, they heavily rely on cattle products. They are known to be very good consumers and then they also consume raw blood. So this is basically taken directly from a cow. What they basically do is find a cow vein, strip it open and then they take this blood directly from a cow. It is known or they say it's very nutritious for their bodies and this is the reason they actually do this. But they also heavily rely on the meat from this very cow. So generally the Maasai heavily depend on cattle products. They are also known for their artistic body modifications like elongating of their earlobes, then are the lips. Sometimes they also elongated the tongue and other body parts that they usually make modifications on. This is usually done when someone is still in their young age and this is normally done using thorns, then twigs and then things like stones to basically create that pull effect on the human body. And as someone grows, they actually grow with these modifications as well. The Maasai are also known for their very artistic jewelry. I'm sure if you've been to Tanzania and Kenya as a tourist, you could have seen these very artistic jewelry pieces that the Maasai people sell within their communities. Well that's the Maasai tribe from Kenya and Tanzania. Hope you got to learn a bit more about this tribe in this video. In case you did, please give this video a like and also don't forget to please subscribe to the channel, turn the bell notification on as well so that every time I have a new video out, I get you notified. Thank you so much for watching this video. Watch more African content here on the card.