A Night With The Masai

This afternoon/evening, we spent the night at a Masai camp ground, incl a camp fire and learned about their culture, way of life, food/medicine, progress, use of technology, etc. I did not expect it to be as informative, fascinating and, frankly, inspiring. A few interesting customs/traditions:

- The Masai do not name their children until they are 2 years old. Only given nick names until then
- As the Masai do not keep records, the exact age of a person is not known, instead they are asked "which age group do you belong to"? (age groups are in 10 years, i.e. 15-25, 25-35, etc.
- Women cannot be with their husbands for 2 years after giving birth
- Men can have multiple wives
- The men pay a dowry, typically in the form of cattle
- The Masai eat only cow and sheep/goat meet (no chicken, no fish)
- The boys go through 3 distinct stages: children/youth, warriorship (from age 14-16) and eldership
- The dead are not burried, but laid out in the desert, facing west towards the sunset and will be eaten by Hyenas
- Masai use 3 weapons: Spear, sword and bow & arrow
- Greeting children respectfully is by touching their heads
- Christian missionaries tried to convert them. The Masai are happy when the missionaries bring stuff and then go to church, but once they leave, the churches are empty and even used as shelter for cattle

Most importantly, however, is the progress (or lack thereof). Female Genital Mutilation is still widespread and the norm, so is arranged marriages with no regard for the girl's/man's age (a 12 year old girl can be married to a 70 year old man). Helen, a Masai woman, is trying to change those customs for the better, but it is an uphill battle.

I hope she achieves that. Culture must progress if human beings are being harmed, no matter the customs, At least in my view.Read more