Tuesday 17 April 2012

The Masai People

The images of elephants wandering across grass plains with the snowy peak of Mt Kilimanjaro in the background I took from Amboseli National park. In between the glorious mountain and the game park is the Masai villages that we visited.


I really like the Masai people I some ways I find them really fascinating.  After spending a few days with them it became more clear to me that the Masai are not just fierce warriors, they are gentle people and their way of life, food and language is much closer to ours in southern Africa. 

 
Traditional Masai lifestyle centers around their cattle which constitutes the primary source of food.
It is said that they believed all the cattle in the world were given to them by God, hence they always took them by force from other tribes.


Masai wear simple sandals mostly made from old vehicle and motorcycle tires, Their preferred color is red. Hence, they dress in red checkered sheets - called shukas - that they wrap around their shoulders.




Both men and women wear self made bangles and earrings in torn and elongated ear lobes. Women in addition, wear elaborate beadwork particularly around their necks. 




Dancing is leaping into the air for men the higher and more frequently one is able to leap while keeping his feet together, the better a dancer he is.


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