Maasai Culture Essay

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The Maasai people are a feudal society, which is a hierarchical society based on land ownership and protection. The Maasai have warriors who protect plots of land or reserve pastures, but when the dry season is cruel, these pastures are ignored and used for grazing animals. The traditional social order of the Maasai was based on sharing land, where land was shared with extended family, but now the Kraals (huts made to keep lions away from cattle) are only occupied by a single family at a time. In traditional Maasai culture, the women make the Inkajijik’s (houses), they supply food and water, milk the cattle, cook and collect firewood. The men take care of security while the boys herd livestock, typically on the days they do not have school. The Massai have undergone major social transformation through the introduction of private ownership from the 60s to the 80s by the British and the government of Kenya. Before private ownership, land was only …show more content…

since privatization was pushed upon everyone. In the U.S. privatization has become a major factor in the country we are today, as it has affected us in a positive way as opposed to the Maasai, where privatization has made most of them poorer because they have had to go through many cultural changes from food to farming and the division of land. The changes are different in that the U.S. was positively affected while the Maasai were negatively affected as mentioned earlier. The Maasai have had to change most of their lifestyle choices when it comes to land, food and the transition from livestock to farming, while the people of the U.S. have not had to completely alter the way they obtain food and land, as well as farming and livestock. The Maasai will probably never touch the ideas of popular culture because of the culture shock that would occur, since the Maasai still maintain their main rituals and beliefs, such as having hunter-gatherers in the

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