The Maasai

While on safari we have learned a lot from Moses about the Tanzanian
people. There are four major ethnic groups - Bantu, Kushites/Iracqu,
Maasai, and Hadza (Bushmen). The Bantu make up about 85% of the
Tanzanian population and almost 100% of the southern half of the
country.

Within these four ethnic groups there are approximately 120 different
tribes, each with their own identity and laguage, or at least
dialect. Most now also speak Kiswahili, a language that was invented
through the combination of other languages in the 1940s in order to
unite the many East African tribes. Today over 100 million people
speak Kiswahili.

Before coming to Tanzania it was my impression that the pictures of
Maasai in bright red blankets standing next to their bomas of mud huts
were staged for tourists. What we have learned, however, is that of
the 2 million Maasai living in Tanzania, roughly 600 thousand still
live in their traditional lifestyles. In fact we have seen dozens of
bomas and hundreds of Maasai tending their livestock in the plains.
Interestingly, "Arusha", the name of the city where we are spending
much of our time, translates as "modern Maasai" and it is largely
populated by the other 1.4 million.

The Maasai were traditionally a nomadic people, sending their famed
warriors ahead of the rest of the herders and families to find good
pasture land and clear it of its inhabatants if necessary. When the
Maasai moved south into TZ 400 years ago, the Kushites and Bushmen
inhabated the northern part of the country. After some fighting, the
Maasai were able to establish a presence here. However, when they
attempted to move south they were defeated by the Bantu, a well-
developed farming society that would later defeat the first German
attempt at colonizing the country.

The defeat at the hands of the Bantu caused them to settle in the
Serengeti plains and in other areas of northern Tanzania. Later the
traditional bomas were moved by the government from the Serengeti into
the Ngorongoro conservation area, where they continue to live the
traditional lifestyle, supported in some ways by the government in
times of drought or medical emergency.

There is possibly no more striking image of Tanzania than the sight of
a Maasai in bright red or purple, acacia stick in hand, working his
way across the plains. There is some controversy, however, about
capturing this image in photos. many Maasai either don't want their
picture taken or believe they should be paid for it, and some believe
that paying them for pictures is an invasion of their lifestyle. You
can visit a tourism-oriented boma, but we gave chosen not to. At this
point, I am guessing that we will leave Tanzania with only the
memories and a few haphazard photos.