Maasai, << mah SY, >> are an African people famous for their skill as warriors and their strongly independent ways. The group’s name is sometimes spelled Masai. Exact Maasai population figures are difficult to determine. Most experts estimate that about 1 million Maasai live in southern Kenya and northern Tanzania.
Traditionally, the ownership of cattle was central to the economy of the Maasai. Their most important foods were milk and the blood of cattle.
Politically, the Maasai were organized into tribal groups led by older men called fire-stick elders. Related families lived in small homesteads called Bomas. When Maasai boys reached their late teens, they were called moran. Moran lived together in separate homesteads called Manyattas. They had to prove themselves to be brave warriors by raiding cattle from other Maasai groups or by killing lions. As a Maasai man grew older, he hoped to marry as many women as he could afford. Before marriage, a man offered a gift of cattle to the parents of his future wife.
For many years, the Maasai resisted joining their neighbors’ money-based economies. Today, many Maasai have abandoned their traditional ways. They have settled on farms to grow crops for sale or have migrated to urban centers to seek education or employment. Some of the men use their warrior training as security guards in cities, especially in Nairobi, Kenya.
