View this site on the Maasai of Kenya. How does the changing economy of the Maasai seem to compare to that of other tribal people with pastoralist and transitional economies? What role does the tourist industry play in these changes?
The Maasai people are one of the most recognizable cultures of Africa (you can see the region they live in in the photo). When I saw this topic I immediately thought of the videos I've seen of the colourfully dressed people jumping unimaginable heights. This question asks about how the tourism industry has affected the Maasai people. Considering that most people around the world can recognize the Maasai culture, that indicates to me that there is a lot of interest and therefore tourism to areas where the Maasai people live. Tourists want to see first hand the experience I mentioned earlier of their beautiful coloured necklaces and jumping dances.
The Maasai people live in villages build in a circle, surrounded by a fence made of thorns so that lions won't attack their livestock (mostly cattle, but also goats and sheep). The men build the fence and the women are responsible for building the homes which are also circular. Women are also responsible for "supplying water, collecting firewood, milking cattle and cooking for the family" (http://http://www.maasai-association.org/maasai.html). The Maasai economy is a public-private dichotomy because the men's role is to herd the cattle, where as the women's roles are more close to home.
Cattle is the main sustenance for their economy. They rely on cattle to trade for other things such as clothing, livestock products and sometimes cash. This makes the Maasai peoples a pastoralist culture, meaning that they rely on livestock. They also have a transitional economy and are traders. More recently the Maasai women have been selling things like cellphones. The Maasai Association website says that the "entrepreneurial spirit" is something new in their society, but it's clearly there. Something I found interested from the textbook (on page 159) is that some Maasai men are travelling to large cities to get their Ph.D. in order to prove their man hood.
Similar to other tribes of Africa, the Maasai people's land has been taken away bit by bit by both the Tanzanian and Kenyan government. The text book says they have lost over 1 million acres of land. What's different about the Maasai people is that they are so well known, and the art work and jewelry the women make is very recognizable (see photo). Tourism has both helped the Maasai (because they sell more) but also hurt them (because they have lost their land). It seems that the Maasai are trying to embrace tourism which is also different from most other similar tribes. The website I've linked to is written by a Maasai tribe member and there people can sign up for tours. The package includes spending the night in a Maasai village and visiting Maasai schools and hospitals.
(Both of the pictures are taken off of http://www.maasai-association.org/maasai.html... I still can't figure out how to do captions lol)
I was very interested in seeing that the women from Maasai did alot of the 'harder' work!! Building houses, supplying water (which can be extremely heavy), collecting firewood!! I could never picture myself doing such things!
ReplyDeleteAnd having to travel to a larger city to prove your manhood? wow! talk about majoy gender difference than what we are use to!
Intestesting that they are practicly 'advertising' their tribe and wanting tourism to come there... I'd love to go some place exotic!! =)
Me too! The Maasai people have such a beautiful culture, it's sad that the governments surrounding them are causing the Maasai people so many issues.
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