Ethnology project: Masai, Kenya

Environment

            The Masai people of Kenya were known for being powerful and ferocious people. They were also called, “Llmaasae”. They were nomadic, warlike people of a largely hamitic origin. They roamed the vast plains of east Africa grazing large herds of cattle on rich posture of the virgin grasslands which is now of Tarzania and Kenya. Sheep’s and goats were a source of meat to them instead of cattle because it was rarely slaughtered but mainly used for ceremonial purposes. A plant called “o-rupanti” which is a commiphora tree that they used for medicine but mainly for the children. The Masai live in kraals that were arranged in a circular form, which had a fence around the kraals mainly made out of thorns to keep out animals. The men constructed the fence while the women constructed the kraal, or hut.

Language

            A language that is shared within Kenya is the “Olmaa” language. The name derives from the Samburan and Llchamus culture. This language was first recorded by an early missionary, Reverend Dr. Johann Ludwig Kraft (1810-1881). Later on there was a bible that was published by the Bible Society of Kenya, Nairobi and was called “Biblia Sinyatti”. Also there was a dictionary of the Masai language by Reverend James Erhardt, a missionarythat was published in Wurtenberg, Germany in 1857. All the nouns in the Masai language have a prefix whether it be masculine, feminine, or neuter.

Gender Roles

            They had up to 5 or 7 clans that were divided into a number of divisions, and characteristics by cattle brands. Authority was constructed by age group and age set, whether they are circumcised or a natural leader. An Olaiguenani is selected, and leads the age groups through a series of rituals till old age. Most of the boys weren’t circumcised till they were in a mature state, not when they were young. To transfer from junior warrior to senior warrior they would have a special ceremony  called “Eunoto” which would take place in a special hut called “Enkang O Sinkira” were four days of rites are staged. The boy would come into the hut and sit on the same cowhide on which he was circumcised and have his head shaved by his mother, after that is done he is able to choose any girl to be his wife, and that would conclude the ceremony.

Subsistence

            Livestock consisted of cattle, sheep and goats, also donkeys and camels. Cattle were key to an individual or family in the Masai society. They would range from fifty to three hundred for a family and a wealthy individual would have an excess of one thousand cattle. To claim the cattle as there own they would either brand or sacrifice the skin of the animal and add a particular design or they would cut the ears in a way that makes it possible to identify the cattle or claim them if they were ever stolen or lost. The livestock would be traded for other types of livestock, money or other livestock products like milk or siege.

Economic System

            Milk was very important throughout the Masai economy. It was either drunk fresh, curdled, mixed with blood, made into butter or even sun dried on hides to make powered milk. Cows, goats and sheep were essential for this process. They would use the meat of the goat and sheep but not of the steers because they were used only for sacrifices in ceremonial occasions such as community events, or even marriage. They relied on the meat, milk and blood from the cattle because it was a source of protein and calorie needs.

Marriage

            Marriage ceremonies were arranged by the elders without consulting the bride or mother. Older men would have polygynous relationships which left the women young and at times even widowed and they can not remarry. The father would have most control with his family and traditionally as long as they were alive and well, there sons would not take control over anything till he passes away. If a woman is widowed after her husbands death, she would also be subordinate to her sons for management of the herd and livestock, but if she has no sons than she would have no protection what so ever. A bride is given a herd of cattle at marriage, and from there her sons will inherit herds of there own. If both parents die the oldest son is to inherit his fathers herd, the youngest son inherits his mother’s cattle and if they had any daughters, they would get nothing at all. 

Kinship (clans)

      Lineages with the Masai people extend up to one or two generations past the oldest living elders, making them patrilineal people. The lineages are identified through clans whose bonds and restrictions are now weak.

Religion

            The Masai believed that the sky and earth were just as one. They didn’t have any cattle and so they turned to god to bring them cattle from the sky brought down by a bark rope. There was a group called the Dorobo who were hunter and gatherers and did not receive any cattle from god and so they cut the rope losing the connection between heaven and earth. They believed that god had a direct link with the cattle. To them, cattle are a gift from god and so they symbolize this in a way of meat-eating and milk-drinking through rituals. This is why when they have ceremonies for a child being circumcised, marriage, and other ceremonies, the livestock are killed and the meat is consumed by everyone. They had villages called ritual villages were all there rituals and ceremonies would be held.

Artwork

            The Masai art consisted mainly of bead work. They had specific bead work for a warrior’s outfit, elder’s traditional objects and bridal costumes which all consisted of specific pieces of jewelry, a shield, a warriors spear, ceremonial headdress and much more. Through a woman’s art, it celebrates her skill, courage, elegance, warmth, and also a story can be told through her artwork.

Conclusion

            The Masai culture is a strong culture that still goes on till this day. There environment, the rituals they have, the roles each person plays throughout there culture is something that only sticks with them. Many people want to learn about the Masai tribe and people and know more about them. Since this culture is still going on till this day, they will be one to last a lifetime and nothing will change anything about them. The influence that the Masai people to our western cultures is a strong one. What they do and what we do is completely different and I think we can learn so much more about them than what we already know. The way they go through there daily activities, the depth behind there rituals are just some of the things that people of this day should learn and know more about.

Bibliography

http://www.masaikenya.org/masai.html

http://massai-association.org/art.html

Art as a Culture

1. I think the cave artists were trying to tell a story with the paintings of all sorts of animals, like the aisle with all the bulls, the black horse, upside down bull and all sorts of other animals as well. Just like humans, animals tell a story all by themselves. They have so much history behind them so instead of having humans drawn throughout the caves, they drew animals to tell a story and history all by themselves. The aspect of the cave dwellers is just that they were very creative and they thought out of the box. They wanted people to know about there history and so drawing on these cave walls all over was a way for them to do so. Just like artists till this day, they are always trying to find different ways to create a painting that has a story behind it, whether it be on a street wall, a billboard, a canvas, there are many types of ways people are creating new art but still keeping the history from the cave dwellers behind the paintings they draw.
2. Art in its art form is always different from one another; there is never a painting that’s the same. Artists are always trying to create new ways of painting, new ways of showing your story on a simple piece of paper and it all started with the cave dwellers and there paintings. They brought out painters throughout the world, embracing the cave dwellers art form and how they took it upon themselves to keep the art going.
3. Photography is a way to communicate through your pictures, just like painting is a way to communicate without using words. It’s just a simple way that you can do anything and express yourself in any way you want through photography. I believe it benefits society because everyone can do it; it’s not something that’s hard to do or even learn. Photography has been around for a long time and has history as well with different types of cameras, settings, effects and much more. It’s very interesting and you can add your own touch to it to make it your own.

Politics and Violence Blog Post

1. The rules between the Yanomamo culture and the western culture differ in many ways because although the western culture does have strict rules about killing someone or breaking the rules, the Yanomamo culture rules are even stricter. If someone in our culture now were to kill someone, or break the rules (law), than they would go to jail or prison for a very long time, or get a warning maybe even a ticket for not following the rules. The fact that the Yanomamo were to kill someone else for doing so is really extreme but than again that’s how there culture is and how everyone is brought upon.
2. The Yanomamo have many types of killing or as they call it “revenge killing”. They would have shouting matches, chest pounding duels, side slapping duels, club fights, fights with axes and matches, fights with bows and arrows all with the intent to kill the other person they are battling. Most of the men who die, which is 30% of the men, all die from violence.
3. The benefit of obtaining the status of Unokais is that you are well known throughout the village and throughout the neighboring villages. He becomes known by going through with a ritual know as the Unokaimou, which helps avert any supernatural harm that might come to him from a spirit of someone who he killed. Some decide not to become Unokais because most men who do become Unokais would die trying.
4. The men really take on the roles throughout the village, each is well known through the Unokais. They do have the main control of, fighting, battling, and going through raids and killing people. Men are usually in polygynous relationships and over a lifetime they might have up to a dozen different wives but rarely up to only six wives. Most of the Yanomamo people were closely related by half-cousin ship or as first cousins. The Unokais have a more successful reproductive rate than the non-Unokais because they are well known to everyone and have an easier time finding mates. Sometimes forcing them from others or by a customary alliance marriage arrangement which they seem to be more attractive to there mates.
5. We have laws to help restrict people on what they can and can not do. Some may not like it but it’s what the law does to mainly protect people, not only themselves but everyone around us. If we didn’t have laws or rules that needed to be followed than people wouldn’t be as, in line, as they should be. Killing someone is ultimately bad no matter what, but we don’t go to the extreme of killing someone only if its necessary, if the person is of harm to the rest of society.

Kinship Blog Post

Rosa Maria Gramaldi Ruiz Wood was my interviewee but she’s better known as my mom. She was born in a Mexi Cali, Mexico on January 08, 1962. Raised in a traditional Mexican home, where religion was very important, and home style meals where everything was homemade by her mother. Rosa’s parents raised her along with 9 other siblings, 6 sisters and 3 brothers with a total of 10 children and each of them are still close to each other.

The interview took place in the kitchen at the kitchen table were we had many talks, and many dinners as a family. Throughout the whole interview, I felt very comfortable talking to my mom and asking her these questions; she also was very open with her answers and wasn’t holding anything back. If I were to interview someone else who was unrelated or who I didn’t know, I think it would have been more different than interviewing someone I am close with. The fact that it’s a person you just met and you have to ask all sorts of questions to them, it’s hard to tell if the person is going to be open to the questions or how they will take them. It could make the interview uncomfortable and full of nerves.

As Rosa was very close with her own siblings and her mom’s side of the family she was also close with her father’s side of the family. They had many family gatherings were everyone would come together and enjoy each others company. It’s a time where both families could come together as one. It seemed like the larger the family, the more closeness there was between everyone. Family gatherings, or parties, were very common, and seemed like every time there happened to be one, more and more family kept coming along. I enjoyed this very much growing up, because it’s still nice to see my mom be so close to her sisters and brothers throughout the years, and also show so much love towards them and there kids as well. It shows that no matter how big or small the family, a bond between family and siblings is always going to be close. They were taught and raised to respect, not only everyone around you, but especially your elders. The fact that they take care of us and look after us deserves that and respect in return.

On both my mom and dads side of the family, I know everyone and I am close with each and every one of them. I do tend to see my dads side more than my moms side because all of my dad’s side lives here in Palmdale, close to us so it’s very easy to go out and see my aunts, uncles, cousins and my grandma. My mom’s side does still live in California, but they live in the valley, which is 45 minutes away but still hard to see my aunts, uncles and cousins because of the distance. Family gatherings, birthday parties, or holidays are what bring me to see my mom’s family a lot. I would have to say that the parents and grandparents have the most influence in decisions made in the family than the children do. This is because even though we are voiced to our own opinions and decisions, we have to show respect to our parents and elders in the decisions they make for the family as a whole.

Interview with Rosa:

Question 1: With which family members did you tend to socialize with the most? Who did you spend holidays with?

Answer: With the third generation, including me, and my oldest sister.

Question 2: If you needed help, place to live, money or child care, who among your family members would you feel comfortable turning to?

Answer: Would only turn to mom for everything because they always had an open communication.

Question 3: Are there family members your subject will not interact with or communicate with? Why?

Answer: no there was none because she was close with her whole family.

Question 4: Are there family members your subject knows little about?

Answer: No, knows everyone very well.

Question 5: Is the subject family located in a relatively central area or are they spread out geographically? Have family members migrated during his/her lifetime to another country? What were the reasons? How did this affect the family as a whole? Or if the family has tended to stay in the same place geographically, why have they chosen to do so?

Answer: All live in a central area. Yes, mother migrated family from Mexico to the United States which brought them closer together as a family.

Subsistence and Economy Blog Post

Part 1

            The benefits of hunting and gathering was that the groups would hunt the large animals for there meat and skin and gather a smaller selection of foods like wild fruits and vegetables. This was devided intto two groups, the men would go out and hunt while the women go out and gather wild fruts and vegetables. The benefit of agriculture was that it has played a major role in society’s economic change, which still goes on today. Some of the hunter –gatherers, who were mobile, were either permanent, temporary and sometimes even both. They would make there shelters out of building materials they had or sometimes use rock shelters but only if that was available to them. for agriculture, it only ranged among the available resources and constraints around them to the farmers, such as, the climate, government, economy and more. Hunter-gatherers would either live in arid regions or tropical forests, so there diet would be healthy because of the fruits and vegetables they were able to have for them. Agriculture used animals to help with the production of food and also would raise and breed the animals for meat and to harvest animal products like, milk, eggs and even wool from sheep. The agriculture had more protein than the hunter-gatherers did. I think that humans switched to agriculture because it was easier to have your own crops, your own food right in front of you rather than looking around for food to eat. It was in your own control on whether how much crop or animals you would want to have, not limited by anything.

Part 2

            I think the meaning of the statement is basically that in order to trade something it has to be available between the two in order to get what both sides are looking for. You have to have something available to someone so they can come and get it, or trade for it. The social benefits of trade is that when your trading from different countries or cities you get to see a broad range of other things out there, basically get to see something new especially when the trade is far out of your own country. You also get to meet new people and learn about the surroundings while you’re out in this new country or city for trade. A negative result of trade is that sometimes things can go wrong when trading. It can lead to a social dispute between the two, and you can also be robbed of what your trading whether it be something really rare or something the other person really wants and will get on there own. The relationship between the development of agriculture and trade are some what similar. Agriculture is your own crops and animals that you tend to on your own and grow daily. Trade is just like that except your looking for things to make your part better than before so you look for other things that will help you with that.