The Maasai Culture And Ecological Adaptations Essay -- Maasai Culture

Introduction The time out Valley in einsteinium Africa has been the home of pastoralists for over three thousand years. A number of diverse tribes migrated to Kenya, grouped by language they include the Cushites derived from grey Ethiopia, the Nilotes, which include the Maasai, from Southern Sudan, and the Bantu. The Maa speaking people are the group from which the Maasai originated their expansion southward into the great(p) Rift Valley began about 400 years ago. The second period of Maasai expansion involved the emergence of a central Maasai alliance as well as the expansion and differentiation out of the important Rift Valley. There are numerous Maasai tribes, and we will be primarily discussing the Arusha and Central Maasai. Environmental AspectsThe Maasai live throughout north central Tanzania and southern Kenya. Kenya Maasailand is instantly located near the coast in the Narok and Kajiado districts. The territory in 1981 mensural approximately 39,476 square kilometers. Details on the environment in this commonwealth are necessary in order to understand the Maasai people who guess upon it for their survival. The region is typical of arid and semi-arid lands. The Maasailand area has an extremely low summate of surface water, and shallow alkaline soils which proves to be a difficult hassle for their cattle-raising practices, and the main reason why they have adapted pastoralism rather than agriculture. The do of rainfall varies greatly (usually less than 500 mm a year) , with periodical violent storms erupting. The location of the rain may be very specific, effecting a very small area without touching a nearby location. The keep down of rainfall fluctuates every year and droughts are frequent. The Maasai have adapted to their active co... ...19635. Irons, Eugene The Pauperization of the Maasai in Kenya Africa Today pg. 57-656. KenyaWeb http//www.kenyaweb.com/people/nilotes/nilotes.html7. Saitoti, Tepilit Ole The Worlds of a Maasai Warrior U niversity of California abridge Berkeley and Los Angeles 19868. Sindiga, Isaac Fertility Control and Population Growth Among the Maasai African Studies Review v.27 (Mar. 84) pp.23-39 19849. Spear, doubting doubting Thomas and Richard Waller Being Maasai Ethnicity and Identity in East Africa James Currey Ltd. London 199310. Spear, Thomas Kenyas Past An Introduction to Historical Method in Africa Longman assembly Limited London 198111. Spencer, Paul The Maasai of Matapato A Study of Rituals of Rebellion indium University Press Bloomington and Indianapolis 198812. Tigner, Robert L. The Colonial Transformation of Kenya Princeton University Press 1976