Traditional lifestyle of the Maasai
Social organization
The Maasai were divided into two groups: the Purko (pa= storal Maasai) and the Iloikop (agricultural Maasai). The two groups were similar = in language but had differences in subsistence and religious practices. The Pu= rko, who saw the adoption of agricultural practices as a weakness, looked down u= pon the Iloikop.
The Maasai were organized on clan basis. Each clan was associated with a particular group of cattle. The five clans of the Maasai lived over large areas of land and therefore did not live together.
The Maasai had religious leaders who included diviners= and medicine men. The Oloibon was the custodian of religious rituals and as such officiated at all religious ceremonies. It was his duty to bless the warrio= rs before they went of to war and to perform rituals to ward off epidemics and droughts. The Oloibon also had some political powers and these were based on the prestige that resulted from the large herds of animals he had accumulat= ed.
The Maasai believed in the existence of God whom the c= alled Enkai. Prayers and sacrifices were offered at shrines so that He could cont= inue blessing the community with health, cattle and children.
The Maasai circumcised both boys and girls at puberty, following which the boys entered an age-set system for the rest of their li= ves. The importance of the age-set was that it formed a bond that united all the Maasai, cutting across the family, clan and geographical area.
Once initiated, the boys joined the warrior class know= n as Moran. The morans then lived together in special homesteads known as manyat= ta away from the rest of the community for 10 years. The Eunoto ceremony marked the graduation of the morans into junior elders.
Housing
One aspect of the Maasai that fascinates many is their dwelling place. The houses were built with using a skeleton made from tree branches. Twigs, grass, cow dung and urine were then mixed to form a paste = that was then used to plaster the branch frame. Building among the Maasai was strictly a job for the girls and women. They organized themselves such that whenever a boma (collection of houses) was to be built, the women pooled up= to build one then go to the next until they were all done.