By Marloes Elbertsen |
The precious little girl was born in a warm nest of love, surrounded by the many arms of female family members. If you’re blessed with strong health, growing up as a girl you might favour the Maasai tribes. Can you imagine the infinite space to play on? The world as your arena to run around with your neighbours’ puppies and do head rolls in the greenest fields of grass you can ever imagine. At all times, there are two arms to pick you up from the ground and embrace you with deep love and care. Sit down and crack the fresh fruits and meat that your strong dad got you. No child needs anything more if you have all this.
Road Bumps
However, the high level of poverty is one of the many obstacles Maasai girls must go through to get an education. From their villages to the nearest school is an average walk of two to five hours, which is unsafe, to say the least. And since the girl will become a member of her husband’s family after marriage, the biological family won’t benefit from the girls learning. But if your mom is headstrong and she gets you into school, there is a chance of 80% you will drop out after the age of 9. Then they are no longer allowed to stay in the same house as their father, and instead sleep in a separate hut. With the lack of supervision and the ignorance of the girls about the “birds and the bees”, they have a high risk of being disgraced by their family because of an early pregnancy.
Defining moment
A very important point in the life of these women is when they will get circumcised, as it is part of their tradition and culture. Especially for the male readers, I’ll briefly explain why the female circumcision is such an important detail in the life of a Maasai woman: this is the moment where life changes! The ritual will take place when the girl is between 11 and 13 and immediately after, she will marry the man chosen by her father, in exchange for some cattle and cash. Which is not a bad thing, considering their – very intriguing – punishment system. If you accidentally “put to sleep” a married man, you owe the head of the village 49 cows. For a single man or a married woman, this is 39 cows and for the single women nothing over 29. A small fee.
Way of life
93% of the female Maasai have to live with the consequences and benefits of the old-fashioned traditions. She lives a nomadic, but busy, lifestyle joining her new family. Her husband’s other wives will bring her a support system, protection and some laughter. Together they will raise cattle and goats, build the fence around their village, construct their mud huts, cook for the family, collect firewood, give birth, supply water and make money by crafting jewellery. While doing all this they dance and sing loudly, something they love to show off.
The Alteration
The effects of modern civilization and western influence haven’t completely passed them. More Maasai men are now also offering their crafting’s in the larger cities. But even better would be to go on Kenya tours, to visit their homes and attend one of the shows the women will most certainly give you. While exploring the countries wildlife, you can get to know the merry spirits of the Maasai people. And it’s an ideal opportunity to buy the jewellery first hand.
Source: https://safarisharing.com/2017/09/14/maasai-womans-story/
Comments
Post a Comment