{"id":1463,"date":"2016-12-29T15:07:20","date_gmt":"2016-12-29T15:07:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/combonimission.wpenginepowered.com\/?p=1463"},"modified":"2016-12-22T15:10:59","modified_gmt":"2016-12-22T15:10:59","slug":"kenya-an-insight-into-maasai-culture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/combonimissionaries.co.uk\/index.php\/2016\/12\/29\/kenya-an-insight-into-maasai-culture\/","title":{"rendered":"Kenya: An insight into Maasai culture"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Maasai people are an ethnic group who live in Southern Kenya and northern Tanzania. They are a unique tribe who live a traditional life, accounting for around 0.7 percent of Kenya\u2019s population. There are many divisions and groups within the Maasai culture.<\/em><\/p>\n

The Foundations of the Maasai<\/strong><\/p>\n

The founder of the Massai was Maasai Massinta. He was said to have had two wives, the first of which had three sons, and the second had two. The five sons make up the founding fathers of the Maasai.<\/p>\n

Divisions: The Right and Left Hand<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the most ancient divisions in Maasai society is the division between the ‘right hand’ and ‘left hand’. The Maasai believes that the world has a right hand side (representing north and east) and a left hand side (representing south and west).<\/p>\n

Each Maasai belongs to one of two houses \u2013 either enkaji nado ilasho, which literally means \u2018the house of which the calves are red’ or enkaji narok ilasho, meaning ‘the house of which the calves are black’. These two major divisions are called \u2018moieties\u2019. The names from these houses come from the wives of the group\u2019s founder, Maasai Massinta. One of his wives lived on the right hand side of the entrance into the house, and she had cattle that were red. The second wife lived on the left hand side of the entrance and her calves were all black.<\/p>\n

Divisions: Clans & Groups<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are three clans in Masaai culture, and this is the second most important division for the people, as they regulate rules of marriage, inheritance and hospitality.<\/p>\n

As the clans and people grew and expanded, they acquired new names for each group based on their varying tendencies. \u00a0Groups are referred to as ol-osho<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The names of groups include:<\/p>\n