The Maasai (sometimes spelled "Masai") are a Nilotic ethnic group of semi-nomadic people located

in Kenya and northern Tanzania. They are among the best known of African ethnic groups, due to their 

distinctive customs and dress and residence near the many game parks of East Africa.[2] They speak Maa

(ɔl Maa),[2] a member of the Nilo-Saharan language family that is related to Dinka and Nuer , and are also

educated in the official languages of Kenya and Tanzania: Swahili and English

Origin, migration and assimilation

 According to their own oral history, the Maasai originated from the

lower Nile valley north of  Lake Turkana (Northwest Kenya) and

began migrating south around the 15th century, arriving in a long

trunk of land stretching from northern Kenya to central Tanzania

between the 17th and late 18th century. Many ethnic groups that had

already formed settlements in the region were forcibly displaced by

the incoming Maasai,[9] while other, mainly southern Cushitic groups,

were assimilated into Maasai society. The resulting mixture of Nilotic and Cushitic populations also

produced the Kalenjin and Samburu.[10]

Influences from the outside world

 

Maintaining a traditional pastoral lifestyle has become increasingly difficult due to outside influences of the

modern world. Garrett Hardin's article, outlining the “tragedy of the commons”, as well asMelville

Herskovits' “cattle complex” helped to influence ecologists and policy makers about the harm Maasai

pastoralists were causing to savannah rangelands. This concept was later proven false

byanthropologists but is still deeply ingrained in the minds of ecologists and Tanzanian officials.[37] This

influenced policy makers to remove all Maasai from the Serengeti National Park and relegated them to

areas in and around the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA)

Music and dance

Maasai music traditionally consists of rhythms provided by a chorus of vocalists singing harmonies while a

song leader, or olaranyani, sings the melody. The olaranyani is usually the singer who can best sing that

song, although several individuals may lead a song. The olaranyani begins by singing a line or title (namba)

of a song

DIET

Traditionally, the Maasai diet consisted of meat, milk, and blood from cattle. An ILCA study (Nestel 1989)

states: “Today, the staple diet of the Maasai consists of cow's milk and maize-meal.

CLOTHING

Clothing varies by age and location. Young men, for instance, wear black for several months following their 

circumcision. However, red is a favored color. Blue, black, striped, and checkered cloth are also worn, as

are multicolored African designs.The names of the clothing are now known as the Matavuvale. The Maasai

began to replace animal-skin, calf hides and sheep skin, with commercial cotton cloth in the 1960s.[90]