Monochrome Africa
by _Rubyblue_
A series taken in Maasai village in Tanzania.
The Maasai 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.
The Tanzanian and Kenyan governments have instituted programs to encourage the Maasai to abandon their traditional semi-nomadic lifestyle, but the people have continued their age-old customs.
The tribe is organised socially by age sets: boys become warriors (morans or ol-murrani) following circumcision, and morans become elders when they have circumcised children. Circumcision or Emorata is the most important event in tribal Maasai life. The cutting of the flesh turns a boy into a man, a girl (en-kerai) into a woman (en-tito). This is done when both sexes are between the ages of thirteen and eighteen. Originally the interval between major circumcision and transition ceremonies was about fourteen years, but in recent times the ceremonies are more individualised.
The warriors search out good grazing and water, protect their families and cattle from wild animals, and (until prevented by British colonial power) ranged far and wide along the Great Rift Valley and onto the high ground beside it, raiding the Kikuyu and other neighbouring tribes for cattle and captives.
Recently, Oxfam has claimed that the lifestyle of the Maasai should be embraced as a response to climate change because of their ability to farm in deserts and scrublands.
