The Maasai are one of the many southern-most tribes located in Kenya. They are
physically related, and also in many other forms related to the Samburu and Turkana. The
Maasai have a relatively complex culture and traditions. In fact, for many years they were
unheard of. By the late 1800’s we soon discovered more about the Maasai, mostly from
their oral histories.
It is presumed that the Maasai came from the north, probably from the region of
the Nile Valley in Sudan. Also presumed is that they left this area sometime between the
fourteenth and sixteenth centuries, migrating southwards towards he Great Rift Valley.
According to the Maasai oral history, they came from a crater or deep valley somewhere
to the north, at a place called Endikir-e-Kerio . Although many scholars have called
this place the southeastern region of Lake Turkana, many of the oral histories say that
they may have come from further up north, near the Nile river. Whichever location this
is, the migration was caused by a dry spell. According to the Maasai a bridge was
built, and after half the livestock and people had left the dry area, the bridge collapsed,
leaving back the other half of the population. These people later climbed out of the valley,
and were helped by the present day Somali, Borana and Rendille peoples. The Maasai later
entered Kenya, and moved south through the Rift Valley, where there was pasture for
their cattle. Because there was very little surface water, the Maasai resorted to pastoralism
instead of agriculture. The Maasai have adapted to their environment to ensure survival
and the maintenance of their culture.
The Maasai have adapted to the conditions of their environment through their
religious rituals, which function in keeping their political structure, and maintaining cattle
numbers. The idea of religion in the Maasai culture is attatched with the importance they
place on the stages of life. Spear indicates that for the Maasai, God is close yet completely
unknowable. Each ritual transition between age-groups is a step toward old age and
metaphorically a step toward God. According to Emily McAlpin in “The Maasai culture
and Ecological Conditions” the most important event in the ceremony is the
sharing of meat which brings all participants clos...
... middle of paper ...
... one is in this society, the more power attained.
The most common form of sharing goods and distributing them is through allied
kin groups. There is no doubt sometimes disagreements amongst the Maasai people,
therefore most kin groups have an ally kin group. These are useful when a luxury item is
sought after and one group has it and is willing to lend or give it to the other, not a
necessity. When something is needed for survival, the whole society will help.
Bibliography:
1.Cronk, Lee
2004 From Mukogodo To Maasai: Ethnicity and Cultural Change in Kenya (Westview Case Studies in Anthropology), Westview Press, pp. 27-35
2. Hetfield, Johnston
1997 The Maasai of East Africa (Celebrating the Peoples and Civilizations of Africa)
PowerKids Press; 1st ed edition, pp. 9-13
3.Spear, Walker
1993 Being Maasai: Ethnicity & Identity in East Afri Ca (Eastern African Studies),
Ohio University Press pp. 214-221
4.Kituvi, Mukhisa
1990 Becoming Kenyans: Socio-economic transformation of the pastoral Maasai (Drylands research series), Acts Press, pp. 193-201
5. Sankan, S.S. Ole
1985 The Maasai ,Kenya Literature Bureau, pp. 77-84
In his book “Cattle Brings Us to Our Enemies”, McCabe does a 16-year stint in East Africa, specifically in Northern Kenya, doing research on the Turkana. He does this through STEP, the South Turkana Ecosystem Project. In “Cattle Bring Us to Our Enemies”, McCabe follows four families through his years in Kenya and notes how they live in a very demanding environment. He uses ecological data to analyze how and why the Turkana people make decisions about their everyday life. McCabe focuses on four main areas of study: how the Turkana survive and adapt to a stressful environment by nomadic pastoralism, how the techniques used to extract resources and manage livestock modify the environment, the effects of the environmental and cultural practices have on
Quapaw, Osage, and Caddo have many similarities as well as differences. For example: their religion, food acquisition, food production, and social structure. In this essay, there will be comparisons between the tribes as well as distinctive differences in each tribe. In this paper, information about these tribes will be further explored.
-1990’s: people that live near the ravine and southeast areas of Somalia are descendants of Africans once enslaved by the Somalis
Throughout ancient history, many indigenous tribes and cultures have shown a common trait of being hunter/gatherer societies, relying solely on what nature had to offer. The geographical location influenced all aspects of tribal life including, spirituality, healing philosophy and healing practices. Despite vast differences in the geographical location, reports show various similarities relating to the spirituality, healing philosophy and healing practices of indigenous tribal cultures.
The Zuni Indians were and are a group of Indians in the southwest area of the United States and Northern Mexico. It seems that they have lived in this area for nearly 4000 years, and maybe more if their ancestry can be traced as they seem to believe to the Mogollon group of Native Americans who grew out of the first prehistoric inhabitants of that area of America. The name Mogollon comes from the Mogollon mountain range named by the first Spanish explorers in the early 1500’s such as Coronado. There is also a good possibility that they may be able to trace their existence to the Anasazi culture from around the same time as the Mogollon peoples as well.
nature. In their culture they are taught to have reverence for nature and to be
where they lived. They chose to dwell in cliffs faced to catch the winter sun
Offred from The Handmaid's Tale uses different tactics to cope with her situation. She is trapped within a distopian society comprised of a community riddled by despair. Though she is not physically tortured, the overwhelming and ridiculously powerful government mentally enslaves her. Offred lives in a horrific society, which prevents her from being freed. Essentially, the government enslaves her because she is a female and she is fertile. Offred memories about the way life used to be with her husband, Luke, her daughter, and her best friend Moira provides her with temporary relief from her binding situation. Also, Offred befriends the Commander's aide, Nick. Offred longs to be with her husband and she feels that she can find his love by being with Nick. She risks her life several times just to be with Nick. Feeling loved by Nick gives her a window of hope in her otherwise miserable life.
Another element which I found interesting is the one that relates, or perhaps emphasizes, to the philosophy of some African creation stories regarding nature and human beings. In the Dagara culture, plants and animals are placed as higher than humans. Most of the creation stories also make reference to this belief since most of the time plants and animals were created before man. Plants and animals are considered so important that Malidona's grandfather kept stressing that one must go to the "school" of plants and animals in order to learn and survive in life.
“We learned to whisper almost without sound. In the semidarkness we would stretch out our arms, when the Aunts weren’t looking, and touch each other’s hands across space. We learned to lip-read, our heads flat on the beds, turned sideways, watching each other’s mouths.” (Atwood, p4) The handmaids whisper to each other to exchange information. They engage in this conversation to keep alive the nature of relationships between people. It is very lonely for these women, for they cannot say what is on their mind, they are only allowed pre-approved phrases from Gilead’s authorities Without this contact it would be impossible for the women to reminisce and be comforted. Another way of keeping the past real to Offred is to remember old stories from before the revolution. She spends a lot of her time thinking about her husband Luke and how the city used to look before, “Lilies used to be a movie theater here, before. Students went there a lot; every spring they had a Humphrey Bogart festival with Lauren Bacall or Katherine Hepburn, women on their own, making up their own minds” (Atwood, 25). These small rebellions that Offred and other handmaids participate in are very significant. The simple fact that they choose to engage in these insurgences shows that they still cling on to their more just and free past. They still have a notion of truth and are keeping it alive. Having these passions and feelings causes the structure of Gilead to truly not work, and will probably (The Handmaid’s Tale was left open ended) lead to its demise.
The ability to create life is an amazing thing but being forced to have children for strangers is not so amazing. Offred is a handmaid, handmaid's have children for government officials, such as Commander Waterford. Offred used to be married to Luke and together they had a daughter but then everything changed; Offred was separated from her family and assigned to a family as their handmaid. The society which Offred is forced to live in shaped her in many ways. In The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood uses cultural and geographical surroundings to shape Offred's psychological and moral traits as she tries to survive the society that she is forced to live, in hopes that she can rebel and make change.
There is a diversity of tribes that the human society was once uninformed of its existence. Until the 1970, mankind was unaware of the Korowai society existence. The Korowai also known as Kolufu are from the southwestern part of the western part of New Guinea. The Korowai tribe follows a common language, economic system, and an exceptional lifestyle. They practice rituals and have incredible architectural knowledge. In the verge of extinction the Korowai tribe continues to practice their unique culture and traditional rituals.
In Kenya, it is comprised of several different groups that are distinct ethno-linguistic. Over several decades, Kenya has evolved both biologically and culturally. This culture has a great diversity of customs and family patterns. To understand the families in Kenya, it is also important to understand their culture backgrounds and where they come from. Family has a high value in this culture and is considered the center of community life. The children here hold an upmost importance because it can be considered an economic advantage having more children and also wives too. It is common here for families to have eight or more children because there was a
This first section is based on what dance is. Dance is defined differently by different people. Some people define it as a sport and some people define it as an art. Some people do dance for different reasons. Some people do dance as a sport, others do it as therapy, and others just do it recreationally. According to an article named When will Dancers Be Considered Atheletes, Dance can be done competitively. Dance is extremely beneficial for several reasons. According to When will Dancers be considered athletes, football players found that they had strengthened their ankles and feet, had increased agility, and were less likely to get hurt because of muscle strength after practicing a form of dance named ballet ( Dancers: Artists or Athletes?).
Modern dance allows a dancer to connect with the natural senses around them, meaning, they wear no shoes (socks are also sometimes worn). This form of dance allows a dancer to project strong emotional feeling to their audience by telling the story of something that greatly impacted you. Though no definite definition of what a modern dance has been made, it 's almost certain that anyone who comes into contact with this dance will fully let loose and let the music take control. Unlike all the other forms of dance, modern dance has no single set music genre, which means you can make a modern dance out of any song! Although most modern dances are performed to soft melodic songs, by having a stronger song to perform to, you can project a stronger emotional feel. Since modern dance is the least typical dance of all, many dancers don 't favorite as much but those dancers who do, make modern a dance that should be noticed and