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Meet the Maasai

Rift Valley, Kenya 2010 © kb

Living in the Rift Valley, being with the Maasai each day was a very happy experience. Creativity and generosity were all around us. Life in Maasailand has not been easy. A long period of drought, a mirror of the experience in South Eastern Australia, has meant that the cattle and goats, so central to Maasai life, have struggled to find food. During this period of drought the journeys for the Maasai men grew ever longer, as they searched for pastures to feed their animals.


It has rained recently in Maasailand, the rivers flow strongly and the landscape has turned a tinge of green. The droughts, however, will come again.

The changing weather patterns of the Rift Valley have placed great pressures on Maasai culture and cultural practice, particularly as the men are be forced to spend longer periods away from home in search of pasture. Individuals may also decide to move to urban areas to escape the drought and the economic pressures that the drought brings. In doing so leaving there own precious culture behind them. Cultural practice becomes harder to maintain as the droughts deepen.

What is needed now is a set of ideas about the future, how will the Maasai cope with the social and environmental issues that confront them?

Film essays of Maasai life explore the ideas and hopes of a group of young Maasai men and women. The Maasai allow us in to their world, a world, on the surface, so different from ours, but in many ways so similar.

Emmanuel Parsimei © kb

There are so many impressive people in these films and I would like you to meet some of them. EMMANUEL PARSIMEI plays a major role in narrating the scenes of village life and cultural practice.

Amos and Lilian © kb

In Olmaroroi Village we visit the house of AMOS NKARIO NCHIPAI and LILIAN NTIETOI to discuss the changing relationships between Maasai men and women.

Esther Kiraine Nchipai witih her children © kb

ESTHER KIRAINE NCHIPAI takes us on a tour of her house, a house she, like all the women in Maasai Land, had built herself from the sticks and cow dung used to construct Maasai houses. ESTHER talks about her life and demonstrates her skills in jewellery making.

Gideon Meyoki © kb

GIDEON MEYOKI leads the dancers into Olmaroroi Village as they perform a series of traditional songs and dances that feature throughout Film essays of Maasai life. The songs and dances were performed with enormous skill and are:

1.   Nampa sung by warriors during the celebration after a raid

2.   Olempirai a song in praise of brave, strong warriors in an age group

3.   Kurja a song by warriors praising girls of their age

4.   Osinkolio loo-nkishu sung by girls praising warriors after a successful raid

5.   Pilipili sung in special ceremonies, the dance includes jumping high and dancing vigorously. Pilipili was also performed in ceremonies involving the passage of a rite including Eunoto, the graduation from moran-hood to junior adult hood and Emowuo olkiteng, a ceremony before circumcision, and during circumcision ceremonies

6.   Enkijuka a sacred song, sung when the warriors are away from their homes in the bush eating and feasting on meat. It is a prayer song and a direct prayer to God for more favours during the period of moran-ship. The song is performed in shrines and special prayer places in the bush

JOHN SALAASH KARINO and MOSES PARMALE SUPAARI were always there telling us stories or helping with the information needed to make Film essays of Maasai life so compelling. Moses is eloquent when describing the importance of education to young Maasai people.

A group of young Maasai girls; JOYLYN NASAU, SUSAN SISIAN, AGNES KINTA, ELIZABETH MPONINO and ALICE LANTOI, recite a poem written by EMMANUEL PARSIMEI called Who cares for me in which they capture the dreams and hopes of a young Maasai woman. Emmanuel’s poem is published in the creative cowboy blog Who cares for me?

I will leave you to explore the Maasai world in this series of creative cowboy films. For more detail about each film in the series Film essays of Maasai Life go to the documentary page on the creative cowboy films website.