The Maasai are a Nilotic ethnic group of pastoralists native to the Rift Valley region of East Africa, concentrated in southern Kenya and northern Tanzania. They are organized by patrilineal clans and an age-set system in which young men pass through a warrior (moran) grade before becoming elders, and cattle wealth is central to social status and marriage exchange. Maasai communities are widely documented in ethnographic literature on East African pastoralism and have become, for outside observers, one of the most visually recognizable African ethnic groups because of the retention of distinctive dress and beadwork, though this visibility has also fed a degree of stereotyping the group's own scholars and advocates have pushed back against. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Group TypeSourced to the subject's own accountEthnic group (pastoralist) 1 Typical RegionSourced to the subject's own accountEast Africa (Kenya and Tanzania, Rift Valley and adjacent savanna) 1 Primary LanguageSourced to the subject's own account Subsistence ModeSourced to the subject's own accountTraditionally semi-nomadic cattle pastoralism, organized around age-set warrior grades (moran) and transhumant herding of cattle, sheep and goats. 1 Disputed
Population Estimateapproximately 1.5 to 2 million 1 Sourced to the subject's own accountEstimates vary because Maasai population figures are drawn from national censuses in both Kenya and Tanzania using different ethnic-classification methods, and many pastoralist households are undercounted. Connections
Associated With
The Maasai age-set system, organizing men into named generational grades from junior warrior (moran) through elderhood, is among the most frequently cited textbook examples of age-set organization.
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Maasai
WikipediaIntroductionQuote, Introduction
The Maasai are an Eastern Nilotic ethnic group native to northern, central and southern regions of Kenya including northern Tanzania, near the African Great Lakes region.
View the Source Britannica: Maasai
Overview sectionQuote, Overview section
The Maasai (or Masai) of East Africa
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