The Masai community is made up of an agricultural society. Their family is extended, but not as big as in a foraging society; there is a father, mother, children, and sometimes grandparents (if they are still living), are all living under one roof. The most important aspect of this society can be said to be family - to have children and keep the family's line running, as well as the tribe's line. Religion, which can also be seen as law, is also very important. Following all the rules and traditions of this practice is very important in a tribe. Government is not as important, but that is because the Masai do not have a government, and do not practice any other tradition but their own that they grew up and familiarize with.
Family Institution
A Masai family consisting of three children, a mother, and a father.
The Masai families follow the patriarchal, as well as patrilineal, system - the father is the key figure, and, theoretically, his control is absolute. Traditionally, as long as the father is still alive, none of his sons has any final control over the family's possessions or his choice to marry. Though, as they age, older men rely on their sons to take over the reins on the family, and it is the dependency of women that is the most long-lasting feature of a Masai family. Even after her husband's death, the widow is still controlled by her sons, who also manage her herd, and if she has no sons, then she finds herself wholly unprotected. When both parents die, the sons inherit all the cattle and herd, while the daughters inherit nothing.
The warrior village plays a very important role in the socialization of men - boys are taken away by their older brothers and are taught to respond to the discipline of the warrior village. Then, when they come into age and are accepted into society as warriors, they must take on a leadership role and to emerge to elderhood with a strong sense of loyalty to their peer group.
A girl's childhood is manly strict avoidance, even fear, of her father and other elders. Her marriage prospects and her family's reputation in the village center her ability to develop a sense of respect. She is socialized to accept her dependency to her future husband, who is an elder, and all the other elders as well. A girl's marriage are arranged by the elders, and this is done without consulting the girl herself or her mother. Polygamy is the ideal marriage which is attained by most older men. When the wife is widowed, as girls marry men that are much older than them, it is understood that they do not remarry.
Now, the Masai are finding that resistance isn't enough, and the crossing of roads between the Masai and the rest of the world, which has exposed young Masai to the many temptations and opportunities from a different world they have been living in. Some argue that "education does not need to be seen as a surrender to mainstream culture, but rather as a way to fix those aspects of their own culture that need fixing ." Minority groups in the world have tried to mix this education with that of their own, where modern skills are taught as well as the traditional concepts and practices. This is to get the young people to coexist between the two worlds, and not to force young people to choose between the two cultures.
Cattle are the most important part of the Masai economy. They are rarely killed, but used as a form of currency - they are accumulated as a sign of wealth, and traded or sold to settle debts. Young men, the boys and the junior warriors, are responsible to tending to their family's herds, and often live in small camps, moving frequently to look for water and grazing lands for their cattle. The Masai also often travel into towns and cities to purchase goods and supplies, selling their cattle at the markets. The women of the village also sell their bead work to the tourists, with which they share their grazing land.
As described on the previous page, the Masai believe in a deity called Enkai, who has a good side and a bad side. It is also said that the black side wants to give rain to the people and their cattle, while the red side won't allow the rain to fall, causing the earth to dry up and the people, plants, and animals to die. Cattle are also important in religion - the cow is slaughtered as an offering during very important ceremonies, making completed passages through one age-set, or age-grade, to the next. When warriors complete this cycle of life and move on to be an elder, they show signs of sadness, crying over the loss of their youth. When misfortune settles upon a family, the Masai diviners, called the liabon, are consulted. The diviners are also healers, and they use their herbal remedies to treat physical wounds, as well as ritual treatments. Even as the western medicine starts to make its way across the world, the diviners still seek out more traditional remedies made of herbs. This is why the Masai community are usually known as the people that keep their traditions, and know the importance of their past.