With their history dating as far back as the 15th century, the Maasai tribe is one of the oldest inhabitants of East Africa and still retain many of their traditions as they live relatively uninfluenced by modern day civilization.
Maasai Village Tours
A highlight of any Kenya safari tour is a Maasai village tour also known as a Maasai Boma to get a glimpse into their unique way of life as it promises to be an educational experience – in one way or another.
As you arrive at the village, excited children and adults welcome you with song and dance, At certain times, one of the dancers will jump up and down gracefully.
The Maasai People are known for not using musical instruments while singing and dancing. However, the beads they wear make some sound as the Maasai Jump making it a fascinating experience to watch while on your Maasai village tour.
Manyatta
The Maasai live in structures known as Manyattas which are low height dwellings, essentially huts, made of mud, cow dung and wood, with a single entrance and minimal side windows. Clusters of these manyatta huts, which form a homestead or village, are known as a Maasai Boma.
These individual huts themselves, the manyattas, have windows so small that it can be very dark inside a manyatta even on a sunny day.
Pastoralist
The maasai are pastoralists who are constantly in search for better pasture for their animals these bomas historically were never permanent. They would live in a village for less than a year and then move on in search of better pastures.
Times have changed and they have begun to built permanent huts or bomas and prefer to stay in once place. They are pastoralists and cattle is still essential to their way of life.
The women build these bomas not the men.
On your tour you will interact with the masai with a couple of activities to engage in including a mock wedding dance, masai warrior (moran) jumping dance and engage in some beadwork with the women.
You will also practice some traditional archery and spear throwing, learn the art of making a fire in the bush among many others things to see and do.
Find yourself in the midst of the daily hustle and bustle of local life as you witness the daily rituals of the Maasai. Once you have drunk your fill of this authentic cultural experience, you can choose to explore the Maasai Craft Centre and purchase artefacts made by the people you encountered.
We would recommend seeing this experience as educational, keeping in mind what to expect. Take as much out of your visit to a Maasai village as possible as there is much to learn from different cultures.
