It seems as if it might be useful for me to include here a little bit of background on the Maasai and their culture. Once some background has been established, the events narrated in the preceding post as well as in the following ones can be put into perspective.
The Maasai people are a pastoral culture and have been for generations. They are neither truly nomadic nor agriculturalists. They herd goats and a few cows these days; used to be that they herded cows almost exclusively. Since the rains have not been consistent over many, many years, and the overgrazing has reduced much of the grassland to scrub, goats are more adaptable. Goats and cows are the wealth of a family, which consists of a husband, his wives and children.
Families live in family units called bomas, which are like a family compound. The boma is surrounded with thorn barriers to keep out the hyenas. Inside the thorn barrier, are several houses. Each wife has a house for herself and her children. These houses are the traditional small, round, mud-walled, thatched roofed dwellings. Once a man's male children are grown and taking their own wives, a house is built for the father to live in by himself. In addition to the houses, there are a few enclosures in the center of the boma, also surrounded by thorn barriers, for the goats and the cows. There is generally a specially fortified enclosure for the baby goats so they are doubly protected from predators. These days, the husband may be one or two generations older than his young wives; hence, he is frequently unable to contribute to the family income.
The Maasai speak a language called KiMaa. KiSwahili is the national language of Tanzania. All children in Tanzania learn Swahili in school beginning in preschool. Many children speak their regional or tribal languages at home and Swahili in school and in town. Since many of the Maasai don't go to school, they never learn Swahili. In western cultures, the Maasai tend to be idealized as fierce, independent and proud warriors. That they are! But they also tend to be marginalized members of Tanzanian society -- they are uneducated, they don't speak the national language, they don't bathe and they are seen as very poor (which they are).
To have the money to send their children to school, and to have personal wealth as represented by goats and/or a home with a tin roof, is the motivation of the women in the beading group NAAPOK. The women are able to earn money by producing their traditional beadwork. The sense of community in the group is amazing. There is so much support within and between families, and this is what makes the Maasai women so successful. They are so inclusive and cooperative with each other. NAAPOK is truly a cooperative (rather than a communal organization) which encourages and rewards individual accomplishment within the context of the cooperative structure.
I didn't have a chance on my last post to include a few details about the Beads for Bati project -- the 60 bracelets that each woman makes represent TS300,000 ($210). This is the money she needs for the tin (bati). the trusses and the nails. Each house requires 60 cedar posts which, if the woman doesn't make the trek up into the mountains to get them, cost approximately TS1,000 - 2,000 each. I will include a link to photos once I am back in the States. Internet connections here are too slow for many pictures!
That's all for this post. I think I have time for the next one about the Maasai secondary school which is a pet project of mine.
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