Masai Life Outside The Kraal

The Nomadic Masai Life

Back in the raw nature. Where the ground is red and dusty, and the dust clouds trail behind your vehicle. The red cloths wrapped around the Masai – to protect themselves from the sun and the blowing dust – stand out against the backdrop of soft yellow and green. Here, the Masai always tend to their cattle and retreat in the evenings to the mud huts that form small villages along the roadside. When evening falls, the cattle are directed back to the kraal where they will spend the night. The kraal is a circular piece of land surrounded by branches and thorns, where the cattle are kept, and the houses are built. Life primarily takes place within this space. In that sense, all Masai villages look the same. The women ensure that the few rooms of the house remain warm with a fire. While it might seem to us that these people have given up a lot or lack convenience, for them, it’s a wonderfully simple life without ringing alarms and busy schedules. But don't underestimate it. The entire village has to work long, hard days to survive. They are also dependent on the whims of nature. The lack of rain is a major issue, as is extreme cold or heavy rainfall. Although most of this group chooses to maintain this nomadic, hard-working life and live in harmony with nature as much as possible, there are exceptions. Some Masai have moved to the city, sought jobs as askaris (guards) or bank employees, and chosen an urban life. I was curious about how they combine the traditional and the modern, so I reached out to sisters Sanau and Soila.

Moving to the City

Sanau Paswa is 29 years old and works in the Masai Mara in the Gender and Education department. At the age of 7, she left her Masai village and moved to bustling Nairobi to continue her education. Unlike many Masai villages, Sanau’s village is relatively modern, with most children leaving their kraals to pursue schooling. A few years later, she earned a university degree in Political Science, along with a minor in Anthropology. She is one of the few who has returned to her Mara land, albeit for career reasons. Soila, her sister, moved to Nairobi around the same time and had a singular goal in mind: to study finance at the best university in Nairobi. When I asked Sanau about life in the city, she responded, “I loved the city, but it wasn’t as easy as in our villages. You need money to get from one place to another, for accommodation, clothes—everything. In the village, there’s always a place for you to sleep, but in the city, it’s different. No one will host you or let you sleep somewhere for free. It’s expensive, and it’s a challenge. Still, the city is also easier. You don’t have to walk five kilometers for water. For the first time, I could turn on a tap and have running water.” She went on to talk about how it felt to be able to just turn on a TV and how lonely it could be in the vastness of Nairobi, without the siblings she would normally take care of. Soila added that at first, she found it difficult to be outside in Nairobi. It was so big, so hectic, and the community was completely different from the one back home around the kraal. She sees her village as a place to relax, to recover from the busy city life that she lives day in and day out. “But the city,” she says, “it’s very comfortable...”

The Life of a Masai Outside the Kraal

When I asked them if they now see themselves as different Masai, they both responded firmly: “I definitely still feel like Masai!” Being Masai is more than just tending cattle and living in harmony with nature. It’s a culture with customs and rituals that can be practiced outside the kraal as well. For instance, Sanau explains how she still wears Masai clothing and ornaments, sometimes in her daily life, but more often for special occasions. Even small customs continue to exist in city life, such as touching your head as a greeting from an older Masai, or holding a naming ceremony to give your baby a Masai name. Sanau admits: “Of course, the old Masai traditions in the kraal are the strongest, but with small adjustments in daily life, you don’t have to miss much of it!” Life in the city, with its honking traffic and ringing phones, still takes getting used to, as does the fact that life seems to never stop at night. It’s a big contrast to life in the kraal. But despite all the changes, their culture and traditions are something they carry with them, no matter where they are or where they live. * The Maasai in the photo are not Sanau or Soila.