The People of the Savanna
“Without grass, there is no cattle, without cattle, there are no Maasai” - Maasai People
There are three main tribes in the African Savanna. There is the Maasai, the Kikuyu, the Dorobo.
“Without grass, there is no cattle, without cattle, there are no Maasai” - Maasai People
There are three main tribes in the African Savanna. There is the Maasai, the Kikuyu, the Dorobo.
The Maasai
The Maasai people believe that they are the chosen people because the have been blessed with cattle. They believe that God had three sons but that their ancestor was God's favorite. God gave his three sons sticks but he gave the longest stick to his favorite son. God also gave him a rope which was used for the cattle to slide down from heaven. The Maasai in result, became the most dominant cattle herders of East Africa.
The Massai first moved from Sudan south to find better grassing for their cattle. In the early 20th century, British land surmise and a cattle epidemic brought them down. The Massai hasn't recovered from this entirely.
The Maasai people believe that they are the chosen people because the have been blessed with cattle. They believe that God had three sons but that their ancestor was God's favorite. God gave his three sons sticks but he gave the longest stick to his favorite son. God also gave him a rope which was used for the cattle to slide down from heaven. The Maasai in result, became the most dominant cattle herders of East Africa.
The Massai first moved from Sudan south to find better grassing for their cattle. In the early 20th century, British land surmise and a cattle epidemic brought them down. The Massai hasn't recovered from this entirely.
The Kikuyu
Kikuyu, also called Giguyu, Gekoyo, or Agekoyo, Bantu-speaking people who live in the highland area of south-central Kenya, near Mount Kenya. In the late 20th century the Kikuyu numbered more than 4,400,000 and formed the largest ethnic group in Kenya, approximately 20 percent of the total population. Their own name for themselves is Gekoyo, or Agekoyo. The main modern cash crops are coffee, corn (maize), wattle, and fruits and vegetables. Some groups practiced irrigation and terracing. Animal husbandry provided an important supplement.
The Kikuyu traditionally lived in separate domestic family homesteads, each of which was surrounded by a hedge or stockade and contained a hut for each wife. During the Mau Maurebellion of the 1950s, however, the British colonial government moved the Kikuyu into villages for reasons of security. The economic advantages of village settlement and land consolidation led many Kikuyu to continue this arrangement after the emergency was ended. The local community unit is the mbari, a patrilineal group of males and their wives and children ranging from a few dozen to several hundred persons. Beyond the mbari, the people are divided among nine clans and a number of subclans. Kikuyu also are organized into age sets that have served as the principal political institutions. Groups of boys are initiated each year and ultimately grouped into generation sets that traditionally ruled for 20 to 30 years. Political authority traditionally was vested in a council of elders representing a particular age class during its occupancy of the ruling grade. The Kikuyu believe in an omnipotent creator god, Ngai, and in the continued spiritual presence of ancestors.
Kikuyu, also called Giguyu, Gekoyo, or Agekoyo, Bantu-speaking people who live in the highland area of south-central Kenya, near Mount Kenya. In the late 20th century the Kikuyu numbered more than 4,400,000 and formed the largest ethnic group in Kenya, approximately 20 percent of the total population. Their own name for themselves is Gekoyo, or Agekoyo. The main modern cash crops are coffee, corn (maize), wattle, and fruits and vegetables. Some groups practiced irrigation and terracing. Animal husbandry provided an important supplement.
The Kikuyu traditionally lived in separate domestic family homesteads, each of which was surrounded by a hedge or stockade and contained a hut for each wife. During the Mau Maurebellion of the 1950s, however, the British colonial government moved the Kikuyu into villages for reasons of security. The economic advantages of village settlement and land consolidation led many Kikuyu to continue this arrangement after the emergency was ended. The local community unit is the mbari, a patrilineal group of males and their wives and children ranging from a few dozen to several hundred persons. Beyond the mbari, the people are divided among nine clans and a number of subclans. Kikuyu also are organized into age sets that have served as the principal political institutions. Groups of boys are initiated each year and ultimately grouped into generation sets that traditionally ruled for 20 to 30 years. Political authority traditionally was vested in a council of elders representing a particular age class during its occupancy of the ruling grade. The Kikuyu believe in an omnipotent creator god, Ngai, and in the continued spiritual presence of ancestors.
The Dorobo
The people of Africa's vast savanna are united by their strong identity with the sprawling plains that surround them. Originally, these pastoral groups came to the savanna looking for food, scavenging after leftover game killed by large predators. Today, these original hunter-gatherers exist in the form of the Dorobo tribes of the eastern Serengeti, who survive by hunting small game and collecting honey and wild fruits and vegetables. Long ago, the Dorobo were joined by herdsmen and pastoralists from northern Africa. Among these, the Maasai have held the most tenaciously to their wanderlust. These tall, dark skinned herdsmen in striking red cloaks and beadwork have come to symbolize the face of Africa's savanna people to the outside world. The Maasai share the plains with theKikuyu, traditionally a nation of farmers, who now form the backbone of Kenyan society.
The people of Africa's vast savanna are united by their strong identity with the sprawling plains that surround them. Originally, these pastoral groups came to the savanna looking for food, scavenging after leftover game killed by large predators. Today, these original hunter-gatherers exist in the form of the Dorobo tribes of the eastern Serengeti, who survive by hunting small game and collecting honey and wild fruits and vegetables. Long ago, the Dorobo were joined by herdsmen and pastoralists from northern Africa. Among these, the Maasai have held the most tenaciously to their wanderlust. These tall, dark skinned herdsmen in striking red cloaks and beadwork have come to symbolize the face of Africa's savanna people to the outside world. The Maasai share the plains with theKikuyu, traditionally a nation of farmers, who now form the backbone of Kenyan society.
Works Cited -The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. "Kikuyu (people)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2014.
-PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2014.
-"People of the Savanna." People of the Savanna. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2014.
-PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2014.
-"People of the Savanna." People of the Savanna. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2014.