Maasai women toil all day, but own nothing

By Lemomo Ole Kulet

Despite the oppression, thought to be embedded in their culture, Maasai women play an important role in the day-to-day affairs of her home and the wider community. Being the person nature has given the role of nurturing children, she is inevitably the custodian of the Maasai culture and, therefore, ensures continuity of the Maasai traditions.

Her role in the society complements that of the man.  She does much more physical work than the man, her chores are rather repetitive while those of the man are managerial in nature and often require decision-making.

While the Maasai men are tasked with a fundamental responsibility of running the affairs of their society. Women are culturally expected to do many chores, which include constructing their huts, fetching water, feeding the animals, gathering firewood, milking cattle, cooking, bringing up of children and keeping the household functioning.

Men do less of the physical work than women but they ensure the entire village runs and functions smoothly. Their main responsibilities include building the fence around the enk-ajijik or the enk-ang’, to protect the entire village from predators, external aggressors and herding large livestock.

Each Maasai woman lives in her own house and is responsible for her family and properties including livestock. However, major decisions are left to the man of the home.  Although she does not own any property, since everything belongs to the man, her husband apportions a number of cows, sheep and goats to her from which she takes charge of the products such as milk, butter, meat and skin among others.  She can sell the milk and other products and her husband would never ask for any proceeds from such sale.

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She is required to build her own hut with the help of other women in the community. Sopia Nookipa explains, “When it comes to building the house, one gets assistance from her colleagues. It is one of those roles that are one-off and hence we assist each other in the construction of the house.”

The house consists of poles erected in a rectangular manner with round corners.  Twigs are placed in between the poles to fill the gaps.  It is then plastered with mud and cow dung mixture.  The roof is flat and consists of branches supported by peripheral poles.  They are small and windowless hut with the only small opening to act as chimney. The cow dung makes the house warm and waterproof.  It is against Maasai tradition for a man to hold dung in the case of constructing a house.

A busy day

A day in the life of a Maasai woman is full of activities. She wakes up at around 5:30am for her daily chores.

 “We wake up very early in the morning in order to milk the cows and goats.  We also have to monitor and report to our husband any sick or pregnant animals,” says Jerusha Naneu.

After milking the cows the women then proceed to make breakfast for their entire family.  This would be milk, tea and in some cases porridge. Once everyone has taken their breakfast and the men have already taken the cattle to graze the women would embark on other important chores of the day like fetching of firewood and water.  The whole process of gathering, fetching and bringing firewood and water home may take up the better part of their day light time, sometimes well into the evening.

Seleina Nkadayo notes, “We travel many kilometers averagely six to seven kilometers every time we go to fetch, either firewood or water.  It is a journey fraught with danger. Elephants, buffaloes, lions, snakes and many other dangerous animals are what we encounter every time we fetch water and firewood.  It is dangerous activity but we have no option as we have a noble responsibility to fulfill.”

Occasionally wild animals, especially elephants would trample on an unfortunate woman killing her before burring her in a heap of tree branches’ bringing untold suddenness to the entire community. Once this happens men would arm themselves, and go to the forest to avenge the dead woman by killing the marauding elephant.

On arrival from collection of firewood and water they would the clean the home and make lunch for her children.  Lunch is rare among the Maasai families as there are generally two meals a day, one in the morning and one at night

Pauline Siloma says, “Once we have made lunch for our family then its time to engage in bead work. Maasai women are creative and they like designing new ornamental artifacts every time they get the opportunity.”

They do this for their husbands, children and also for commercial purposes. In the evening she must make fire before everyone comes back.  She has to bring in calves and goat kids into the enclosures.  Then she has to milk the cows again and prepare more food for the entire family including any visitors.

It’s never boring

Joan Nashipai says, “With this kind of culture we never get bored.  Our day is fully packed and we are happy.”

Maasai women have some other roles which include participating in organising, singing and serving everyone at ceremonial occasions. Once in a while women would congregate and organise themselves into delegations that would go for prayer for a specific purpose such as prayers to have babies; known in Maasai as enk-ai aomon entomono or prayers to God to bring to an end an epidemic.