The Masai Of Africa

Everyone “knows” the Maasai as proud pastoralists who once dominated the Rift Valley from northern Kenya to central Tanzania. But many people who identity themselves as Maasai, or who speak Maa, are not pastoralist at all, but farmers and hunters. Over time many different people have “become” something else. And what it means to be Maasai has changed radically over the past several centuries and is still changing today. This collection by historians, archaeologists, anthropologists and linguists examines how Maasai identity has been created, evoked, contested, and transformed from the time of their earliest settlement in Kenya to the present, as well as raising questions about the nature of ethnicity generally.

Describes the customs, housing, and food of the Masai; how they live on a daily basis; and how they have dealt with modern forces, such as wildlife preserves, tourism, and money.

One of the greatest attractions of a trip to Kenya is the chance to see animals such as lions, cheetah, leopards, zebra, and giraffe up close and in their natural habitats. Animals of the Masai Mara is a lavish photographic guide that explores the charismatic wildlife most likely to be encountered by a safari visitor to the Masai Mara National Reserve in southwest Kenya. More than 140 stunning photographs showcase 65 mammals and 17 reptile species, including 6 snakes. Designed to be informative and locally accurate, rather than purely identification-based, this easy-to-use book pays particular attention to wildlife behavior and is written from the firsthand experiences of the authors and the knowledge of local safari guides. Numerous "Top Tips" throughout show readers how and where to locate specific species. The only field guide to focus solely on the wildlife of the Masai Mara National Reserve, Animals of the Masai Mara will be indispensable to visitors to this famous park and all nature enthusiasts with an interest in this area of the world. The only photographic guide specific to the animals of the Masai Mara National Reserve More than 140 remarkable photographs covering 65 mammals and 17 reptile species, including 6 snakes Accessible text explores animal behavior and other interesting facts A brief and informative introduction to the habitats of the Masai Mara

The Masai have a reputation for courage, independence and a way of life that fits with the grasslands of the East African plains. Find out all about the people, their history and how they live, in this stunning non-fiction book by top BBC wildlife filmmakers and photographers Jonathan and Angela Scott. * Emerald/Band 15 books provide a widening range of genres including science fiction and biography, prompting more ways to respond to texts. * Text type - A non-chronological report. * There is a useful glossary and index on pages 44 and 45 and a diary of the day in the life f a Masai child on pages 46 and 47. * Curriculum links - Geography: knowledge and understanding of places; Citizenship: developing good relationships and respecting the differences between people.

Recounts the author's traditional childhood, adolescence, and coming into manhood in Maasailand and of his education in Europe and America.

"A photographic essay about the Maasai people in Kenya, traditionally nomadic herders, exploring the contemporary challenges they face focusing on environmental changes such as the overgrazing of land and the threat of wildlife extinction and how the Maasai are adapting their agricultural practices and lifestyle while preserving their culture"--Provided by publisher. Includes Maasai proverbs. Suggested level: primary, intermediate.

This exquisitely beautiful series of books portrays the cultures, landscapes, fauna, flora and history of an individual country with over 150 stunning photographs and well-written and knowledgeable text. To nineteenth-century Europeans, they were the "noblest savages, " an elite corps of painted and feathered warriors, strangely aristocratic in their disdain of other people's civilization. For the Maasai, nothing has proved an inducement to change during the last 100 years: not peace for war; money for cattle; nor cities and settlement for the plains and open boundaries of their land covering much of southern Kenya and northern Tanzania.

In 1999, Juliet Cutler leaves the United States to teach at the first school for Maasai girls in East Africa. Captivated by the stories of young Maasai women determined to get an education in the midst of a culture caught between the past and the future, she seeks to empower and support her students as they struggle to define their own fates. Cutler soon learns that behind their shy smiles and timid facades, her Maasai students are much stronger than they appear. For them, adolescence requires navigating a risky world of forced marriages, rape, and genital cutting, all in the midst of a culture grappling with globalization. In the face of these challenges, these young women believe education offers hope, and so, against all odds, they set off alone―traveling hundreds of miles and even forsaking their families―simply to go to school. Twenty years of involvement with this school and its students reveal to Cutler the important impacts of education across time, as well as the challenges inherent in tackling issues of human rights and extreme poverty across vastly different cultures. Working alongside local educators, Cutler emerges transformed by the community she finds in Tanzania and by witnessing the life-changing impact of education on her students. Proceeds from the sale of this book support education for at-risk Maasai girls.