5 Maasai Women

Maasai Women – Video

Watch the following video and respond to the questions below.
1. Why is the ritual of female circumcision so important to the Maasai?
- She is going to become a woman not a girl girl anymore
- She will engage in activity with other men
- She learns to become a wife
- She has children
- Its ongoing culture

2. What is the purpose of insulting the new bride of a husband?

To shout off any bad spirits.

3. What is “enkishon?”

Because child-bearing is so important to each woman,
Their concept of getting pregnant and having healthy
Children [especially male] are religious in
Nature. The concept is called ENKISHON.
There are references to god as “Nursing Mother” in women’s songs, and she is called upon in ENKISHON

4. Identify various phases in the life of a Maasai female/woman?

1) All marriages are arranged by the fathers

2) To be married is to be lead

3) Taunting and teasing ritual of the new bride is a part of bringing her into the village of her husband for the first time

4) Birth

5. Write down three questions that you have from the video.
Question 1: How do the Maasai deal with issues such as disease or a serious disease such as Ebola?

Question 2: Why do the women bear with circumcision?

Question 3: How does the culture deal with other tribal conflicts (Wars, etc.)

Paragraph Response:
Predict how the forces of globalization may have influenced Maasai culture. The Maasai are going to have a problem because the world is slowly expanding and globalizing in every way. This is going to force them to have to have new alternatives for many things they do and because the world cares about many things that are harmful to people such as female circumcision, the maasai may have to fiddle or change there culture a lot in order to stay with the flow of the world.