Mission:

The iCross-Cultural Citizen Project is a cultural anthropology course-based project meant to raise critical consciousness about the rich cultural diversity in our indigenous world. Being totally aware of the limitations of being outsiders, we are a group of multidisciplinary undergraduate students who believe in cross-cultural sensitivity and participatory agency aimed at disseminating information about indigenous realities as accurately as possible.

Vision:

The iCross-Cultural Citizen Project’s vision is to create an online cross-cultural space for students, professionals, and youth to learn and exchange cross-culturally sensitive information about contemporary indigenous experiences. From that outsider student’s perspective, we will try to theoretically explore possible collaborative solutions to problems that affect the indigenous populations of our planet. Finally, we hope for the future creation of a space where indigenous youth can share their experiences and their realities with us for real mutual collaboration to take place.

Values:

We value the maximization of benefits to indigenous peoples and other vulnerable populations in the world.

We value the respect for persons all over the world.

We value the equal treatment of people, and we are against the exploitation of vulnerable groups around the world.

We value collaborative cross-cultural learning and critical thinking.

Background Information

Background Information:
The Maasai are a semi-nomadic people who live under a communal land management system. The Maasai live in Kraals arranged in a circular fashion and the fence around the kraal is made of acacia thorns to prevent lions from attacking the cattle. The Inkajijik are loaf-shaped houses made of mud, sticks, grass, cow dung and cow's urine and woman are responsible for making the houses as well as supplying food and water for the family. The men are usually warriors and the boys are responsible for herding livestock. Elders are directors and advisers of the village and are a symbol of leadership in the community. The Maasai have a subsistence economy and are aware of private ownership.

Maasai Association
2015 The Maasai People. Electronic Document, http://www.maasai-association.org/maasai.html, accessed February 9, 2015

Geographic Location

Geographic Location:

East Africa in southern Kenya and northern Tanzania along the Great Rift Valley on semi-arid and arid lands.

Maasai Association
2015 The Maasai People. Electronic Document, http://www.maasai-association.org/maasai.html, accessed February 9, 2015

Sunday, February 22, 2015

The Maasai Way of Life

The video describes the Maasai people as a semi-nomadic people and accurately depicts the diet and inkajijik's or houses of the Maasai. The houses are mainly made out of cow dung and built by the woman of the community. Their diet consists of no meat and they get most of their nutrition from drinking the blood of cows and mixing it with milk. The dance in the film is the Maasai's traditional jumping dance where the men jump high and the woman move their necklaces to the rhythm of the song. The Maasai do not use instruments in their songs and only use their voices to produce music. The diet of the Maasai is unique and the traditional dance is very gender specific.

Maasai People
     2014 Documentary of The Maasai People. Maasai People. Planet Doc, August 7.
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1 comment:

  1. UnknownMarch 22, 2015 at 7:12 PM

    The Strict Gender Roles, Diet, and Famous Jumping Dance of the Maasai

    The Maasai have a rich culture with many valuable traditions. I understand the strict gender roles, but it seems as if the women have more responsibility than the men. The women are responsible for making the home or inkajijik and supplying food and water for the family. Many men in the tribe have multiple wives to split up the work between them. The boys in the tribe are responsible for herding while men are considered warriors and provide protection.

    The houses are made out of mud, sticks, grass, cow dung, and cow's urine which is out of the ordinary. I understand that they use whatever is available to them, but I wonder what happens to those houses when it rains. Their diet is special in that they do not eat meat; however, they drink cow’s blood mixed with milk. The blood is very nutritious, but I think drinking the blood of another animal pushes the boundaries of my comfort zone. It reminds me of the time when I tried cow tongue. I had no idea that it was cow tongue at first, but as soon as I was aware of what I was eating I could not keep it down. The fact that I was eating this bizarre food did not agree with what I considered to be edible nourishment. On the other hand, the tradition jumping dance seems kind of entertaining and their singing is quite enjoyable.

    The Maasai people have fun with their traditional dance and I think it would be fun to join in on one. The way of life for the Maasai is unique and I understand why they live the way they do, but I do not think I could drink blood mixed with milk. Their culture is rich and I would be interested to learn more about their values and traditions.

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