Maasai Art Without Artists: Why Everyone Carves Their Own Walking Cane
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Nearly every tradition documented in this book relies on a dedicated maker: a guild of blacksmiths, a lineage of carvers, a workshop tied to a royal court. The Maasai, 350,000 nomadic herdsmen living mainly in Kenya and Tanzania, have none of that. There are no specialized artists among the Maasai at all; individuals produce items of adornment and utilitarian objects simply according to need, split by gender rather than by any professional class. That absence of a maker caste, art produced by whoever will actually carry or wear the object, is the throughline worth carrying through this piece. It sits alongside a wider Maasai worldview in which cattle are a gift from God and the cultivated earth itself is treated as something to be avoided rather than shaped.
Who Are the Maasai?
The 350,000 Maasai living mainly in Kenya and Tanzania are nomadic herdsmen for whom notions of wealth and prestige are intimately linked to the size of a family’s animal herds. Cattle are believed to be a gift from God. The Maasai are known for their courage and magnificent physiques; young warriors, armed only with a shield and spear, are traditionally required to slay a lion, and the Maasai have long maintained an enmity toward the Kikuyu and other Bantu tribes of the region.
Why the Earth Itself Is Treated as Unclean
The Maasai have a deep disregard for any agricultural activity, seeing the cultivated earth as dirty. Consequently, they do not bury their dead in the earth, and they build their houses from cow dung rather than the clay used by many neighboring agrarian peoples. This rejection of the earth as a building or burial material runs through the culture as consistently as the value placed on cattle, and it marks a sharp contrast with the many farming peoples documented elsewhere in this book, whose art and ritual life are built around the soil they cultivate.
Art Made by Whoever Needs It
There are no specialized artists among the Maasai. Individuals produce items of adornment and utilitarian objects according to need, with a clear division of labor along gender lines: women are responsible for beadwork, making necklaces and earrings and decorating gourds, while men create the elaborate coiffures worn by young warriors and carve their own personal objects, including headrests, walking canes, and leather shields decorated with polychrome designs. The object’s maker and its owner are, by default, the same person.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do the Maasai have professional artists or carvers?
No. There are no specialized artists among the Maasai; individuals produce items of adornment and utilitarian objects themselves, according to need.
How is artistic labor divided among the Maasai?
By gender. Women are responsible for beadwork, necklaces, earrings, and gourd decoration, while men create elaborate warrior coiffures and carve personal objects such as headrests, walking canes, and leather shields.
Why don’t the Maasai bury their dead in the earth?
The Maasai have a deep disregard for agricultural activity and see the cultivated earth as dirty, so they avoid burying the dead in it and build their houses from cow dung rather than clay.
What do the Maasai believe about cattle?
Cattle are believed to be a gift from God, and notions of wealth and prestige among the Maasai are intimately linked to the size of a family’s herd.
See also: African Masks by Region and Tribe · African Coming-of-Age Ceremonies: How Different Cultures Mark the Transition to Adulthood · African Funeral Traditions: How Different Cultures Honour the Dead
