In common with the wildlife with which they co-exist, the Masai need a lot of land. Unlike many other tribes in Kenya, they live by herding cattle and goats. They believe Engai (their chief god) gave them all the cattle in the world. They referred to the neighboring tribes of farmers and hunter-gatherers as "Ndorobo," meaning poor folk. This is because the Masai measured wealth by the number of cattle, so people without cattle, or those who eat the meat of wild animals are considered poor. The Masai don't have fixed ranches with permanent buildings. Instead they construct a "boma" (village) for a group of families. The boma is a circle of huts,one per family, enclosed within a circular fence of thorn bushes. the women of each household construct the hut from cattle dung and clay. Periodically, the group will abandon their boma and construct a new one in an area with better water and grazing.

During initiation, Masai boys spend their days preparing for circumcision, which is an important tradition for them. It signifies the beginning of adulthood and the ability to face obstacles with courage and bravery. During this time, the boys gather honey to brew beer for a celebration and hunt birds to get feathers that will adorn the headdresses they wear as they heal from the wound caused by the circumcision. On the evening before the rite, the mothers (or woman of the same age-set) shave their son's heads, an emotional moment in which parent and child silently say good-bye to each other. All Masai rituals mark the beginning, and the closing of something else, distilling the passage of time into one symbolic instant. Before sunrise the next morning, the boys numb themselves with cold river water and then circumcised (without anesthesia) by a selected elder who is paid by livestock by each boy's family. During the circumcision, it is important that the boys remain calm and quiet. Even a blink of an eye would be perceived as a sign of weakness and an embarrassment to their families. After initiation, every Masai boy's goal is to become a "moran" or warrior.

The Masai haven't fared well in modern africa. Until the British settlers arrived, fierce Masai tribes occupied the most fertile lands. They struggled to preserve their territory, but their spears were no match for armed British troops and their lawyers never had a chance in British courtrooms. They lost about two-thirds of the lands they occupied and were relocated to less fertile parts of Kenya and Tanzania. Other tribes, such as Kikuyu for instance, have readily adopted to modern business, big cities and formal systems of government. The Masai, though, have persisted

Some common words found in the essay are:
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