ARE MAASAIS POOR PEOPLE ?

Let's think about tribe of Maasais and express our experience with life in the  tribe:

Finding the answer to this question will be not easy but we will try.

Yes. In general it looks like they are poor. Some of them more, some of them less. Compared to the Western world and having money yes, they are poor. Compared to other countries, they are those who are more lucky and they are living there happy life full of freedom. And local people in Tanzania, also at Zanzibar, don't have that much as Maasais have. But let's look into in details:

CATTLE: they have cattle. Cows, goats and sheep. They also have chicken. And donkeys. Donkeys are helping them with heavy things like buckets full of water. Chicken - they don't eat, they sell them on  market to Swahili people. Eggs - they don't eat. Again they only sell it and getting some money. If they would be really hungry, they would eat eggs, also chicken, but they don't need to. People in some other countries, if they would see chicken or egg, they wouldn't doubt even one second and they would eat immediately. Maasais can really choose what they like to eat and what they don't like to eat. What is not normal situation in the poor world outside there, where people are hungry. So it will be not that much terrible as it looks to be. Maasais are not hungry. They eat regularly and healthily. Their food is simple but nutritious, unlike the western diet of the body beneficial, maasais are healthy, strong, have good immunity, do not suffer from almost any diseases and also do not suffer from hunger.

WATER: many people in the world are paying for the water. Many people living in deserts, don't have enough water. Maasais have water for free from the natural sources. All what is needed is bring water near the houses (boma), which is the role of women and  young girls. Men are not involved in this job. Water is not far away, it's always possible to bring it home.

FARMS: they have (not all but many) farms with maize. Those who are not lazy can cover most of the year with their own maize. Rest of the year they have to buy maize from the market. To buy a plot for maize is not a big deal. Plots there are really cheap, especially out of the village area. Sometimes they just have plot without paying for it, using it for the maize for many years. 

Maasais are eating ugali. It was originally not maasais food but because it's very cheap, easy to make and you will not feel any hunger, they started to use it many years ago. Today ugali is daily food, mostly with some kind of sauce. After while you will be not hungry. For ugali you need only boiled water and powder from the maize. Ugali is favorite food there and Maasais love it. With the sauce is really edible and tasty.

WEATHER: thanks to the friendly weather they can not freeze under any conditions. Poor people living other places, for example the villages deeply in Russia, they were not so lucky and they can die from cold easily.

HOUSE: they don't need expensive and complicated houses. If they would really want, they could make house for free, or for minimum costs. The other thing is, they are lazy, that's why they prefer to buy or to pay Swahili people for doing it. But in the biggest trouble, they can have house for free. The simple house for Maasais contains just wood from the forest (sticks), special mud which is also for free and grass for the roof. The only thing in house they really need to buy is the wooden door. Now imagine how much white people are paying for houses. And to live in simple cottage is not possible in Europe, because of not friendly weather. Of course, for houses are responsible just women. It's their job. Men are supporting all process with the money if needed, but they are not building it.

CLOTHES: this has connection with the weather. Because the weather is not cold, they don't need complicated warm clothes like warm gloves, big jackets or high warm shoes. Of course sometimes nights in the savannah can be cold but one blanket for night is enough to survive. Nobody will be frozen there and the costs for clothes is not too high. They use very simply clothes, just piece of the fabric. Men and also women. Men have not heavy red clothes, today you can find many patterns on it, colors are mostly in shadows of red (but sometimes you can see pink, or gray). Women have heavy, uncomfortable violet fabric on the body. Children in schools have to wear special uniform. They need just two - three pairs of the clothes for whole the year.

FREEDOM and ENVIRONMENT: who has more freedom than Maasais have ? White people who are spending whole days in the office, working for foreign people and for foreign concerns ? Having just few days of holiday each year ? No. White people don't have any freedom, they are part of the terrible and absurd slave system. Their money is not for free (as Maasais often think). Maasais are free and they really can live their own life in peace and harmony, surrounded by beautiful nature, breathing clean air without toxic gases from car exhausts and factories. Who is lucky like this ? Not everyone in this world, for sure. Go to Maasai bush and you will see it in all its beauty. It's really beautiful, BREATHTAKING ! Who is lucky as they are - to live in the middle of beautiful and clean nature, having a lot of space for their life, for children to play, for enjoying as much freedom as possible.

HEALTH CARE: Maasais are living healthy life because the food is mostly good for body, natural, balanced and full of nutrition, without added toxic substances. They are mostly strong and very healthy with very well working immunity system. They have a lot of plants to be healed but mostly they prefer to go to hospital. And they are going and paying with cash without any problem. Many people around the world can only dream about hospital or doctor, but Maasais use this service often for each little reason because they can. They have access to health care. And no everyone has it. They are just lucky to live life which they are living there.

COMMUNITY: Maasais are living together, supporting, covering and helping each other. When a difficult, serious problem occurs, the community will collect the money to solve it. The unfortunate person / family never has to pay this money back. Who else is lucky like this. Not everybody.

RELIGION: they are lucky also with religion. They adapted it as they wanted and needed. The are Christians but with polygamy. 

If you are educated enough and you know about situation and condition in many other countries around the world, you will be able to decide if they are poor or not. But Maasais don't know about rest of  the world, because lag of education. The only people they can see and they know are those few rich white people at Zanzibar on Holiday or those who are there owning hotels. This is not the group everyone can compare to them. It's minority of people who are able to go to Zanzibar. Not whole world is like that. Most of the world population cannot ever go to Zanzibar, even not once a life. Maasais are definitely not the most poorest people on the planet. Only if you will look at local swahili people, living in poor tiny cottages near to main road, in the environment full of dust from the roads, having no cattle, having no support of community, they are more poor than Maasais are. 

If they would be really poor (what they are not) could be just their poverty an excuse to commit crimes and destroy the lives of many other people for money? People who never hurt them? Especially if they are not feeling any sorry? This cannot be any excuse.

Let's look back a bit, to the past, not far away from today:

Maasais culture is an old culture which is alive until now. Before white people came to their country, they lived. They survived. They led a decent and moral life, in front of themselves and in front of their God. Without crimes. Without big money and without bigger sins. Without needs to destroy other lives. Without the shame. So what happened? What has changed ? They have all what they need for life. Beautiful nature around, great and friendly weather, cattle, roofs above the heads, maize farms, they are healthy and strong. Why couldn't they suddenly live without white people and their money? 

Maybe it's all about laziness only. They found (maybe accidentally) how sweet easy money are. How good is to have new motorcycle, solar panels and new i-phone without any effort. All it's about the  competition who is bigger liar and criminal. To how many women was someone able to lie and how much money he was able to get. Who will win will be respected. In other communities, criminal is just criminal and nobody likes him. In Maasai world it's different today. All those who are famous as prostitute, thieves and liars have the biggest respect because they are rich. But nobody cares how did they get the money. Then for what they are respected ? Respected for being liar ? Respected for being prostitute ? Respected for being thief ? What a pity.

And don't think, there are many very rich people in-between maasais. Heritage they got, good plan for business with cows, many maasais people are very rich without knowing or meeting ANY mzungu. So it's possible, only they have to try, they have to do something and they have to be strong, slowly collect property and money and make them grow. It's possible, because there are many examples of very rich maasais out there, without any white money.