Maasai Children in Tanzania

Maasai is a tribe of people who have been in East Africa for hundreds of years. While other tribes have adopted modern ways, like Western style clothes, the Maasai are very traditional. That means they live as their ancestors lived many, many generations ago. Maasai are nomadic, so they move around with their herds of cows and goats to find grass. Maasai people eat mostly meat and live in mud huts. Part of their traditional diet is a dish of cow's blood mixed with milk.

For fashion, men and women put holes in their earlobes and enlarge the holes as they grow up. In addition to their bright red and blue wraps, Maasai wear beaded jewelry and ornaments, the men as well as the women.

In this photo, we see children who live in a boma, which is a cluster of homes where an extended family lives. The wood fence, made of tree branches, is the pin where the cows and donkeys sleep at night, safe from lions. The children are shaking polaroid pictures of themselves, taken by a friend from New York City.

The children go to a school built by their father, Ole Dorop, the chief of this Maasai village. Ole Dorop understands how important it is for the children to get an education. Maasai speak the language Ma. But in school, they also learn to speak Kiswahili and English.