Routledge Classic Ethnographies
2 total works
When first published in 1988, this classic study was the first to relate the dynamics of the Maasai age organisation to the tensions within the family. Together, these provide the twin strands of a man's career, opposed ritually and reflecting a fundamental ambivalence in Maasai thought. The analysis is illustrated with extensive case material from the the Matapato, selected for this study as a typical Maasai group.
Samburu society is a gerontocracy in which power rests with the older men; men under thirty may not marry or otherwise assert their personal independence. This nomadic tribe from the arid regions of northern Kenya cling to their traditional way of life despite the rapid change throughout Africa. The author spent more than two years during the 1960's amongst the Samburu, and as an adopted member of one of their clans, he perceived how their values and attitudes are closely interwoven with a social system that resists change.