MAASAI FOOD CULTURE (Story by Chef Binta)
upon our arrival in Kenya,we visited the Maasai Mara to experience their food culture and way of life. It was quite an interesting experience as we got to learn that Maasai society is a patriarchal in nature with the elders deciding most matters. Their lifestyle centers around their cattle which constitutes the primary source of food. They measure a man’s wealth in terms of cattle and children rather than money. As a historically nomadic people,they have traditionally relied on local, readily available materials and indigenous technology to construct their housing. Their houses are designed for people on the move and it is movable in nature which are either loaf shaped or circular, constructed by their women, within the space in the house is where the family cooks, eat sleeps,socialize and stores food.
Traditional Maasai diet consist of meat, milk, and blood from the cattle. However, the inclusion of blood in the traditional diet is waning due to the reduction of livestock numbers. More recently, the Maasai have grown dependent on food in other areas such as maize meal, rice,potatoes,cabbage ( known to the Maasai as goat leaves) We were warmly welcomed into their homes and Chef Dieuveil Malonga was invited to prepare dinner with the locals, with a gift of their traditional garnets, local Maasai made wine and tasting and their traditional music which consists of rhythms provided by a chorus of vocalists singing harmonies while a song leader sings the melody and the group responds with one unanimous call in acknowledgement with the group jumping up and down in excitement.
One of the most valuable lesson we learnt from the Maasai visit is that eating together creates unity and love amongst each other. It helps to keep up the social structure of the family.
