The Maasai are a tribe of pastoralist cattle herders who live predominantly in East Africa. The Maasai frequently make headlines in regards to cultural appropriation, and the problems and prospects associated with Western corporations capitalizing upon the indigenous tribal image. The Maasai are well known for their intricate bead work, and have been “sponsored” by a wide range of fashion designers and NGO’s who feature photos of Maasai people and their beadwork in advertisements. The aesthetic of the Maasai is only half the sell, however, as the use of the Maasai image often invokes philanthropic tendencies in consumers. In order to sell handbags, what better way is there than to appropriate the image of an “exotic” tribe who also happens to be black, impoverished, hungry, and ecologically noble!?
In this post it is my goal to explore the current state of issues of cultural appropriation, land rights, poverty and ecology surrounding the Maasai of Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania within the frameworks of the four pillars of systematic theory covered in our class: ontology, epistemology, ethics, and politics. I’ll begin by titling each section under it’s major category, and provide a quick definition of the topic in the form of a question. That is, the definition of the category is exactly what each category seeks to answer, describe, find, or define.
Ontology – What is?
The Maasai are often considered indigenous people in East Africa. But the truth is they aren’t even close to being the first people to call this area home. In fact, the Maasai have a history of violent colonization of vast swaths of East Africa, often warring with other agriculturist tribes such as the Iraqw and WaArusha. After dominating the WaArusha, the Maasai interbred with the agriculturalists and converted many individuals to the Maasai tradition; while simultaneously many Maasai left their cattle herds for the scythe and seed. We can therefore ask a couple ontological questions of the situation; what does it mean to be indigenous? and what does it mean to be Maasai?
The answers to these questions hold strong political, as well as idealogical, implications. In his article “Choosing Metaphors for the Anthropocene: Cultural and Political Ecologies” Paul Robbins argues that metaphors are “core concepts or images that stand in place of the complex, indeterminate, and myriad relationships people have with one another and with non-humans” (Robbins, 2013). In a sense, being Maasai, is a metaphor for being a person at the current end of a long and complex cultural history of change and tradition.
Epistemology – How do we know?
Ngorongoro Crater is a geological feature and national park in Tanzania that is home to many iconic species of African megafauna including Giraffe, Elephant, Buffalo, Lion, Rhino, and many, many more! As a matter of fact the photo of the Hyena and Wildebeest on this very blog was taken on the crater floor at Ngorongoro. Not only does the national park house a diverse array of photogenic species, but the fertile grasslands also provide rangeland for many Maasai pastoralists. Many people claim that the presence of Maasai pastoralists and their cattle harms the fragile ecosystem of Ngorongoro Crater, and that the place (soil, water, flora) and the animals that live there would be better off without all the pesky ranchers. This is a tough position to maintain because of the epistemological question; how do you know? The truth is, Maasai have been herding their cattle in Ngorongoro since long before the first white explorer set eyes on this magnificent spot. How could we possibly know whether the Ngorongoro ecosystem would be better off without the Maasai and their cattle? Some argue the inverse, claiming the Maasai and their beasts have filled their own ecological niche important to the health of the biotic community in the crater. Furthermore, there are more than two sides to this coin. First of all, conservation biologists and ecologists may see the Maasai as either wholly part of, or wholly separate from, the Ngorongoro ecosystem. Anthropologists, depending on when and from what academic/intellectual tradition, may see the Maasai as rightfully indigenous to, or equally invasive in the crater. In my mind, the problem here is one of “dubious disciplines” promoted by Immanuel Wallerstein. In his article, “Anthropology, Sociology, and Other Dubious Disciplines,” Wallerstein criticizes the intellectual isolation each field has enjoyed since the 19th century. Wallerstein calls for each discipline to be “stripped of it’s chaff” and reconstituted with the other disciplines to create a meaningful framework which we may use to approach human phenomena. The stance would include analyzing the Maasai as an integral part of a complex system in which humans and non-human nature play their parts and write their histories.
Ethics – What’s right?
So who’s right? Should the Maasai be permitted to stay and live normal lives in Ngorongoro? Or should they be asked to leave, (read: be evicted!)? Your response to these questions might be informed by who you trust, and how you trust them. In his article “In __ We Trust: Science, Religion, and Authority,” Jim Proctor analyzes ways Americans trust certain authorities, and how they determine what is right as a result of those trusting relationships. Do we subscribe to the doctrine of Nature and decide what’s right based on natural laws? Could religion show us the way? Or should we have our governments and scientists (our authorities) tell us what to think? As you can imagine, there are many stakeholders in the Ngorongoro conservation area besides the Maasai and the megafauna that live there. There are the scientists who study the plants and animals, the tourists who come to photograph the animals, the tourism industry built on foreign monies, the government that benefits from tourism and it’s taxes, and the international NGOs sworn to protect biodiversity at all costs, (especially when it comes to iconic, marketable species such as lions and rhinos) and even the foreign advocates for the Maasai.
Politics – What do we do?
What has happened in Ngorongoro crater since the influx of tourism is nothing but political. Not only has the area been placed under control of the federal government, but international politics has played a role by claiming the area as a UNESCO World Heritage site. With tourist money, and government regulation several problems have evolved for the Maasai. For one, the government is more keen on opening the doors to tourism and it’s money while regulating the Maasai, than the other way around. As a result the Maasai face severe regulations aimed at protecting the image of the park at the expense of the tribes development. This means that the Maasai in Ngorongoro are not allowed to build in certain ways, and are more or less forced to maintain “traditional” lifestyles as dictated by the federal government. Now more Maasai in the crater rely on charging tourists for photo-ops, songs/dances and trinkets than cattle ranching to make a living. NGOs swarm to the Maasai’s aid and maintain global marketing campaigns to raise funds for these “impoverished” people. In her article, “A Global Sense of Place,” Doreen Massey argues that the world is increasingly dominated by movement; movement of people, of information, and of power. And that this increased movement is blurring the boundary lines around places and people, of identity and ownership. Perhaps the Maasai are caught in a tight eddy of this turbulent and convulsive globalization, trying to make a living caught between different perspectives and policies for preserving nature, maintaining indigenous peoples and traditions, and providing for global tourism and development.
In conclusion I hope to have demonstrated how the four categories of Ontology, Epistemology, Ethics and Politics interact and inform one another. And in the context of the Maasai how we can apply these various categories in order to develop a more nuanced and well rounded critical gaze towards current issues.
References:
Massey, Doreen. 1991. “A Global Sense of Place.” Marxism Today 35 (6): 24–29.
Proctor, James D. 2005. “In ___ We Trust: Science, Religion, and Authority.” In Science, Religion, and the Human Experience, ed. James D. Proctor, 87–108. Oxford University Press.
Robbins, Paul. 2013. “Choosing Metaphors for the Anthropocene: Cultural and Political Ecologies.” In The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Cultural Geography, ed. Nuala C. Johnson, Richard H. Schein, and Jamie Winders, 305–319. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Wallerstein, Immanuel. 2003. “Anthropology, Sociology, and Other Dubious Disciplines.” Current Anthropology 44 (4): 453–465.