The Maasai are a semi-nomadic ethnic group that lives southern Kenya and northern Tanzania along the Great Rift Valley. Several centuries ago, the Maasai inhabited vast amounts of territory in the region. Now, due to large-scale agriculture, business developments and expansion of wildlife reserves and national parks, the Maasai have slowly been pushed into more arid regions, endangering their traditional nomadic and subsistence farming way of life. The Maasai that have resisted now live in extremely remote areas where economic opportunity, education and public services are scarce.

Maasai bead work

Among Westerners, the Maasai are often known for their incredibly elaborate and vibrantly colorful beaded jewelry and ornaments. Beadwork is an age-old tradition for the Maasai, with beads traditionally being made out of natural materials like skins, bone, seeds, wood and gourds. Different colors often symbolize different life elements in their culture and society.[1] MWEDO artisans now obtain their materials from modernized sources, but they still maintain the traditional symbolism of the beadwork art form.

[1] Maasai Education, “Maasai Beadwork and Jewelry,” [http://www.maasaieducation.org/maasai-culture/maasai-beadwork-jewelry.htm].

Fast Facts

Region: Eastern Africa

Capital: Dar es Salaam

Population: 41,048,532 (2009)

Size: Slightly more than twice the size of California

Independence: Two regions separately became independent in 1961 and 1963, respectively; merged in 1964

Currency: Tanzanian shilling

Languages: Official languages—Swahili and English

Literacy Rate: 69.4%

Education: Public expenditure on education is only 2.2% of GDP—164^th in the world.

Primary School Enrollment Rate: 91% (2005)

Life Expectancy: Male, 50.56 years; Female 53.51 (2009)

Infant Mortality Rate: 69.28 deaths/1,000 births (2009)

HIV Prevalence Rate: 6.2% (2007)

National Poverty Rate: 35.7% (1990-2004)

Population living on less than $2 a day: 89.9% (1990-2005)

Population living on less than $1 a day: 57.8% (1990-2005)

Access to clean drinking water: 62% (2004)

Access to proper sanitation: 47% (2004)

All statistics from CIA World Factbook 2007 & UNDP Human Development Report 2006

Tanzania, located in central East Africa, is the product of a 1964 union between Tanganyika and the island of Zanzibar. Shortly after independence, Tanzania’s first president Julius Nyerere, issued the Arusha Declaration, which was intended to create a self-reliant and socialist-like economy of cooperative farming. Achieving Nyerere’s vision, however, required the forcible resettlement of 85 percent of Tanzania’s rural population. This mass re-settlement transformed Tanzania into a nation of starving subsistence farmers and created significant resentment throughout the country, eventually resulting in the decline of the industrial sector^.1 In order to inject capital into the struggling economy, Nyerere sought Chinese aid, which was readily given, but with the stipulation that all new development projects were to be completed by imported Chinese workers.

In 1985, Nyerere stepped down. His successor pursued a program of economic liberalization, bringing a good deal of foreign investment into the country.[2] According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Tanzania’s economy has grown six percent on average over the past three years (2005-2008). Still, much of the population is reliant on subsistence farming, and is therefore subject to the haphazard weather patterns of East Africa. Much of the country’s economic growth is occurring in the mining industry,[3] which often displaces many people and creates severe pollution.

Tanzania does have a rich history and a promising future in the arts movement. Two styles of Tanzanian art in particular have become world-renowned: Tingatinga and Makonde. These popular styles include painted animal figures on canvas and modern sculpture from the ebony tree.

1 Absolute Tanzania, “Socialist Tanzania,” [http://absolutetanzania.com/history/socialist_tanzania].

2 FCO, “Tanzania,” [http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/about-the-fco/country-profiles/sub-saharan-africa/tanzania?profile=history&pg=3].

3 World Bank.