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MAASAI PROJECT: Expression of ideas in Painting
I am an African painter, or more precisely, a Maasai artist from Kenya, living in Oslo Norway.
I am a self-taught, and uses the traditional East African method of making batik, and in addition to making batik and painting, I also try to sculpts. Much of my work is a narrative of the day to day life in generally. There is also an expression of spiritual complexity in more of my abstract works.
BATIK: Originally Javanese, of printing colored designs on textiles by waxing the parts not to be dyed, so as to repel the pigment; Fabric treated thus.
MAASAI: LAND AND PEOPLE.
As a young Maasai, I often heard the legend that, long ago, Engai (God) had three children to whom he gave three gifts. The first received an arrow to make his living by hunting, the second a hoe to dig the land and grow crops, and the third a stick to use in herding cattle. This third son whose name was NATERO KOP, was the father of the Maasai, who have since that time been the proud keepers of cattle. The Maasai are pastoral people who live in Kenya and Tanzania, in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa.So, in the shadow of Mount Lengai, the Maasai call OLDOINYO LE ENGAI, the mountain of God, the Maasai have decided to observe the many sunrises and fiery sunsets and to guard their cattle grazing on the savannah. In its strictest sense, the word Maasai means speaker of the language Maa, a distinct but unwritten African tongue-the Maasai of Kenya and Tanzania still live much as they did thousands of years ago, herding cattle, sheep, and goats and existing in harmony with their peaceful environment in and around the Great Rift Valley. Tall, proud, aristocratic in bearing and manner, these handsome people have their way into the 20th century with their ancient customs and the structure of their society preserved to an unusual extent. Maasai follow the growing of the grass as precious rain soaks the earth. We live as we always have, nomads but not without a home. The Maasai tribe whose rich and unique culture is now in danger of disappearing forever.......
Those few educated Maasai should live up to one purpose-to help the masses of Maasai catch up with the rest of modern Kenya and Tanzania. Our spearpoints are now like the teeth of infants, and it seems the wisdom of the elders no longer counts.
As for the Maasai land that has been turned into national parks, the income gained from turism there should be channeled back to develop the Maasai. The governments should accept that cattle themselves are assets of great value and that, therefore agriculture should not be allowed to encroach on grazing lands. Efforts should be made to improve the quality of Maasai stock as a source of milk and protein for the whole country.
The book MAASAI-this book a-kind of autobiography, since it's written by a Maasai-documents their living history. It recounts the ancient legends, reveals the songs and prayers,and vividly describes the stages of life for a Maasai: childhood, initiation, warrior rank, and finally elderhood.
The writer TEPILI OLE SAITOTI, a Maasai, was chosen from amongst his family to attend a goverment school. In 1967, he joined the Tanzania National Park Service. Four years later, he was selected for the National Geographic Society film "MAN OF THE SERENGETI." In 1971, he attended the Goethe Institute in Munich, Germany. He enrolled at Emerson College, Boston, in 1972 and was awarded a B.F.A. with honors in 1976. Mr.Saitoti earned an M.S. in Environmental Science at the University of Michigan in 1977.
MAASAI CEREMONIES:
1. ENGIPAATA - Senior boy ceremony.
2. EMURATA - Circumcission.
3. ENKIAMA - Marriage.
4. EUNOTO - Warrior Graduation.
5. EOKOTO E-KULE - Milk Ceremony.
6. ENKANG OO-NKIRI - Meat Ceremony.
7. ORRIGESHERR - Junior Elders Ceremony.
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