MAASAI IDENTITY
The Maasai identity has become a commodity for Westerners to consume, adopt, and experience.
MAASAI WARRIOR PRINCESS
The summer after I returned from Tanzania I received many emails from friends and family asking if I had read about the "Maasai Warrior Princess." Mindy Budgor is a young American who took a life-changing trip to East Africa and now refers to herself as the Maasai Warrior Princess. She recounts landing in Kenya and being captivated by the bravery and confidence of the Maasai Warriors. She found her accommodations to not fit her image of an "authentic African experience" and decided she wanted to undergo the rituals that would make her a Maasai Warrior (Everett 2013).
An online article writes, “Mindy left behind her life of privilege and luxury at her family’s beach house in Santa Barbara, California, to complete her inspiring quest to find her true self and encourage other women to follow her example” (Bates 2013). Mindy is described as an inspirational hero for adopting another culture and a crusader against sexism. Her need to fight a battle on behalf of the Maasai women demonstrates her belief that the Maasai culture is problematic because of its differences from her own culture and that she must be the one to alter the gender dynamics of this society. This ideology that because a culture is different then it is incorrect and therefore needs saving is the same mindset behind colonial oppressors.
Mindy uses the Maasai for personal fulfillment. She speaks about how through her experience she learned to “live in the moment” and is now benefitting financially through a book deal. Through the media she is portraying the Maasai as a static society that needs liberation through Western ideas . Budgor speaks as though she is breaking down power dynamics but she is actually reinforcing larger ones. She would not have been given the opportunity to “become a Maasai warrior” if she was not in a position of power and is now exploiting that power for personal gain. Mindy's experience is an example of Westerners adopting what they would like from the Maasai identity while reinforcing relationships of power.
An online article writes, “Mindy left behind her life of privilege and luxury at her family’s beach house in Santa Barbara, California, to complete her inspiring quest to find her true self and encourage other women to follow her example” (Bates 2013). Mindy is described as an inspirational hero for adopting another culture and a crusader against sexism. Her need to fight a battle on behalf of the Maasai women demonstrates her belief that the Maasai culture is problematic because of its differences from her own culture and that she must be the one to alter the gender dynamics of this society. This ideology that because a culture is different then it is incorrect and therefore needs saving is the same mindset behind colonial oppressors.
Mindy uses the Maasai for personal fulfillment. She speaks about how through her experience she learned to “live in the moment” and is now benefitting financially through a book deal. Through the media she is portraying the Maasai as a static society that needs liberation through Western ideas . Budgor speaks as though she is breaking down power dynamics but she is actually reinforcing larger ones. She would not have been given the opportunity to “become a Maasai warrior” if she was not in a position of power and is now exploiting that power for personal gain. Mindy's experience is an example of Westerners adopting what they would like from the Maasai identity while reinforcing relationships of power.
"I DON'T WANT TO BARTER WITH MAMA"
I spent the four days of my Maasai homestay glued to my 14 year-old mama's side. Although we didn't speak the same language together we fetched water, beaded, walked into down, cooked, and snuggled to keep warm while we slept outside. She bathed me, dressed me, brushed my hair, and made sure I drank plenty of water. We couldn't express much to each other but I felt very close to her and thankful for her care and affection. At the conclusion of the homestay our mama's came to the campground to sell Maasai jewelry.
"I don't want to barter with my mama" a girl from my group exclaimed. At this point of the trip we had perfected our bargaining skills and had already acquired a fair share of Maasai jewelry. I shared my peer's sentiment, I saw my mama as my caregiver and I didn't want to taint that relationship with a buyer seller relationship. We were reminded that as it was late April and they would not have an opportunity to sell jewelry to tourists for months. It was then that I realized my real problem with bartering with my mama. I had spent the last four days adopting the identity of a Maasai mtoto to my Maasai mama and once I returned to the campsite I did not want to revert to my identity of an American tourist and alter my relationship with my Mama. I wanted to preserve my Maasai homestay within its context. Like Mindy, I wanted the Maasai to be what I wanted them to be, frozen within my experience.
"I don't want to barter with my mama" a girl from my group exclaimed. At this point of the trip we had perfected our bargaining skills and had already acquired a fair share of Maasai jewelry. I shared my peer's sentiment, I saw my mama as my caregiver and I didn't want to taint that relationship with a buyer seller relationship. We were reminded that as it was late April and they would not have an opportunity to sell jewelry to tourists for months. It was then that I realized my real problem with bartering with my mama. I had spent the last four days adopting the identity of a Maasai mtoto to my Maasai mama and once I returned to the campsite I did not want to revert to my identity of an American tourist and alter my relationship with my Mama. I wanted to preserve my Maasai homestay within its context. Like Mindy, I wanted the Maasai to be what I wanted them to be, frozen within my experience.