Masai or Maasai, a largely nomadic pastoral people of E Africa, chiefly in Kenya and Tanzania. Cattle and sheep form the basis of the economy that they have maintained in resistance to cultural change. The Masai live off the milk, blood, and meat of their livestock. Masai society is patrilineal; polygyny is practiced. Boys are initiated into a warrior age-group responsible for herding, killing predators, and other tribal labors; only after serving as a warrior may a man marry. The Masai, who are characteristically tall and slender, live traditionally in the kraal, a compound within which are mud houses.

or Maasai

Nomadic herders of southern Kenya and northern Tanzania. They speak a language (usually called Maa) of the Nilo-Saharan family. Numbering some 900,000, the Masai subsist almost entirely on the meat, blood, and milk of their cattle herds. A kraal, consisting of a large circular thornbush fence around a ring of mud-dung houses, holds four to eight families and their herds. Polygamy is common among older men. All men are grouped into age sets. Young men traditionally live in isolation in the bush for varying lengths of time in order to develop strength, courage, and endurance. Seealso Nilot.

Learn more about Masai with a free trial on Britannica.com.