The Maasai are an indigenous African ethnic group of semi-nomadic people
living in southern Kenya and northern Tanzania. The distinctive customs
and clothing of the Maasai, and their residing near the many game parks
of East Africa, have made them one of the most well-known African ethnic
groups internationally. They
speak Maa. The title Maasai derives from the word Maa. Maa-sai means
"my people." The
official Maasai color is red, which they are usually wearing some form
of in their clothing.
 In 2007, the estimated population of Maasai in Kenya is 650,000 and
the population of Maasai in northern Tanzania is 646,000 bringing the
total population estimate of Maasai at 1,296,000. However,
an accurate estimate is difficult due to the nomadic nature of the Maasai
people, as they are the only ethnic group allowed to travel freely between
Kenya and Tanzania.
All Maasai tribes share the Maa language. The Maasai are the southernmost
Nilotic (of the Nile) linguistic people group. Nilotic languages are
a group of Eastern Sudanic languages spoken between southern Sudan and
northern Tanzania, and are particularly associated with cattle herding.
 The
Maasai have even been thought to be a lost tribe of Israel. Many Africans
do trace their roots to the visit of the Queen of Sheba with King Solomon
of Israel. This is a possibility, yet according to Maasai oral history
and the archaeological record, the Maasai originated from the old Egypt
and Sudan, north of Lake Rudolph—also known as Lake Turkana.
They moved from north to south displacing other ethnic groups until
they settled in a long trunk of land stretching from northern Kenya
to central Tanzania.
It is thought that the Maasai left their home in the Nile valley around
the fifteenth or sixteenth century, reaching the Great Rift Valley and
down into Tanzania between the seventeenth and late eighteenth century.
This was around the same time of great Portuguese influence on the coast
with the explorer Vasco da Gama arriving in 1498.
The Maasai, who were dreaded for their warlike tendency and reputation,
forcibly displaced tribes that they encountered on their migration south.
A Maasai warrior has the majestic resemblance to the mighty soldiers
of Rome; and like the Romans, the Maasai have been regarded for their
militaristic strength. The Arab slave traders invading inland from the
coast wouldn't touch the Maasai; while the early European settlers
and explorers feared any encounter with the "warrior tribe."
^TOP THE MAASAI LANDS >
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maasai
www.maasai-association.org/welcome.html
http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=mas
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nilotic_peoples
www.maasaieducation.org/maasai-culture/maasai-history.htm
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