Gender Roles In Once Intrepid Warriors By Dorothy Hodgson
844 Words4 Pages
Gender Roles and Marriage in the Maasai Culture
Gender Roles:
Gender roles in the Maasai culture are categorized by several lifestyle aspects. In the book, Once Intrepid Warriors, by Dorothy Hodgson she describes how the gender roles ultimately rely on the age and wealth of a person, but gender roles are also categorized by the lifestyles people live. This plays a vital role in how their culture views their different roles. The gender roles partially rely on whether one has lived in an emanyata, which is also known as a warrior village, or if they have lived in an enkang, which refers to a family village or homestead (Hodgson 27). They are then classified by their age and how much wealth they have. Within the enkang or village, a person’s…show more content… The men have specific roles within their culture that differ from the women’s duties. According to Hodgson, the Maasai culture is patriarchal. This is a noticeable fact due to the power the men hold in the culture compared to the women. The men are the head of their society and act as an authority and mediator for their village (Hodgson 34-35). Although the men and women’s duties are different, they are reliant upon each other. Regardless of age, each person is required to complete their daily tasks and everyone in the community is to ensure prosperity of the “households, homesteads, and communities” (Hodgson 35). The women’s duties involve building the homes, watching over livestock, marriage, taking care of bridewealth transactions, prayer life, and controlling daughters and daughter-in-law (Hodgson…show more content… Coast also states that the required events enhance social and political allies (Coast 32). For men, the first life event is known as a herdboy. The young boys are responsible for herding the animals from about the age of four years old. As they age their responsibility grows. The next event for the men is warrior. By this point the young men have reached puberty and are circumcised. They are then named junior warriors. Being a junior warrior means that they are not permitted to stay at the same home as their father (Coast 33). Coast also states that men who are junior warriors cannot marry, but are expected to be sexually active (Coast 33). These men also have daily duties they perform within their village. They no longer have to heard animals, but are expected to protect the livestock and property every