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78th out of 311 books
—
288 voters
The Worlds of a Maasai Warrior: An Autobiography
Paperback, 170 pages
Published
October 14th 1988
by University of California Press
(first published 1985)
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My safari guide gave this to me, saying the author was a friend who had lived a life similar to his own. It's a very well-written memoir style book of a man who is raised among a very proud people called the Maasai in East Africa. By modern standards they live very primitive lives: herding cattle, and living in dirt huts. But some of them are sent to school and enter the modern world, and the juxtaposition of the author's viewpoint on both worlds makes for a great read.
One interesting thing I no...more
One interesting thing I no...more
This is an amazing autobiography by a great author who just happens to be from a nomadic African herding tribe.
It is not an anthropological work that looks at Maasai society from the outside; it is an actual report about the Maasai told by someone who actually grew up and lived among them. In fact to describe it as a report about the Maasai probably overplays the anthropological aspects of it. The author is concerned more about conveying his own life than the mores of his people, and he does it...more
This book is an account of one man crossing the enormous chasm between the traditional Maasai way of life and contemporary Western culture. What this man accomplished is more or less time travel, because the distance that divides the world he was born into and the one he learned to navigate successfully is far more than physical distance.
Saitoti’s descriptions of his childhood and youth enable the reader to appreciate the strengths as well as the weaknesses of his native culture. It may be “prim...more
Saitoti’s descriptions of his childhood and youth enable the reader to appreciate the strengths as well as the weaknesses of his native culture. It may be “prim...more
First read August 7, 2012. 4 stars.
Saitoti's autobiography is a breezy afternoon read, and it has an endearing naive and earnest tone. It is often marketed as an introductory reading to Maasai life in Tanzania, something people ought to read before they come (was rec'd by both the handbook for my study abroad program and the Lonely Planet Guide). However, I'd question its utility for that purpose. Having read it both before and after my firsthand experience with Maasai, I can't see I got much ou...more
Saitoti's autobiography is a breezy afternoon read, and it has an endearing naive and earnest tone. It is often marketed as an introductory reading to Maasai life in Tanzania, something people ought to read before they come (was rec'd by both the handbook for my study abroad program and the Lonely Planet Guide). However, I'd question its utility for that purpose. Having read it both before and after my firsthand experience with Maasai, I can't see I got much ou...more
I read Tepilit Ole Saitoti’s The Worlds of a Maasai Warrior because I was so impressed with several books I read on the life of pygmies. The Maasai is another proud race that is disappearing, trampled by the march of so-called civilization. How other people live in the arms of nature while I’m snug and hidden in my man-made home with my store-bought food amazes me.
Tepilit grew up on the African Serengeti, drinking milk for breakfast, herding cows all day, and feeling lucky to have food for dinn...more
Tepilit grew up on the African Serengeti, drinking milk for breakfast, herding cows all day, and feeling lucky to have food for dinn...more
This is probably my top recommendation if you are looking to read a book while on safari. For one, it's not depressing, and you really get a marvelous glimpse into a world that you see whizzing by from your jeep window. The Maasai (one of our fellows on our trip likened the group to the Amish of Africa, which I thought was a pretty good metaphor) are all over Western Tanzania and Kenya. They "try" to live the same life that they lived hundreds of years ago. Homes are made out of cattle dung, cat...more
Strange and compelling. One of those books that attempts to bridge a cultural gap and in doing shows you how immense it truly is. Tepilit's narrative is well written and evocative, but essentially personal and straightforward. There is no pandering, or false humility or pride, and rarely pontificates on the greater meaning of his unique life. It just tells his story as a Maasai, not not the story of the Maasai.
This is very different in that it shows us and our outreach workers under the view of the masaai tribesman and in their culture. This person travelled all over the world. He took pride in his heritage. There was nothing "soft" about these peple as a group. They had been known for centuries as fighters and just plain people who need to be respected. The person himself had no real trouble fitting into beth cultures as need be by the situations that came up. A worth-while book information-wise, but...more
Very interesting book written by someone who was raised in a traditional Maasai family on the Kenya-Tanzania border. Big herds of cattle, men with 8 wives, ritual circumcision when it's time to become a man, etc. And then with the help of a US film crew and his English skills he made it out of Africa, to Europe and the US where he went to college. Only tragedy was that the book cuts off at the end, leaving you wondering where he decided to live ultimately. Very interesting, surprisingly little h...more
An autobiography of Tepilit Ole Saitoti. His life in Tanzania as a Maasai warrior. He pursued a higher education in Europe and the United Staes. He is now involved in rural development in Kenya and Tanzania
Jul 22, 2012
Della Scott
marked it as to-read
I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/11288441
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/11288441
A very interesting read. The author provides insight into the way of the Maasai and also on how he views the western countries he visits. Both are very interesting. A very good book.
Lived near the Serengeti Plain and the Olduvai Gorge
A good first person narrative of the Maasai culture that served as a helpful primer for a trip to Tanzania.
A rare look into the life of the Maasai.
Very informative book, but your opinion of it depends on what you're hoping to get out of it. Definitely more of an educational read than a leisurely one.
This was a really intersting book about the Maasai people. It was even more interesting when you add the HIV/AIDS prevention that we are trying to do in there with the ABC program of Abstinence Be faithful and Condom use. This is a group of people that believe that semen from the warriors aids in the growth of prepubescent girls. Additionally they are polygamous. ABC will not work on this group of people until things change within their culture.
I think everyone should read some books written by former tribesman. Their style is very unique...interesting. Tone is different. Which is mainly why I read them!
My favorite ethnography...and I've read a few!
May 17, 2013
Heather
is currently reading it
May 12, 2013
Jessica
marked it as to-read
Apr 25, 2013
Jennifer
marked it as to-read
Apr 24, 2013
Jennifer
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Apr 21, 2013
Mariam El-alfy
marked it as to-read
Apr 20, 2013
Iroulito91
marked it as to-read
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Jul 20, 2012 12:56am