Odyssey Series: Maasai Women - PREVIEW

Purchase: http://www.der.org/films/maasai-women.html

The Maasai, a prosperous society of animal herders whose sustenance and wealth is their cattle, live primarily in the Rift Valley between Kenya and Tanzania. Women tend the cattle, bring up the children, clean mud from the village when it rains, and belong to a man's estate. This film highlights the Maasai female's rights of passage from childhood to old age, and her lot in life as she is tied to the fortunes of not only husbands but sons as well.

Since they alone can give birth, the women see themselves as important contributors to their husband's wealth and develop close supportive relationships with the co-wives. In this society, if a man is rich, "it's his wives who made him so."

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Maasai Women
• odyssey
• PBS
• Africa
• documentary
• film
• anthropology

[frtw4428]

This was such a magnificent series; you can tell it's dated since one of the sponsors is Polaroid! I wish PBS would ressurect it and introduce new stories to it, but keep the opening (it's really cool!). It really examined human thought and cultural development.