Give any five reason to explain why maasai community lost their graZing land?
Answers
(i) European imperial powers scramble for territorial possessions in Africa led to slicing up of the continent into different regions/colonies. Maasai land was divided between British Kenya and German Tanganyika. This restricted the movement of the Maasais between regions.
(ii) The best grazing lands were taken over for white settlement and pastoralists were not allowed entry to these settlements and markets. This restricted not only grazing lands but prohibited them from entering into any form of trade as well. They were moreover pushed into a small area which was arid and poor in pastures.
(iii) In late 19th century local peasant communities were encouraged by the British colonisers to expand cultivation at the expense of pasture lands.
(iv) Large areas of Maasai grazing lands were turned into game reserves, e.g., Sambur U National Park in Kenya and Serengeti Park in Tanzania. These reserves were out of bound of the pastoralists.
(v) For lands which were available special permits were required and rules lay down. In case of default Maasai's were subject
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In the late nineteenth century, in what would be knowns as the ‘scramble for Africa’, European imperial powers slicing up the region into different colonies with little to no regard about the local sentiments. In 1885, the land of the Maasai, Maasailand, was cut into half with an international boundary between British Kenya and German Tanzania. As a result, the best grazing lands were reserved for white settlers with Maasai being pushed into a small area in southern Kenya and northern Tanzania.
Large areas of grazing land were also turned into game reserves like the Maasai Mara and Samburu National Park in Kenya and Serengeti Park in Tanzania. Pastoralists were not allowed to enter these reserves; they could neither hunt animals nor graze their herds in these areas.