Product Description

Drawing on archival sources as well as extensive fieldwork in Tanzania, Dorothy L. Hodgson explores the way identity, development, and gender have interacted over time to make the Maasai what they are today. By situating the Maasai in the larger political, economic, and social context of Kenya and world events, Hodgson shows how broader forces have had an impact on the construction of Maasai lifeways, especially gender relations. Hodgson pays particular attention to how development has affected Maasai lives. Development is not seen as a fixed practice, but as a historical process that reflects the larger forces at play, and critical assumptions by government and development officials, such as the belief in Maasai exceptionalism - that they must be maintained as a warrior nation, have determined the types of development schemes that were believed to be most beneficial to the Maasai. But rather than reinforce the vision of intrepid warriors, development has instead performed a key role in creating new gender hierarchies, new responses to the pressures of modernity, and ambivalent attitudes toward education and local, national, and international politics. Interspersed throughout Hodgson's narrative are brief profiles of Maasai men and women. These intimate portraits bring Maasai voices to life and show that they were never passive participants in their own history. "Once Intrepid Warriors" reflects the complexity and variability of Maasai society as it has responded to outside interventions and internal struggles over how to protect Maasai interests in a changing world.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2570308 in Books
• Published on: 2004-07-31
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 320 pages

Review
"Hodgson presents us with a complex, interactive picture of change over time, one dominated neither by the Maasai nor the state and development apparatus... The Maasai emerge not simply as the 'intrepid warriors' envisioned by government and development officials, or even sometimes by themselves, but as active agents in the construction of their own history. This history, however, is often contradictory, contested, and varied." --Jane Parpart " ... the first and only book that systematically addresses Maasai culture and development from multiple perspectives of cultural identity and ethnicity, issues of land, labor, education, and, not least, changing perspectives and understanding of gender and gender relations in the society ... rich both in historical detail and ethnographic substance." --Elliot M. Fratkin "This book gives a vivid and nuanced account and analysis of development and change among the Masai. It reveals the complexity and concerns in a society whose stereotyped international image belies both the difficulties and the dynamic opportunism of their everyday lives. It is an invaluable addition to our growing understanding of the lives of agropastoralist men and women in sub-Saharan Africa undergoing rapid development and change."--African Affairs, 2002, 101

Customer Reviews

Once Intrepid Warriors: Gender, Ethnicity and the Cultural Politics of Maasai Development
Unable to give a true rating, bought for my Grand-daughter for a project on the Maasai at her school, the feedback from her is they were a great help.