Oreteti : plants in the dailylife of the Maasai

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A lot has been told about the Maasai... by outsiders.

For the first time, Maasai are writing their own stories.

Due to the pressure of the modern world, their oral knowledge and their cultural values are disappearing very fast. That's why they decided to record them in order to preserve them before they vanish. They have chosen plants as a means to recount their story. Indeed botanical knowledge underlies many aspects of their cultural heritage. « Oreteti » transcribes the oral Maasai tradition through the use, the value and the meaning of wild plants in the every day life of the Maasai people.

This functional catalogue is meant to provide a truer perspective and insight into the Maasai world, but most of all to preserve this extraordinary legacy for present and future Maasai generations. It offers an opening for Maasai students to do further research on the rich knowledge of their people and stresses on the necessity to protect the natural resources of Maasailand.

This document is also an appeal to all indigenous peoples to start documenting and recording their valuable traditional knowledge so that it can be safeguarded for generations to come and shared with the world