Boys’ Ways of Learning, Developmental Trajectories, and Life Histories

This chapter and the next constitute Part III of this book, investigating the learning-by-doing processes of Maasai children by considering their gendered developmental pathways and individual agency. Focusing on Maasai boys, this chapter explores their continued pastoral roles in daily routines and their efforts to improve both their own and families’ wellbeing by balancing school participation with subsistence responsibilities in various challenging situations. By examining individual boys’ actions and thought processes in different activity settings, their decision-making and concerns, and their life histories, this chapter also investigates the formation of human-biota-livestock intimacy in contemporary Maasai society, which continuously contributes to the construction of local boyhood ethnoknowledge and future social bonds.