The Maasai People of Serengeti National Park in Tanzania - Meet Your Hosts

Ready to Experience the Magic of the Serengeti?

This guide is just the beginning of your journey toward an unforgettable African adventure! If you’re dreaming of witnessing the Great Migration, spotting the Big Five, or soaking in the endless beauty of the Serengeti, now is the perfect time to start planning.

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Cultures of the Serengeti Heartland

As you journey through the expansive Serengeti-Mara ecosystem, you’ll encounter vibrant communities rooted in tradition. Beginning on the Kenyan side and continuing across the Tanzanian border to the southern town of Mugumu, you’ll pass through the homeland of the Kuria people. Further south, the Kuria region transitions into that of the Ikoma tribe, who reside along the boundaries of the Western Corridor and near the western shores of Lake Victoria.

If you follow the route toward Ndabaka at the far end of the Western Corridor, you’ll notice another cultural shift—the Ikoma give way to the Sukuma, one of the region’s largest and most widespread communities. The Sukuma inhabit a broad stretch of land along the park’s southwestern edge. All these groups—the Kuria, Ikoma, and Sukuma—live as agro-pastoralists, combining small-scale farming with livestock keeping to sustain their livelihoods.

Still, the most iconic group you’re likely to hear about in this region are the Maasai.

The Legacy of the Maasai

Travel north of Kenya’s Masai Mara National Reserve, and you’ll find the Loita Hills—ancestral territory of the Kenyan Maasai. While some Maasai here have embraced ranching and modern agriculture, many traditional communities still thrive along the eastern parts of the ecosystem. Their presence stretches from the Narok district in Kenya south through Loliondo, across the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, and down to the southern Serengeti plains, where they meet the Sukuma.

As you continue southeast, you’ll notice the Maasai pastoralists reaching across the Simanjiro plains, past the Rift Valley and as far as Dodoma. In recent times, many Maasai have begun settling in small agricultural communities, gradually shifting from their nomadic traditions.

Historically, the Maasai grazed their cattle freely on what is now the eastern Serengeti National Park. The western regions, however, were largely avoided due to the seasonal appearance of tsetse flies—carriers of a parasite deadly to cattle. Despite their deep cultural ties to the land, the Maasai only arrived in this region in the 17th century, pushing out the Datoga people who lived there before them.

The name “Serengeti” itself comes from the Maa word serenget, meaning “Endless Plain.” Originally, it referred to the vast, open short-grass plains in the southeast—but today, it’s come to represent the whole breathtaking landscape of the park.