How We Work

With permission from the local Maasai chiefs in several remote locations in southwest Maasailand, and additional permission from the community elders, the Traditional Knowledge (TK) filled Maasai stories will be captured on recording devices such as iPhones and iPads. Additionally, Nashipae Narrative has already undertaken a pilot program whereby our founder lived amongst the Maasai and planned the project that we see as crucial to preserving their cultural heritage. We have already recorded, translated, and subtitled several folklore stories deemed valuable by the Maasai who helped us throughout this process. This prototype was a success in achieving positive results, and the partnership with Wikitongues has brought the project full circle in terms of displaying its proof of concept.

Nashipae Narrative seeks to utilize already published TK Toolkits which provide strategies and ways to respect the boundaries of the communities we aim to document. Our organization’s field notes will also provide information to capture trustworthy and authentic information regarding the Maasai in a manner that circumvents some of the common challenges associated with this type of fieldwork. Rather than simply “do it for them”, our organization plans to engage Maasai tribe members into a broad cultural documentation project that they are directly contributing to. In this sense, it is not a formal education, nor the tribe simply informing us about their culture, but rather instruction on the proper way to use and document their storytelling to directly reflect the individuals who have used these stories for generations as a beacon of cultural structure within their tight-knit communities. This approach helps to provide the most authentic first-hand traditional knowledge, and may utilize it the way they see fit for future Maasai generations.