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The Maasai Culture
There are diverse communities in the world, and each has a unique culture that makes it outstanding. In East Africa, there are diverse cultures, but one that has captured my attention is the Maasai culture. The Maasai are a group of aboriginal individuals found in Kenya and parts of Tanzania. Traditionally, the Maasai are known to be pastoralists moving from place to place in search of resources for their livestock. Apart from nomadism, the Maasai are known for their traditional attire, dance, female circumcision, and marrying many wives among others.
Highlights I Did Not Know about the Maasai
Before this research, there are several aspects I did not know about the Maasai community. For instance, I did not know that the Maasai have a social organization where individuals are classified according to gender and age-class (Hazzah et al. 3). Another aspect I did not know about the Maasai is that they associate livestock with social status and prestige. This is to imply that those individuals with many cattle are perceived as rich. The other thing I did not know is that the Maasai community values bravery. Warriors are young men aged between 15 and 30 years that are mandated with the task of protecting the community from rivals or attacks from wild animals. In the past, killing a human enemy or a lion was taken as a sign of bravery among the Maasai warriors, but currently, the killing of lions is what makes a young warrior get to manhood.

For the Maasai, lion killing has been a valued practice that is passed from generation to generation as a way passing masculine values (Hazzah et al. 3).
Importance of This Information
This information is crucial for human service professionals since they will understand why the Maasai engage in lion killing even when there are global efforts to promote the conservation of biodiversity. A human service professional will know that the Maasai do not engage in lion killing as a form of sport or poaching, but rather as a way of passing their masculine values from one generation to the other.

Work Cited
Hazzah, Leela, et al. “From Attitudes to Actions: Predictors of Lion Killing by Maasai Warriors.” PLoS ONE, vol. 12, no. 1, 2017, pp. 1-13, journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0170796&type=printable. Accessed 23 Apr. 2018.