Maasai Shoukas: Made in China

Here's a little obervation from my trip to the boma...thought I would save it for a time when I had nothing interesting to write about. :)
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During Gemma’s lecture under a large tree in outside of the boma, she briefly mentioned the concept of globalization and what that means for the Maasai. The one thing that stuck in my mind is that you can now buy Maasai shoukas, traditional clothing, in the market and the package says “Made in China.” That took me a bit by surprise. What a contrast. Maasailand is about as far from anything Chinese I could picture. Now the fabrics they wear instead of cow hides are being produced thousands of miles away and imported by some company to be sold to the people who introduced the concept in the first place. What a small world. I wonder of the Chinese workers who make the fabrics understand what they are making and how far away it will go. Each of those fabrics are not just clothing, they are communication symbols about each individuals age set and rank. Globalization is evident also in the media they are exposed to. From the ads in the small shops to the music on the radio, outside ideas are infiltrating Maasai culture. Some of this is bound to happen as the world grows smaller and it becomes necessary to interact with the rest of the world. It would be interesting to see the progression of this process. As an outsider, it would be harder to observe than one in the culture from birth though that perspective.