Why is it necessary to study cattle wealth and colonial land loss together in Maasai society?

Correct answer: Because cattle wealth depended on grazing land

For the Maasai, cattle were not merely animals kept for food or trade; they were an important form of wealth and social status. That wealth depended on access to enough grazing land and water to keep herds healthy. Colonial policies that took or enclosed land reduced the space available for grazing and movement. Smaller or less secure pastures could therefore weaken the size, health, and economic importance of cattle herds. Land loss and cattle wealth must be understood together because one supported the other.

Option A is correct because it states the direct relationship between grazing land and cattle wealth. Option B ignores the need for pasture. Option C makes an unsupported opposite claim: losing land would not normally make cattle increase. Option D wrongly reduces pastures to hunting areas, although they were essential for livestock. The historical lesson is that control over land could reshape the economic and social life of Maasai communities.