Maasai families given cows as a symbolic gift by a museum in Britain as part of process to build relations say they appreciate the gesture but it's not enough to compensate for having their cultural objects on display.

The University of Oxford gave the Sululu and Mpaima families 49 cows each, the Nation newspaper reports. Another two families - the Saiyalels and Mosekas - also received 49 cattle each, says the K24 news site.

This gesture came five years after a Kenyan man, Samuel Sankiriaki, saw a large collection of Maasai artefacts at Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford and petitioned the university to return them, according to the Nation.

Laura Van Broekhoeven, Oxford's director of museum studies, is quoted as saying that the institution has 148 colonial-era Maasai artefacts but that only five were "identified as culturally sensitive family heirlooms".

But local Governor Patrick Ntutu disagrees, telling journalists "we believe the owners were either killed or maimed before the ornaments were taken away from them".

A spokesman for the Maasai families, Seka ole Sululu, told the Nation newspaper that they opted to pursue peaceful reconciliation with the university instead of suing but they are still expecting adequate compensation.