Maasai People: The Origin and History of the Great Maasai People

Maasai People

The Maasai are a Nilotic people who live across much of Kenya and Tanzania’s northern half. Due to their proximity to the various wildlife parks in the African Great Lakes region and their striking appearance, this indigenous community is among the most well-known on a global scale.

The Maa language is spoken by the Maasai people. It is a Nilo-Saharan language, like Dinka, Kalenjin, and Nuer. A few have learned English and Swahili, the two official languages of neighboring Kenya and Tanzania. Kenya’s Maasai people increased from 377,089 in the 1989 census to an estimated 841,622 in the 2009 census.

Origins of the Maasai People

The Maasai people likely originated in the region around the Upper Nile. They are said to have climbed out of a wide, deep hole that was surrounded by a long, vertical rock, according to their tales. They started moving their herds into the huge, dry, savanna-like (grassland) region of East Africa that spans the borders of Kenya and Tanzania around the year 1600

They now live in a region limited to the west by Lake Victoria and to the east by Mount Kilimanjaro. At its greatest east-west width, Maasailand is about 186 miles (300 kilometers) long. It stretches around 310 miles (500 kilometers) from north to south.
More over 150,000 Maasai live in Tanzania, while another 140,000 call Kenya home.

Language of the Maasai People

Maa is a language that is not exclusive to the Maasai people; the Samburu and the Chamus are also native speakers of Maa and live in central Kenya.

Maa is believed to have originated to the east of the modern city of Juba, which is located in southern Sudan. There are almost twenty distinct varieties of the Maa language. Olmaa is the name that the Maasai give to their native tongue.

Traditional Folklore of the Maasai People

Maasai myths and folklore shed light on the development of contemporary Maasai beliefs. They tell tales about how the Maasai climbed out of a crater, how the first Maasai prophet-magician, Laibon, appeared, how they defeated the evil giant, Oltatuani, who preyed on Maasai herds, and how Olonana tricked his father into giving him the blessing meant for his older brother, Senteu (a legend similar to the Biblical story of Jacob and Esau).

Relationships between the sexes in modern Maasai society are discussed at length in one origin story. According to this theory, the Maasai sprang from two separate but equal groups: one composed entirely of women and the other of men.

The Maasai maintain that the eland antelope was the original kind of cattle, and the Moroyok women’s clan specialized in raising antelopes. The women kept herds of gazelles instead of the usual livestock of cattle, sheep, and goats. During migrations, zebras carried their belongings, and elephants were their loyal companions, breaking down branches and bringing them to the ladies so they could use them to construct dwellings and corrals.

Clean antelope corrals were another result of the elephants’ sweeping. The women fought and argued, but the cattle managed to get away. When the women weren’t happy with their labor, even the elephants abandoned them. The Morwak, the male-dominated tribe, were also traditionally farmers, the myth claiming so. The men occasionally came across ladies in the woods.The girls from these relationships stayed with their mothers, while the boys went to live with their dads.

Women who had lost their herds often moved in with men, giving up their independence and their place in society. This marked the beginning of their dependence on men, service to them, and submission to their power.

Traditional Religion of the Maasai People

The Maasai have always considered themselves to be God’s chosen people, setting them apart from the surrounding, largely Christian communities of Kenya and Tanzania. The Maasai, like many other African peoples, believe that one supreme being (Enkai) formed the three human races and created the world.

The Torrobo (Okiek pygmies) were the first, a little people that lived off the land and hunted and gathered honey and wild animals that God provided. The second group consisted of the adjacent Kikuyu, who were blessed by God with abundant seed and harvest.

The Maasai were the third, and they were the recipients of livestock that descended from heaven on a long rope. The Maasai were given the honorable gift of raising cattle, unlike the Torrobo and Kikuyu, who were doomed to suffer from bee stings and famines and floods, respectively.

To get back at the Maasai for giving him cattle, a Torrobo severed the “umbilical chord” connecting the worlds. Most Maasai still depend on cattle as their main source of income and food, because these animals can be used for everything from food to shelter.

Rites of Passage and Manhood initiations of the Maasai People

The Maasai people view life as a sequence of painful victories and trials. A man’s life span can be broken down into three distinct stages: youth, maturity, and old age. Typically performed on children at the age of four, this procedure involves the removal of the lower incisor teeth with a surgical blade. The little boys tested their strength by dipping their arms and legs into hot coals.They allow hundreds of tiny cuts to be made into their flesh when they consent to having tattoos placed on their stomachs and arms as they mature.

After that, both boys and girls get their ears pierced. Piercing the ear canal by inserting a hot iron into the ear cartilage is a common practice. After the incision has healed, a hole is formed in the earlobe, and rolled leaves or mud balls are inserted into it to increase its size. In modern times, plastic film containers may do the trick. It’s preferable if the slit is fairly large. Earlobes that fall to the shoulders are ideal.

The next and most significant step in a young Maasai’s life is circumcision (for boys) or excision (for girls). Every father has an obligation to see that his children experience this ritual.
The ceremonies, which may take place in isolated communities known as imanyat, are attended by close friends and family members. The imanyat that have to do with male circumcision are called “villages of little birds,” or “nkang oo ntaritik.”

The act of circumcision causes a lot of physical discomfort and is a real test of a young man’s resolve. Boys inflict disgrace and dishonor on themselves and their families if they flinch during the act. Their peers mock them, and they have to pay a one-cow fine as a bare minimum. The bravest boys, though, are rewarded with livestock.

In order to prepare for motherhood, young women must undergo a more extensive and difficult process. (Women who fall pregnant prior to excision are shunned and ostracized for the rest of their lives.) Women who have successfully completed this challenge often report feeling completely fearless going forward. After the rituals are done well, the participants and guests drink a lot of mead, which is an alcoholic drink made from honey, and dance.

The boys are then prepared for the life of a warrior, and the ladies are prepared to give birth to the next generation of fighters. The young lady’s prospective husband will come and get her in a few months so that she can join him and his family. After a boy has completed his childhood and undergone circumcision, he must thereafter fulfill a civic requirement that is equivalent to military service. For up to a few months, they have to fend for themselves in the wilderness, where they learn to conquer their own egos and put others before themselves.

The community’s most cherished possession, cattle, is shared among its members. However, they are also obligated to spend time in the village, where they sacrifice calves at rituals and give livestock as gifts to newly established families.

A warrior’s growth into manhood at this juncture includes learning nkaniet (respect for others) and making positive contributions to his community. The eunoto ceremony marks the end of a man’s “young warriorhood.” This is the time when he goes into the bush to learn new things and then returns to his village to use what he has learned to help his neighbors.

Clothing of the Maasai People

Clothing evolves as society and geography do. As an example, after a young man gets circumcised, he must wear black clothing for a period of time. Red, however, is the preferred shade. African prints in bright primary colors are common, but other common patterns include blue, black, stripes, and checkers. In the 1960s, the Maasai started substituting commercial cotton material for animal skins, including calf hides and sheep skin.

Traditionally, Maa people would wrap themselves with sheets called shkà. The most common color for them is red, though you may also find them in blue or with patterns (e.g. plaid). Warriors don’t avoid wearing pink, especially if it’s adorned with flowers. The Swahili word for “kanga” describes the ubiquitous one-piece clothing worn by many people. There is a wide variety of kikoi, or sarongs, worn by Maasai people who live near the coast. But if you must, stripes are the recommended pattern.Until recently, the Maasai in Tanzania used sandals crafted from cowhides. Tire tread strips or plastic are used as the soles these days. Men and women alike often accessorize with bracelets made of wood. Maasai women often make jewelry from woven and beaded materials. The beadwork is an integral aspect of their body decoration. White represents calm, blue symbolizes water, and red represents the warrior’s blood and bravery, though these associations are not universal.

The Maasai women have a long tradition of beadwork, and the Maasai people have traditionally used body jewelry and body painting to express their social status and individuality. Prior to European contact, the beads were primarily made from resources at hand. The white beads could have been manufactured from a variety of materials, including clay, shells, ivory, or bone. Beads in black and blue were fashioned from iron, charcoal, seeds, clay, or horn. Seeds, woods, gourds, bone, ivory, copper, and brass were all used to make red beads.

Beadworkers in Southeast Africa began using more complex color palettes and newer, brighter beads when large shipments of European glass beads arrived at the end of the nineteenth century. Today, consumers tend to favor opaque glass beads that are both thick and smooth due to their lack of surface embellishment.

Culture of the Maasai People

Maasai society is very patriarchal, with the group’s oldest men (and sometimes their retired counterparts) making all of the main decisions. Many elements of conduct are covered by the extensive body of oral law. In the absence of formal execution, disputes are typically resolved by the exchange of livestock for money. For minor offenses, an out-of-court method known as “amitu,” “to make peace,” or “arop” is used instead of going to court.

The Maasai are monotheists who pay their respects to a supreme being they call Enkai or Engai. Both the Black God, Engai Narok, and the Red God, Engai Na-nyokie, exist within Engai. Oodo Mongi, the Red Cow, and Orok Kiteng, the Black Cow, with five subclans or family trees, are two more pillars or totems of Maasai culture. The lion is the Maasai people’s totem animal, however, unlike the giraffe, it is a vulnerable species.

Maasai lion killing is not like trophy hunting because the animal is utilized in an initiation ceremony. Ol Doinyo Lengai, known as the “Mountain of God,” is found in northern Tanzania and is visible from Lake Natron in southern Kenya. The laibon is the most important human figure in Maasai religion. He or she performs shamanic healing, divination, and prophesying and guarantees victory in war and sufficient rainfall.

Due to the rise of notable figures, they now play a part in politics as well. Each laibon’s influence stemmed from his or her own unique traits rather than their official rank. Many Maasai now identify as Christians or Muslims. Since the 1970s, the Maasai have made a living off of selling elaborate jewelry to tourists.

Due to the historically high infant mortality rate in the Maasai culture, newborns are not considered full members of the community until they reach the age of three months. More babies are surviving thanks to efforts to encourage Maasai women to seek medical care at clinics and hospitals during pregnancy.

Remote locations are the one and only exception. Mortuary rituals are minimal for the Maasai who still follow their ancient customs, and the deceased are often exposed to animals and passers-by. Scavengers are likely to ignore a body if it is covered in the fat and blood of a killed ox because they believe it is flawed and could bring shame to the community. Since it was once thought that burying people was bad for the environment, only powerful chiefs were ever buried.

Cattle are essential to the Maasai people because they provide them with meat, milk, and other foods. A man’s worth is determined by the number of animals and children he has. There’s nothing wrong with having a few extra kids around, and a herd of fifty cattle will make you look good.

A man is deemed to be financially impoverished if he has an abundance of the former but not the latter. They believe that stealing cattle from other tribes is a question of reclaiming what is properly theirs because of a religious belief among the Maasai that God gave them all the cattle on earth.

Cattle provide for all of the Maasai people’s dietary requirements. They partake of the meat, milk, and occasionally the blood. Meat from bulls, oxen, and lambs is reserved for feast days and rituals. Because of a decline in livestock numbers, the Maasai now rely more on cereals like sorghum, rice, potatoes, and cabbage to sustain their way of life (known to the Maasai as goat leaves).

Social organization of the Maasai People

The Maasai age group is the basic social unit. As soon as they can toddle, young boys are put out with the calves and lambs, although boys’ youth is largely spent playing, with the exception of ritual beatings to test courage and endurance. Cooking and milking are tasks assigned to the female gender and are taught to young girls by their mothers.

A new generation of Morans or Il-murran (warriors) with unique names is begun every 15 years or so. Most boys in this age range, 12–25, are participating since they have entered puberty and are not included in the earlier group. Boyhood initiation into the ranks of warriors often includes a ritual of circumcision performed without anesthetic. Boys who live in or near a town with access to medical care may participate in the ritual in more comfortable settings than in the past, but they will still be required to undergo the rite of passage without anesthetic.

The process is normally carried out by the elders, who will utilize a sharpened knife and improvised cattle hide bandages. Emorata is the Maa word for circumcision. The young man is obligated to remain silent throughout the entire procedure. When you show your anguish, you shame yourself, albeit only temporarily.

Mistakes in the delicate and laborious process can cause scarring, malfunctions, and discomfort that last a lifetime if they aren’t treated immediately. During the 3–4 month healing process, urinating may be unpleasant or even difficult, and boys are required to wear black clothing for the subsequent 4–8 months.

During this time, the young men who have recently undergone circumcision will reside in a “manyatta,” a “village” constructed by their mothers. There is no defensive wall surrounding the manyatta, putting the onus of security on the shoulders of the warriors who live there. Since warriors do not own livestock or tend to stock, no inner kraal is constructed. However, there are other initiation rituals that must be completed before a warrior may be considered a senior member of that order.

Current Il-murran will become junior elders, in charge of making political decisions until the next generation of fighters is introduced. This ceremony, called Eunoto, marks the transition from warrior to junior elder. Former warriors have their long hair cut off, and the elders are required to keep their hair short.

Warrior males are forbidden from having sexual contact with circumcised women but are allowed to have uncircumcised female companions. Those warriors who were able to follow this code are held in high regard at Eunoto.

Most of the time, the warriors are out on walkabouts, exploring the vast Maasai territory beyond their own sections. Also, they are getting more and more involved in the business of trading cattle, growing and improving their basic stock through trades and bartering instead of stealing.

An urban legend among the Maasai states that before a young man can be circumcised, he must kill a lion. The practice of hunting lions in Southeast Africa has been outlawed, but it is still carried out when lions attack Maasai livestock, and young warriors who engage in traditional lion slaying suffer little to no repercussions.

With lion populations on the rise, at least one initiative has been launched that encourages receiving compensation when one of these predators kills cattle, rather than resorting to hunting and killing. Still, if you kill a lion, you’ll be a local superstar.

Excision (also known as “female circumcision,” “female genital mutilation,” and “emorata”) is practiced on young women as part of an elaborate rite of passage ceremony known as “Emuratare,” which ushers young Maasai girls into adulthood via ceremonial circumcision and then into early planned marriages. The Maasai consider female circumcision to be obligatory, and a man of Maasai descent may reject a prospective bride who has not been circumcised or provide a significantly lower bride price if she has not.

Even highly educated female lawmakers like Linah Kilimo face stigma in Eastern Africa if they choose not to undergo circumcision. There is a lot of backlash against the practice of female circumcision, or female genital mutilation, both domestically and internationally. One prominent critic is Maasai activist Agnes Pareyio, who herself had the procedure. In certain communities, a “cutting with words” ceremony featuring singing and dance has recently taken the place of physical mutilation.

Nevertheless, the custom is still highly treasured by the community. Male and female genital mutilation are both referred to as “emorata” in the Maa language. Both Kenya and Tanzania have passed laws making female genital cutting illegal. In most cases, a non-Maasai “practitioner” (often from the Dorobo ethnic group) is requested to perform these circumcisions. Blacksmiths, known as il-kunono, craft knives, short swords (ol alem or simi or seme), spears, and other bladed weapons for Maasai who do not produce their own.

Women who are undergoing the circumcision ritual also dress in dark attire, paint their faces with marks, and then hide their faces after the procedure.

When a married woman becomes pregnant, she is spared from any physical labor, including milking the cows and chopping firewood. Pregnant women are treated differently and sexual activity is prohibited.

Traditional polygyny among the Maasai is viewed as a long-standing and functional response to the high rates of baby and warrior mortality among the tribe. Furthermore, polyandry is commonplace. However, these days, people rarely use this method anymore. A woman’s wedding to her husband includes her entire generation. Traditionally, men have been obliged to make room in their bedroom for a female guest of the same or a younger age.

Whether or whether she decides to go out with the male guest is entirely up to her. Since the Maasai social structure is patrilineal, any offspring would be considered the husband’s descendent. A “Kitala,” or temporary divorce or asylum, can be granted by the father of a woman in the event of extreme abuse. All financial and legal matters, including as the return of the bride price and child custody, are settled by mutual agreement.

Cultural Heritage among the Maasai People

Maasai myths, stories, folktales, riddles, and proverbs are all part of a vast body of oral literature. The knowledge of them is handed down from generation to generation.
In addition to performing, the Maasai are also accomplished composers. When a warrior has done something worthy of acclaim, women rarely find themselves at a lack for words or music.

They make up songs to tease each other with, work songs for tasks like milking cows and plastering roofs, and songs to pray to their traditional god (Enkai) for things like rain and food.