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The Maasai people, a pastoralist ethnic group, reside in Kenya and Tanzania.
They are known for their distinctive attire, rich oral traditions, and strong cultural identity.
The Maasai maintain a deep connection to their land and center their unique way of life around cattle herding.
Let's delve into an overview of the Maasai people.
Family Structure
In the Maasai patriarchal family, the man held the key role, with his control tentatively being supreme.
He had his hut, while his wives and children had their own.
They dwelled in small manyattas, which were temporary since they were pastoralists.
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The Major Maasai Subgroups and Clans
Clans
Among the traditional Maasai, the clan system was important since the members of each clan had communal support obligations.
The clans identified themselves with branding made on cows according to the different clans.
The Maasai clans are;
Il-aiser
Il-molelian
Il-makesen
Il-taarrosero
il-ikumai.
Totems
The Maasai had two significant totems that were pillars of their society.
The two totems were:
Oodo Mongi (Red Cow)
Orok Kiteng, (Black Cow)
They were then subdivided into five other clans. They also had the Lion totem. The lion was killed in rites of passage ceremonies only.
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Dialects
There are two major dialects in the Maasai community, the Northern and the Southern.
The northern Maa-speaking communities were the Ilsampur (Samburu) and the Ilchamus (Njemps) found in Baringo.
Age Sets
Traditionally, Maasai men's age sets were determined by the period they underwent circumcision.
The ceremony took place in large groups of 15-100 male initiates.
They set up camps categorized into Ilaiserr and Irmolelian (clans), which identified each initiate with his age group.
The age groups were classified according to the time an initiate was circumcised. The old enough were the Ilmaina, while those younger were the Ilmanki.
Naming System
According to the Traditional Maasai, when a baby was born, a temporary name, ‘embolet’, was given.
The name was maintained until a naming ceremony was held. The mother and child exclude themselves from the clan in preparation for the naming ceremony. They also allow their hair to grow for shaving during the ceremony.
At the ceremony (Enkipukonoto Eaji), both mother and child were prayed for and then allowed back into the clan for the ceremony.
The mother and child were shaved, and the father gave the child a name as agreed by his age set and clan elders.
Feasting, songs, and dances later unveiled a symbol of beginning a new life to welcome the newborn to the world.
For the kids that grew fond of their Embolet name, they were given that name permanently.
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Marriage/Courtship
The marriage ceremony was one of the longest ceremonies in the Maasai community.
A man in the traditional Maasai community was only allowed to marry after he had completed his term of service as a junior warrior. He would then go through a Eunoto ceremony after acquiring a certain number of cattle.
He was allowed to choose a wife, or in other instances, a wife was already picked for him by his parents.
In this case, girls do not have a choice but to acknowledge because it is their parents’ wish for them.
This was sometimes poignant because some girls were so young and were forced to marry older men who did not care for them. If a girl tried to decline a marriage offer, she was beaten until she accepted.
After the man chooses the bride he wants to marry, he informs his parents, who visit the bride’s parents and informs them of their interest.
If the girl’s parents agree, the next visit involves taking the bride's price to the girl’s home. The dowry comprised of cows, goats, and sheep.
A traditional brew was also brought and given to the bride's parents. This first stage, Esirit Enkoshoke, indicated that the girl was now engaged.
The bridegroom and best man walk to the bride’s home on the wedding day. They picked up the bride from her boma, and they walked back to the groom’s boma.
No members of her family were permitted to attend the marriage ceremony. She was no longer part of their family.
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Polygamy
Traditionally, the Maasai were polygamous. When a woman is married, she doesn’t just marry her husband but his entire age group as well.
A man was expected to give up his bed to a visiting male guest. Polygamy was also common among older men; wife lending occurred between men of the same age.
Gender Roles in Marriage
The role of Maasai women was to have children, who were introduced to raising cattle as soon as they could walk.
Women and girls had a variety of chores besides building the family house, taking care of the home and their children.
They milked the cows, fetched water, and also collected firewood. The men offered security to the family, took care of the animals, and were the decision-makers in the community.
Widows
The eldest son in the family was the next of kin after the death of their father. He was responsible for taking charge of the family.
He was to take care of his mother and ensure that she was given the respect she deserved.
The widows were regarded as the head of the community and could take part in any ceremony taking place in the community. In instances where the widow was still young, she was inherited by the deceased brothers.
Divorce
A Maasai woman was to be submissive to her husband. Under no circumstance was a woman allowed to divorce her husband.
It was only allowed in instances of physical abuse, but the woman was not allowed to be married again.
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Inheritance
Traditionally, the bride was allocated a herd of cattle which her sons would build up herds of their own.
When both parents died, the eldest son inherited what was left of his father’s herd, while the youngest son inherited what was left of his mother's. Daughters were not given any inheritance.
Death
The Maasai did not celebrate death; instead, they viewed it as the end of life, with the deceased holding no further purpose within the community. Unlike many African communities, they did not believe in life after death.
They left the dead in the fields for scavengers and wild animals to consume, considering burials detrimental to the soil. The deceased's body was smeared with ox blood and cattle fat to attract scavengers.
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Final Thoughts
What else do you know about the Maasai people?
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