Culture & Beliefs of the Maasai

The Maasai believe in a single but dualistic God. The Maasai God has two opposing identities, the generous Black God (Engai Narok) and the vindictive Red God (Engai Nanyoki).

It is the kind 'Narok' that has declared the Maasai tribe the rightful owners of all the world's cattle, much to the unease of their neighbours.

Maasai (also Masai, Masaai) culture centres obsessively around cattle. The Maasai measure a man's wealth by the amount of cattle and children he has. A Maasai who has plenty of one, but few of the other is considered to be poor.

The culture is polygamous in nature and the prestige attached to childbirth means that even if a Maasai's wife falls pregnant by another man, the child will be brought up as his own.

Tribal ceremonies of the Maasai include the warrior jumping dance, where young warrior youths jump into the air to demonstrate their strength and agility. Until recently Maasai men had to kill a lion to earn the right to a wife - this practice has largely ceased, though it is rumoured to continue in the more remote regions of Kenya.

Circumcision (both male and female) is a rite of passage in Maasai society, where age is not measured in years but by membership of seven year age groups. Both sexes also have one or two bottom teeth removed during infancy.

Female circumcision is gradually being eliminated through government law and by Maasai who understand the serious health implications (the leading cause of death among Maasai women is blood loss in childbirth as a result of circumcision). Women are generally treated as second-class citizens in Maasai society.

Maasai history not written down but is passed on orally by the male elders in an emanyatta ceremony one or two years after the closing of an age grouping every seven years.

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