The Masais are a people who live in Tanzania and Kenya. They are one of the best known tribes in the world, partly because of their clothing or their dances, but without forgetting that all this is included in the customs and traditions of the Masais of which we will talk today.
A very curious way of life for another part of the world, although always special for themselves. They have a lot to tell us and getting into a town like this is always an adventure. Do you want to know its most special secrets?
To become a grown man, they had to hunt a lion
Among the customs and traditions of the Masais we find this. It all comes from the fact that the town is made up of ages. Hence there are several groups among the people that make up this tribe and ranges from childhood or minor warrior to the major warrior or minor and senior adult. But the main step to being a full-fledged adult was hunt a lion. It was one of the most common rites where the worth of the man who would become a warrior was demonstrated. But since the lion is a protected species, this tradition is no longer followed. Nowadays, what is done is the opposite and they become protectors of the lion.
The most powerful, the one with the most cattle
If you want to be someone important or powerful in the middle of this tribe, then you have to get more head of cattle. Because here it is not counted by status or money, logically. For them the most precious asset is livestock and whoever has the most in their domain will be the most important. It is synonymous with both wealth and power before others.
Their political system is based on meetings of elders
The wisest of the place are the elderly and as such, they do have a voice. Therefore, as their system is decentralized, what is done is to meet with all the other members of the tribe and discuss certain issues. These discussions or meetings are public in nature.
The people's prophet and his tasks
Within the customs and traditions of the Masais we find this. In the town there is a person who is called prophet or 'Laibon'. What is your mission? Well, acting as an intermediary between the tribe itself and the God Ngai. You do not get a job like this by chance, but it is hereditary, so it is passed from generation to generation and is only limited to a few people. It is like a kind of judge who at the same time also has a vision of the future. In addition to all this, he is also the one who officiates the ceremonies as well as gives the go-ahead to war or is in charge of invoking the water to make it rain.
Grass is sacred
For the Masais it is a sacred element, because it is what livestock feed on. So in their tradition it was said that when a person was going to hit or scold a child, he could uproot some grass and could not be punished. Namely, invalidated the punishment.
You never talk about the deceased
Although we have the belief that a person only dies when they stop talking about them or when they forget, these people do not pick up on talking about it among their customs. So when a person dies, they will no longer speak of it directly, because if they have to hint, then they name them through a nickname. As in addition, they consider that only a select few deserve eternal life, they will leave the corpses in the open air for the scavengers to eat. The most important people of the tribe will be buried, but always at a shallow depth. Next to them they will place some grass, as well as sandals and a cane.
Women, men and their jewelry
Surely you have seen that, in addition to their red robes, women also wear various necklaces or bracelets and other very colorful accessories. They are made by themselves with pearls that have different shades. For them, there will also be earrings and accessories. What's more, the holes (dilations) tend to get quite large, which is why they tend to hang quite showy elements, among which we highlight some animal tusks.
Polygamy
It is true that the idea of polygamy is widespread in most tribes. The more wives they have, the greater their power. For this reason, and based on this idea, marriages are arranged since the woman is very young. But it should also be mentioned that this does not prevent that before the arranged marriage, may have some relationship with other young people of their age.
Cattle blood is the best medicine
We know that cattle are the livelihood of this tribe. Earlier we mentioned that the grass was sacred, because it provided food for the cows, which are also sacred. But sometimes if they get rid of an animal it will be to eat and so much so, that they take advantage of absolutely everything. From the horns to the hooves that these can serve as decoration. But if there is something key it is blood, because they consider it as a true restorative. That is why it is usually given to sick people or to boys when they have just undergone circumcision. It is also common for them to make a kind of yogurt with the milk and blood of the animals.