An Analysis of Maasai Wisdom and Proverbs

Analysis, Pages 10 (2344 words)

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Without war, how shall we know the courageous from the cowardly? This quote comes from a story in a book of Maasai wisdom and proverbs. It is the story of an elder man taking his son to the Mountain of God to tell him the ways of the people of the Maa. He professes to his son the changes taking place in Maasai culture and their loss of prominence throughout the land. He tells him how the Maasai used to rule from the Northern Mountain of Gikuyu to the very gates of Mombasa.

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The father says that the warriors of today are no better then women, that without war there is no way to distinguish who the brave and courageous are among the Maasai. The father says that in these times the present any boy may put the sign of the courageous on his shield and go unchallenged by his age-group, and that now the Maasai no longer fight other cultures for their rights and property but are passive compared to the times of war and fighting that he used to know.

Concluding his story, the father says I say, I shall die as a Maasai, but I have no certainty for my children (Massek 1974: 8).

The preceding story is one example of prevalent change in Maasai culture, a change in age- grade importance and relevance that has had a negative effect on the Maasai people. The warriors (Ilmoran) are a vital part of Maasai survival, performing a variety of tasks from capturing a cow to be slaughtered for ceremony to subduing a crazed rhinoceros charging the kraal (Saitoti 1980: 109).

The children, warriors, and elders all have tasks that they perform as an integral part of society.

The Maasai idea of age is much different from our own; they reckon time by ages or periods of approximately seven and a half years (Hollis 1971: 261). The Maasai idea of age is how they distinguish people amongst their respective age grades. For example, children are not all circumcised together, they are divided into ages because they do not all share the same amount of years. As they reach puberty they are circumcised in groups which separates them in society by what tasks they will perform and what positions they will hold in the tribe. This separation of ages continues linearly to progress the tradition of different groups of men performing different services vital to the group as a whole. This age-grade system is vital to the preservation of the Maasai in both the cultural respect and in regards to the survival of the Maasai.

Respect

A prominent principle of the Maasai age-grade system is the notion of enkanyit which can be translated as respect, obedience, or deference to structural superiors (Talle 1998: 92). This respect is that of junior men towards senior men, or women towards men. This linear structure means the age- sets come into existence when necessary, and continue onwards through time. Membership in an age-set is lifelong, and the successive age-sets are distinguished by specific names, with each set progressing through the grades as a group.

One aspect of authority and respect in the age-grade system is the supernatural sanction of the curse (Talle 1998:92). The elders may inflict a curse upon their juniors, an age-group may curse an age-mate, fathers may curse children, wives may curse husbands, and so on. The curse is essentially an appeal to God (Enkai) to punish a wrongdoer. The Maasai believe that in order for a curse to be effective it must be morally justified, and the ritual curse is a powerful means of control utilized by the elders.

This idea of the age-grade system provides an example of tradition and beliefs of the Maasai which are necessary for order and continued respect among members of society. This form of authority is similar in some ways to a form of self-government, because of the age-grade system and the respective age-sets everyone understands their place in society and respects those who hold power over them. This urges strong relations among members of society and furthers a sense of discipline and respect throughout Maasai culture.

Organization

The formation of localized age-group companies or communities is the basis for establishing new age-sets or ages (Talle 1998: 93). These companies are composed of ilmoran from the same locality or demographic region who spend their time in this age-grade together. This organization of age sets and grades constitutes the basic structure of the future decision-making body of the community, in other words, these groups are the foundation of Maasai politics. This form of traditional government or leadership is essential in Maasai culture, this organization also provides order and continuity throughout the community.

As necessary as order and harmony are, tradition is preserved with this practice of age-set unity and organization. The Maasai rely on this to provide them with a decision-making body and this is how they form their structure of government and leaders. The Maasai age-grade system provides a system of labels which provide status and place importance on certain groups in a very ritualistic and ceremonial atmosphere (Talle 1998: 94) This relation between ceremony and advancement within the age-grade system points out the relevance and importance of the age-grade system in relation to the preservation of Maasai culture. Without the system and organization it provides, the tradition and ceremonies would be without purpose and leadership.

Circumcision

Another essential part of Maasai tradition and culture is circumcision, both male and female. This initiation of a boy or girl into adulthood marks the most important time in a young Maasais life (Saitoti 1980: 77). This operation is necessary in order for a youth to achieve the status of an adult, and this is also the time when the differences between males and females is emphasized in Maasai culture (Talle 1998: 94). This biological difference reinforces the important aspect of gender distinction in Maasai culture.

The age-grade system only applies to males in the Maasai culture, the females are merely youth and adult. The relation between the importance of the age-grade distinction for males and the dual level distinction of females also carries over to the kinds of ceremony involved when each sex becomes an adult. The male circumcision must be announced two months ahead of time in order to prepare for the event (Saitoti 1980: 77). Articles for the ceremony must be collected, a house must be built and prepared, and the initiation site must be decided.

For females, the circumcision time is chosen by the parents and performed when they reach puberty. This cultural ritual of the Maasai relates to the age-grade system through gender distinction, which places only the males under the age-grade system, and also demonstrates how the ascension of males through the age-grades contributes to the tradition and culture of the Maasai.

Survival of the Maasai

Since each grade of males, from inkera to ilmoran to ilpayiani (youth, warriors, elders, in respective order), plays a necessary and important role in Maasai society, it is vital that the age- grades exist for the survival of the Maasai (Saitoti 1980: 15). From subsistence tasks, such as herding, to ceremonial tasks, such as decorating cattle, everyone performs their respective tasks as a part of society, which continues the equilibrium of tradition and survival.

Inkera (Youth)

Meeta enkerai olopeny, (Massek 1974: 14) meaning the child has no owner, is a Maasai saying which describes a major role of children amongst society. Children begin learning what their responsibilities will be when they get older at a very early age. At the age of three or four a young Maasai boy might be seen holding a stick that symbolizes his future as a herder (Saitoti 1980:52). Young children are given minor chores and taught to play games which represent what their responsibilities will be as adults. They are also encouraged to behave respectfully in the presence of elders, for anyone in the community may punish a misbehaving child; however, a child who behaves well, by perhaps helping someone in the community, will be rewarded by some milk or a good piece of meat. This system of training the youth to become adults illustrates the importance of the inkera in the age-grade system, as it is necessary for them to grow up to become responsible and helpful adults.

A change which is taking place that disrupts the age-grade system is the more recent switch of Maasai boys and girls from learning internally from parents and elders to formal education (Sindiga 1996: 84). For men, this threatens the practice of warrior hood. The period of time that men are in the ilmoran has already been drastically shortened by this change, and negative effects on the Maasai appear. If the youth do not remain among the community for their education they do not advance through the age-grade system in the traditional way of the Maasai and many of their responsibilities are overlooked. This includes cattle, marriage, and the ceremonies which are associated with circumcision and other age-grade system rituals are overlooked. This threatens Maasai survival in a physical and traditional sense.

Ilmoran (Warriors)

Part of the stability of the Maasai hierarchical structure comes from the aspiration of each age-grade to reach the next level in society, the elders being the ultimate level of achievement (Sindiga 1996: 56-58). Young boys aspire to become warriors and please their parents by bringing in cattle and a wife someday to expand their family. The warriors aspire to please the elders by protecting the herds, performing rituals, and carrying out raids to help the community (Saitoti 1980: 109).

The warriors have the greatest physical responsibility to the community, they bring in food for survival, protect the stock, and capture cattle for rituals (Saitoti 1980: 109). The youth which are taught all the responsibilities of an adult advance to the next grade of warrior and begin their work as a full fledged adult. Bravery is one of the most important virtues of a Maasai warrior. This virtue goes hand in hand with some of their greatest responsibilities, including the protection of the community from any threats whatsoever as well as raiding other kraals to expand the stock of their own community.

Camaraderie is another important virtue of the warrior age-grade. Since each age-set is bound together for life, when they enter the warrior grade they share practically everything, from food to women (Saitoti 1980: 110). This camaraderie is good for the group as a whole because it increases their effectiveness as a measure of protection and also reduces the chance of a mishap occurring during a raid or capture. The bonds shared between each man in an age-set are extremely strong and therefore they always look out for one another and help each other at all times. This aspect of the ilmoran age-grade is vital to Maasai survival because camaraderie exponentially increases the effectiveness and beneficial responsibilities of the warriors.

Ilpayiani (Elders)

Now that you are an elder drop your weapons and use your head and wisdom instead (Saitoti 1980: 181). The highest achievement in the Maasai age-grade system, reaching the status of elder is a proud time for any adult male. Marriage is a great responsibility of the new junior elder, as he approaches this status while he is still a senior warrior, he pays great attention to his prospective father-in-law in order to demonstrate his great desire to marry his daughter. The elders must settle down and begin a family. It is their responsibility to continue the cycle of life for the Maasai, a direct link to the communitys survival.

Along with beginning their own family, the elders are responsible for everyone else in the community as well. They play the roles of family men, wise men, medicine men, spiritual advisers, and judges of Maasai society (Saitoti 1980: 185). The elders offer advice to young men on a great variety of matters; they mediate disputes, and make decisions on punishments.

The elders also contribute to the growth of each familys child by offering praise when deserved and punishment when necessary. These important roles of elders in Maasai society can only be carried out once they reach this stage in the age-grade system, therefore, the age-grade system offers a distinction of who is responsible for what in the community and who to go to when services are needed.

Conclusion

The old man walked as the Maasai have always walked tall and gracefully, moving through time and space proudly, without fear. He walked with long easy strides; his youngest son, small and awkward, feeling the centuries roll away before his fathers footsteps, tried to keep pace (Massek 1974: 7)

The excerpt above, also from the story used in the introduction, exemplifies on of the main points of this paper. The age-grade system is essential to both cultural preservation and physical survival of the Maasai. Each grade plays its own respective role in Maasai society, from the youth to the elders, they all preserve a portion of the culture and life in the Maasai community (Saitoti 1980: 31).

Reflecting on the topic as a whole, the dual elements of my thesis are more interrelated then separate. By preserving Maasai culture, through respect and circumcision rituals for example, the survival is also ensured through these aspects of the age-grade system. Respect relates to the aspiration of the younger groups to reach the next grade and therefore their eagerness to do their duty with pride and enthusiasm. This link between Maasai culture and survival further stresses the importance of the age-grade system among the Maasai. If the system were removed or altered it would not possess the same effectiveness, shown by the example of modern education intruding upon the youth age-grade of the Maasai.

In truth, the survival of the Maasai culture has ceased to be a question and is rapidly disappearing already (Saitoti 1980: 31). This hierarchical system of age and responsibility is only a small remains of this ancient culture. Unfortunately with the intrusion of the modern world it is difficult for the Maasai culture to preserve their ways of life and one day they may vanish entirely. It is my sincerest hope that somehow they will continue to practice their traditions and delve back into their traditional ways to regenerate the Maasai culture.