Maasai Baptist Ministries
Maasai Worldview

INTRODUCTION

             The Maa speaking peoples of Eastern Africa have long been resistant to any outside force, idea, culture, or religion.   Until 1980 they have been resistant to the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.  In these latter days, God in His sovereign grace has poured out His mercy and salvation on this tribe the early Europeans called the “noble savages.”

            It is the goal of the Maasai Ministry Team to better evangelize and equip the Maasai believers to enable them to help fulfill the Great Commission.  We have found them to be lovers of peace, hospitality, and gentleness, rather than the nobility of savages.  Many are counted as true friends, but of greater significance, many more are endeared to us as brothers and sisters in Christ because of the saving faith the Maasai have embraced.

DEFINITION AND DESCRIPTION OF THE MAASAI

             The name Maasai in the Maa language translated means, “The Maa speaking people.”  Many have theorized the origins of this stately people.  Some have asserted that the Maasai originated with vague mixtures of blood from the peoples of the Horn of Africa and the Hamitics of Egypt arguing facial construction similarities and artifacts duplicating the appearance of some Egyptian hieroglyphics.  Others claim a Semitic link from the Bible (1 Chronicles 9:12) as it listed a man named Maasai.  Moritz Merker, a German administrator, who died among the Maasai of Tanzania (then German East Africa), in 1908 claimed to have discovered in their oral traditions some fascinating clues to their more ancient homelands as he recorded legends of man’s creation and fall, the flood, the serpent and the loss of paradise in a way that predated the Old Testament.  Merker advanced from this a cautious theory that placed the Maasai with the Babylonians and Hebrews of Arabia.  Others have creatively linked them to India because of the devotion to the cow and some modern linguists have apparently discovered Sanskrit in their language.

             Almost all of these theories have been debunked in light of recent anthropological studies.  Most research concludes the Maasai are from a people group called the Nilotes (those coming from the Nile) or the Nilotic people group.  The Maasai were at first categorized in the Nilo-Hamitic people group, but researchers have recently confirmed the Maasai to be Nilotic rather than Hamitic or Cushitic.  The latter are tribes like the Galla, Boran, Rendille, and various Somalian clans which migrated into Kenya from Southern Ethiopia and Somalia.  The Nilotics migrated South into Kenya and Tanzania from the White Nile in Northern Ethiopia or through Sudan-Uganda area.  The Maasai are divided into numerous “oloshon.”  These are best described as sub-tribes.  Each have their own dress (beadwork), distinctive celebration of ceremonies, dialects, and automonous government.  These include: Purko, Kisongo, Keekonyokie, Matapato, Loodokilani, Kaputiei, Loita, Dalalekutok, Damat, Siria, Uasin Gishu, Moitanik, Loitokitok, Arusha, Sikirari, and Laitayok.  Some lists are varied concerning these sub-tribes.

             The Maasai are spread over thousands of square miles in Tanzania and Kenya.  In Kenya the Maasai are primarily located in the Rift Valley Province within two districts, Narok and Kajiado.  Narok District lies between 0 degree 26 minute and 2 degree 10 minute South Latitude and 34 degree 20 minute East Longitude.  It extends from the Tanzania border in the south to the border of Nakuru District in the north of South Nyanza and Kisii Districts in the west and to the border of Kajiado in the east.  The District covers an area of 18,513 square kilometers.  It is the fourth largest district in the Rift Valley Province.  The Kajiado District is located at the southern tip of the Rift Valley Province covering 22,106 square kilometers.  It is bordered by Tanzania to the southwest, Taita/Taveta District to the southeast, Machakos District to the east, Nairobi District to the northeast, Kiambu District to the north, and Narok District to the west.

            It is difficult to estimate the Maasai population.  Best estimates are around 1,250,000.  Most of what is known about them comes from their warring with other tribes.  They have been defeated in battle, but have never been conquered.  Maasai society is patriarchal, therefore, elder men have great authority.  Maasai men are divided into “age sets” of groups of men with an age span of about ten years.  They pass through the stages of life of their culture: boyhood, warriorhood, junior and then senior eldership together as an “age set.”  The heart of the Maasai culture is the warrior class (ilmorani).  All are circumcised within a certain time span thus establishing age sets or groups (orporor), which become the most outstanding class distinction and most important cultural value in the tribe.  They remain in the warrior stage between seven to fourteen years with their only responsibility being to defend the cattle and enlarge the herds through cattle acquisition from other tribes.  The warriors are not allowed to marry, although a great deal of sexual freedom is allowed between warriors and unmarried girls.  They warriors are not encourage to take part in the councils of the tribes.  At the end of the warriorhood, a whole age group of ilmorani goes through the eunoto ceremony, the entrance to elderhood.  As elders they are allowed to marry and be eligible for ownership of cattle.  The leadership of the tribe, conducted by the elders, is democratic in the extreme.  There has never been a paramount chief.  Each age group has its own leader who is chosen for his excellence in leadership and ability to arbitrate difficulties.  It is not a coveted job, but thrust upon the oliagwanani for life.  He is to be the first in battle, first to own cattle, first to get married and the first to die.

             The girls are circumcised also, but they belong to the age group of the men they marry--old or young.  Polygamy is the normal way of life for Maasai.  Maasai women center their lives around the thorned fence enclosures (enkang), building and maintaining their homes made of sticks, mud, and cow dung.  They are in charge of the milking of the cows but take no part in the herding.  There is not much cooking to be learned since sour milk that has been curdled by the remnants of cow urine inside the calabash gourds is the staple diet of the Maasai.  Sometimes the milk is thickened out with blood from the living cow’s neck, usually during drought times.  In times past only roasted meat was eaten with soup.  These days other food groups have been added to include various vegetables and some Maasai, although few, even eat an occasional chicken.

             Cattle form the basis of the entire culture, being the main form of sustenance, wealth, power, and  medium of exchange.  The cow is not worshiped in the Eastern Indian sense, but it is sacred in the daily meaning of life.  The life of Maasai is determined by the cow, the places of grass and water, the times to move homes to another pasture.  The form of the Maasai homestead or enkang is an enclosure for the cattle, with homes on the periphery to protect the cattle from any danger.  Danger to the herds becomes danger to the tribe.  The Maasai are mostly pastoralists herding their cattle, sheep, goats, and donkeys.  A few agricultural exceptions in recent years have occurred with the inter-marriage between rival agricultural tribes like the Kikuyu and the Kamba.

             The Europeans first made contact with the Maasai in the late 1840's through two German members of the Church Missionary Society, a multi-denominational group based in London.  Dr. Johann Ludwig Krapf met with the Maasai in Kenya and Reverend John Rebmann led an expedition in Tanzania.  Later in 1860, Dr. Krapf published a book, Travels, Researches and Missionary Labours, which contains one of the first written descriptions of the Maasai and their mode of life.  In the year 1890, just when the first official relations between the British and the Maasai began, rinderpest broke out among the Maasai herds killing almost all their cattle.  Smallpox followed the cattle plague and an epidemic of influenza killed almost three-quarters of the population.  The neighboring tribes the Maasai had terrorized for centuries seized the opportunity for revenge.  Some credit the Europeans like the first British agents in Kenya with saving the Maasai because they built forts between the Maasai country and their warring neighbors. 

             The Catholics first came to Kenya and Tanzania in the sixteenth century from Portugal with the slave traders to set up missions long before other mission groups settled on the East Coast of Africa.  The British Methodists arrived in 1862.  In 1900 the Church of Scotland began work in establishing the Presbyterian Church of East Africa.  At the turn of the twentieth-century, Catholics, Anglicans, and Evangelicals had established missions in a number of areas in Kenya and Tanzania.   Mission agreements over spheres of influence gave almost exclusive right over the pastoral Maasai to the Africa Inland Mission (AIM).  John Stauffacher was appointed by AIM to work with the Maasai in 1903.  When the Maasai were forced to leave land between Lake Nakuru and Lake Naivaisha in Laikipia District, Stauffacher was prohibited by the state of emergency in the reserve from following his strategy of living, traveling, and preaching the gospel with the Maasai.  His young Maasai friend, an age set leader, had become suspicious of missionaries as a result of the forced move.  There are still Maasai alive today who remember Stauffacher.  There is a book detailing their experiences with the Maasai, The Road to Kilimanjaro.  It was not until the 1930's or 1940's that Catholic missions were founded in or near Maasailand.  The Catholic and Evangelical groups in Kenya and Tanzania attempted to evangelize the Maasai but most attempts were meager at best and most failed until the 1960's or 1970's.  Kenneth J. King suggests in his book, Kenya Historical Biographies, that the drought of 1960-1961 may have shaken the Maasai into the modern political awareness despite their previous posturing mode of isolation.

            There is no word for religion in the language of the Maasai.  Their religious experience is not recorded in holy books, but contained in the memory of the people and repeated through traditional symbols, myths, rituals, attitudes, and practices.  The Maasai believe in one God, Enkai, who dwells on earth and in heaven.  (The Maasai in Tanzania pronounce this word with a "g", Engai).  Enkai Supat is the Supreme God, and no one else can be called by that name.  They believe there are two aspects to God: Enkai Narok, the name of God which is black, the good and benevolent God; and Enkai Nanyokie, the red or avenging God, which is an aspect of God’s holy anger.  The black God shows His face in the rain while red God shows His face in the lightning or lack of rain thereby ensuring famine.  To the Maasai, God is the master of both life and death.  The prayers of a Maasai are a prominent feature in daily life.  They pray corporately during major ceremonies, but individuals murmur prayers daily expressing awareness of God’s provisions.  Most old men arise every morning facing East and pray, hitting the ground with their walking sticks to this Enkai asking for his protection and provision over the people and the livestock.  Some Maasai prayers refer to God as male, others as female.  The Maasai say that Enkai is neither male nor female, although the gender of this word is feminine.  They insist that “He,” or “She,” or “It,” is not comparable to a man, a woman, or a thing, while still being somehow like humankind.  Doug Priest, Jr., who lived among the Maasai for over a decade, concludes, “Missionaries from varying denominations for a period of eighty years are in agreement that Enkai is no esoteric “sky-god” or “high-god” of anthropological theory, but is God Himself.  The same God of the Christians and Jews.”  His book, Doing Theology with the Maasai explains this in detail.

             The Maasai continue to depend upon sacrifices of their animals to appease Enkai Supat.  The sacrificial system is elaborate allowing sacrifices to be made by numerous individuals for certain tribal ceremonies.  The exception comes for sacrifices that require a mediatorial role between God and the people.  Only one group of men are allowed to fulfill that function, the iloibonok.  This term refers to a diviner, a spiritual consultant, a physical healer, a go-between with the supernatural.  The Maasai believe that God gave the ritual experts their special tasks and that these tasks separate them from the common people, thus they are considered holy.  Their tasks include healing, divining, cleansing, blessing, cursing, and sorcery.  These men are seen as the primary ones who can remove curses or prevent them, although other older men may act as mediators, especially if the curse is from a known person like one's father as a result of disobedience.  The Maasai term oloiboni means “one who divines” or “who one prophesies.”  This would involve the acquisition of hidden knowledge, regarding past or future events or unknown motives or dangers.  The ritual experts, prophets, or seers are feared by the Maasai because of their ability to see or to divine.  Their “divine origin and support” makes the oloiboni dangerous to the common man who has little defense against the sacred and supernatural power.  The Maasai believe they speak with the power of God.  All these men are only from the Enkidong’i section of the Ilaiser clan, which began with God giving a boy, the original expert, Kidong’oi, a gourd (enkidong) to used for divination.  These men set the spiritual tone for the tribe by holding fear over their heads.  The only means a person has to appease God or commune with Him is through these men. 

MAASAI PEOPLE PROFILE:  WORLDVIEW

A Cultural-Social-Religious Profile of the Maasai People

A Development Process and Instrument

(The answers below were given by a Ilkeekonyokie Maasai Baptist pastor, Jackson ole Kiraye).

1.  Family Structure.

1.1.  Is the family monogamous or polygamous?  Describe the characteristics and conditions.

The family is polygamous because they wanted to be many as they are blessed by God.  Its characteristics are that, the marriage of many wives is richness and it portrays how righteous you are or you are among the people loved most by God.  Being married of many wives is beauty of the cultures and tradition of Maasai. 

There is another unique characteristic of marrying many wives, this is that, while going to the boma, you can see at the entrance two sides.  One side called “the left” at the left side.  This means a second wife will occupy that left side while the right side is already occupied by the first wife.  This is also the means by some families for the best way for inheritance of family name and properties like cattle.  The other character is that one wife belong to the ageset and the other belong to the husband by the tradition.  To put this clear, the first wife is considered as the wife which the ageset and agegroup can go and demand accomodation, but the second wife or the third and fourth, or the youngest are for the husband.

1.2.  Is the family matriarchal or patriarchal?  Describe the "head of the house."

In a Maasai family structure, the family must be patriachal unless the head of the family (the husband) is dead, then the wife or wives will take care of the household management.

The head of the house is the father.  He is responsible of all family affairs and matters from outside from the community or the clan.  Although the wife has some part she can play in the household, she only can do this by the consent of the father.  In other words, she can do as she pleases only after the blessing of husband.  This part which the wife plays are as follows:

a.  She can play anything concerning the family when the father is not present, she can only play a part of the family management under the orders laid down by the father.

b.  She can give instruction to the father if the matter is about women because she is a woman who can know much about women in terms of the culture and tradition.  There are some community ceremonies which demand the support of the wife.  It is the woman (wife) which is responsible to advocate for the other women.

1.3.  What are the authority lines in the family?  Who makes decisions--how, when and why?

The whole authority in a Maasai family is based on the husband (father).  He must give permission for all things.  I may state some authorities made by the father in the household management:

a.  In case the sons or daughters need clothing or anything, they must inquire permission from the father, e.g., selling a cow in form of money or barter.  Permission must come from the father.  The daughters passes information of seeking permission of any kind through their mothers and the mother will put more emphasis on what permission the daughter wants from the father before the father.

b.  There is a certain time of age whereby the son or the daughter needs to be circumcized because they have grown enough to be circumcized.  The son will go to the father to give authority of preparing for some traditions of circumsion.

c.  In the authority of assigning duties to members of the family, the father is responsible for any duty.  He can reshuffle duties as he wishes, but to the daughters, they can be given authority of doing something by the mother.  This is because most duties performed by women in the family can also be performed by women in the family can also be performed by girls.  The other reason why mothers have authority over girls is that girls are nearer to their mothers than fathers and they cannot do what boys do because of the culture and tradition of the Maasai.  The mother sometimes can give authority if the family has no grown-up sons who are able to play the role of their father.  But in this situation, the authority which the mother gives is from the father’s instructions on all family affairs.  The elder son or close relative, e.g., step-brother can be authoritative in any family affair at the absence of the father.  If the father gives an authority and someone disobeys it, he/she may face a curse or can be punished by the father.  The reason why is because he is the head of the house and no one can be above him in anything concerning the household management.  Maasai fear curses and will go to great lengths to avoid them.

1.4.  What are the expectations and rules for getting permission?

There are many things that need permission from the above authority in the realm of the family.  Therefore, as the member of the family you have to inquire from the head of the household if you can be granted permission of what you intended to do.  You cannot dare to sell a cow or a sheep from the flock without the permission of the father.  As I have stated in Numbers 1.3.  permission must come from the father for all family affairs.

1.5.  What are the expectations and rules for getting forgiveness?

No one is eligible for forgiveness unless the father gives it.  The rule is that whoever makes a mistake in a household, either the elder son or the youngest or female daughter or wife, all of them seek forgiveness from the father if they have wronged the whole household by committing a taboo.  Mostly if a daughter commits a taboo to the family or community, the mother will present the mistake to the father to seek forgiveness.  It may be granted or not according to the crime committed.  It is settled by being punished.  If it is a taboo, a ritual can or must be performed in order to clean the offender from the blame.  It is common that during childhood, many mistakes are made by children.  At first mistake, you must be caned on your body for correction so that you may not repeat the mistake. 

On adults, you brew a local brew and seek refuge from elders within the household or villages or members of your family clan.  If the mistake is universal, it is of the community as a whole, then members of the society will be involved especially the elders.  After all these ways or way, the father will rule out that forgiveness is granted through paying a blanket, a cow, plus a local brew to the father.  This is done maybe by the will of the father or the will of the elder whom you sought refuge from them or all of them can result that no fine can be charged because of mercy.   There is no customary law or law which gives permission for expelling.  Someone from the family or society unless the offender cruelly and criminally forces the way out of the family or society.   In other words, the person concerned does expel himself or herself away willingly.

1.6.  What are the roles and consequent relationships between family members?  Include husband, wife, children, relatives.  What is the difference at different levels in the society and for the different ages?  Who is responsible for whom, when and how?

The role of family members depends mostly on the father.  The wife depends on the husband in all requirements like food, clothes, and other things.  The wife’s role is to make sure that she and other members of their family abide by the laws and instruction laid down by the father to manage every domestic affair.  She is responsible for caring for the husband and children on hospitalization and assists the husband on some parts of family management and keep inquires from outside for the husband during his absence.  The wife can only do that while her sons are still young.

If the sons or son grows up, he will be responsible of many casual matters and direct or keep extreme care for the father to come and decide.  The children are there to be taken care by both parents in all ways until they grow up.  They help their parents in different home duties.  The boys are to look after livestock while the girls are at home to assist the mother on getting water and firewood sometime the girls may be assigned to go and look after livestock to give the boys a break. 

All boys and girls in the family must pay a lot respect to their parents.  The children are to bow in respect to their elders while the elders place their hands on their heads as a sign of blessing.  The children have birthrights on anything they need to have in the family and the father nor the mother can deny them any of the birthrights unless a daughter or a son becomes a criminal and deny himself or herself the rights of living and sharing life with the parents.  The other kinds of relatives are to play the role of any kind to the family members if the issues are beyond their control.  It will be very wrong if your relative is suffering from hunger, sickness, extreme cases, conflicts and you are nearby and you don’t give any help that you can.  The difference at different levels in a Maasai society is the ages.  Every ageset looks to respect another so they may live peacefully and build a unified community.  Every ageset and ageground must have a different name and different rites to make them different.  They give the ageset a name called (right hand) and the other age is called (left hand).  Later on, during mid-life, two agesets who are close together in age will be joined together and from an agegroup which will be both given a general name.  Every ageset will be graduated to be junior elders at first with different names although they share some in common.  After that, closer to the age of 50, they will be graduated to be senior elders

DIFFERENCES

The only differences we can notice in the Maasai society is the differences of agesets and agegroups.  The composition of an ageset namely the (Right) is different from the (Left).  What makes the difference is the kind of rituals and rites of passages they perform.  Every ageset has its own kind of rites and rituals.  They will be joined together (the right and left) and they become one agegroup.  There is not anything which makes them different only the years of ages.  Some will look old and some young according to their year of age.  Those who are responsible in the society as the headmen (chiefs) of every agegroup because, when they are united as an agegroup, all chiefs (an elected position among the ageset, but does not hold authority over any other ageset) are responsible for the community because it is building up of agesets and agegroups.  They only meet and discuss what is the next communal activity and they give orders of what will the community do and how.  There is another unique leader of the society who is called (oloiboni).  The community relies on him in some wisdoms and defense from the enemies.  He gives witchcraft to leaders of an ageset or agegroup when they have rites of passages to protect them from being bewitched by their enemies from outside the community.  See above.

1.7.  Identify kinship lines and patterns of the extended family.

There are various kinships in the family whereby close relationships must be taken care of by every member of the family.

a.  Step brother.

b.  Step sister.

c.  Brother-in-law.

d.  Sister-in-law.

e.  Uncle.

f.  Grandmother.

g.  Grandfather.

h.  Brother’s wife

The extended family are sons and daughters of step brothers.  We cannot count much about the married daughter because she is around the husband’s family.  Although she is born from the family beyond that there is no specific identification made for them.  They are just known as close relatives.

1.8   How do families support themselves in this culture?  What are the traditional and non-traditional means of support?

The family support in the culture is only to cope with the tradition of keeping livestock for their daily needs, e.g., clothes, sending warriors for moranism and support with animals for meat in the bush.  They also practice barter trading, if you need an oxen for meat.  You give a heifer for that oxen and so forth.  Only recently traditions have changed whereby the marketing of livestock for money or buying clothes and non-indigenous foods.

1.9.  How does the family structure change as a result of death, marriage, separation, incapacity, incompetence or other significant changes?

a.  Death: If death occurs in the family on the father and this father has sons or a son, the elder son will be responsible for the whole family management and all communal relationships.  No big changes can be cited within the family.  The few changes are the organization of rites and rituals because the custom and traditions restrict the son to conduct some rites and rituals for the family on the deceased father were conducting.

Some families have no restrictions but all do change a bit.  The name of the family and the family’s clan must prevail as long as the living relatives are existing in the society.  In case the father dies without a son and step brother, the widow may go back and reside with her parents until she gets children (sons) to inherit the family’s properties and name.  This is automatic for middle-aged widows.  Young widows may sometimes be given away to other new husbands and sometimes are kept until they get children to inherit their father’s under the care of their families or step brother of their deceased husband or their clan.  Sometimes they are not allowed to remarry.

b.  Marriage: Marriage cannot change the family but the father’s name can change by name only.  This happens when the son from a certain family gets married and separates with the rest of his family and becomes a father in his household.  That family will be named under his surname while the whole family name can be mentioned at inquiries and the community knows that the family branch of the family.

c.  Separation: Separation is very rare in Maasai community because of the nature of oathing in marriages.  During the solemnization of marriage, the customary laws do not allow any separation unless there is no other way out.  When separation occurs, it cannot change anything from the family.  The family will maintain its sovereignty.  Notice that separation in a Maasai custom can be mentioned on the side of the woman or wife.  It is the wife only that can go away from her husband in result of bad conduct or the husband’s weaknesses.  But still this cannot change anything in the family structure.

d.  Incompetence: On the side of the wife, she can be forced away by the husband to her parents with the consent of the husband’s family or clan or other close relatives but this cannot change anything in the family.  This kind of a case is to wives who don’t have elderly sons because the sons can block the separation and deal accordingly with the situation of their mother who is misbehaving.  In case the judges have ruled out that separation is essential, the misbehaving mother can go aside with her sons but bounded to her husband’s family customs and traditions.  It will not change anything in her family and she will be identified while alone with the name of her husband’s family.

If the husband is not doing what is right to be done due to deliberate causes, he will be taught a lesson (punished) by the clan.  The relatives will administer the discipline.  If incompetence is caused by being disable, the relatives will take care of you and your wife but not to separate you and your wife.  They will take serious efforts to take care of your family in any necessity.

e.  Incapacity: The man who is not fit is only that one who cannot bare children because of biological or some physical problems.  The most interesting thing is that nothing can change the family structure according to the Maasai culture.  In some cases, the barren man can miss his wife automatically, but some wives are restricted not to separate from their husbands.  They will still have children from somebody else.  If the wife so chooses, she may sleep with another man of the same ageset as her husband if she thinks he will give a beautiful and intelligent baby who will bring wealth to her.  On the side of the barren wife, the husband cannot chase her away but he can marry a second wife in order to have children.  Some wives of that kind do separate from their husband wrongly and found at long last that they cannot bear children.  They might accuse the husband or relatives that they caused a curse which made them married.  In a general information, separation is not all that normal although it happens sometimes.

1.10.  How is the family's heritage passed from one generation to the next?

The family heritage is being passed by other family generations.  They do practice all family customs and traditions from this ageset to the other by putting marks on the cows and goats which identifies the family’s livestock.

1.11.  Do families have totems?  What are typical ones and how are they used?

There are no totems within the Maasai culture.  They believe God although they worship Him wrongly.

1.12.  How is authentic news passed on within the family?

a.  If the news is of the ageset or agegroup, all members of the ageset or agegroup will pass the news to the rest.  If the news in concerning the entire society, the news is being passed through a well [persuaded] person whom is known with trustworthiness and spotless within the community so that the news can be accepted and anticipated by everyone.  This is usually an elder of the oldest ageset or someone he designates.  If the news deals with women's issues, the women are to carry the news to others all around.  This is because the communication system is done well by agemates and by the same sex, e.g., the agesets or agegroup communicate best through members.  Women also communicate best through women and the news will be well and clearly known by every person with in the community.

b.  In the family, authentic news in passed through the father for the rest of the family.  In case the father is absent, the elder son or the mother can pass this news within the family members.  If the news involves the community and the father has not given any directive earlier, the news can be kept for the father.  There is some news whereby whether the father is present or not, it must be adhered by anyone present in the family.

1.13.  What are rules of inheritance?

In a Maasai custom and tradition, nothing like inheritance can be mentioned unless death takes place in the family or relatives.  It is an offence if someone within the family tries to own property or anything from the family members, i.e., the father, mother, brother, or sister without their consent or will.  Inheritance can be mentioned when a family members dies.  There are rules laid down customarily if the father dies and he has many sons.  The inheritance will go as follows:

a.  The eldest son is given by the customary law a certain percent of cows and goats.  In other words, livestock, to inherit.  Other sons will share the rest of livestock and other things.  If the father has no sons just daughters and has no step-brothers or very close relatives apart from inlaws, close relatives, e.g., clan members can inherit because no one had originated alone.  The daughters are not mentioned in inheritance because they are known that they will go and have their families somewhere else.  Whereby they will inherit with their children.  If the father dies and his wife has no children because she is young, she will inherit her husband until she gets children, if she is not sent back to her parents for another husband.

1.14.  What are the sexual and mating roles and rules in the family?  What are marriage rites and rules?

In the family, sex within family members is forbidden accept the father and mother.  Only parents can have sex by themselves.  They must be with a lot of respect whereby children cannot know if they usually have sex.  The act must by very hidden, both father and mother must submit to each other on this act in the given time.  If anyone of the parents refuse sex to the other, it will raise a conflict within the family and it will be known by outsiders which is a shame and can cause the community to involve themselves forcefully to correct the case and a communal punishment may follow.  For some reason, Maasai believe that sex can only be done at night.

Sex must not be done between brothers and sisters because it is a taboo for a brother to have sex with his sister.  It is taboo to have sex with your father, or mother, or step-mother, step-brother, step-sister, or even members of your clan.  You are only allowed to have sex with other people not related or without any blood relationships.  The marriage rites start from the day of engagement whereby the husband to be will take milk in a calabash with sugar or honey.  This rite is performed by women who are elderly from members of the husband’s clan.  They put on sheep skin made like sheets when they start to perform the rite.  The second rite is the wedding day whereby the husband goes to the parents of the girl with honey and tobacco, clothes one day before the wedding day.  At the home of the girl’s parents, the husband and the wife will be counseled and blessed for their marriage which will start the following day.  During this time, the wife’s parents will perform a rite of milk and local brew made of honey brought earlier by the husband.  The parents or relatives of the husband at their home are concencrated in preparation to invite the bridegroom.  Many friends, relatives, and agemates will come and witness in a ceremony the wedding which prepared by the slaughtering of sheep, goats, cows, and local brews.

1.15.  How are grievances settled within a family?  What are the rules concerning mistreatment, separation, divorce,or a mistress?

GRIEVANCES:  Grievances are settled through the father and mother.  If the mother has wronged the father extremely, she will call other relatives to the father or family clanmate, if any, to come and intervene or solve the problem committed by the mother.  This will apply a fine of a blanket, cow, or a she goat or sheep followed by beer (local brew) to the father and this will wash away crime or offence committed by the mother.  If the elderly sons commit an offence in the family on any of member of the family, they will run to the someone to come with to request for the father for forgiveness.  They may fine them or not, it depends on the mistake.  But children are not be caned on the buttocks in order for them not to repeat the mistake.

MISTREATMENT:  It is a must that the father, mother, or relatives to treat well members of the family or they face mob justice from members of the clan or community, especially if the mistreatment is extreme.  If the father mistreats the mother, the mother may flee away to go and accuse you from her parents if the mistreatment is severe.  If the mistreatment is not too much, she can go to her father’s relatives for help of any problem she encountered.  If the mother mistreats the children, father, or relatives, the father will deal with her accordingly.  If it goes beyond the control of the father, she can be chased away and the father will call her parents and his family members to settle the problem.  This can even result in divorce.

SEPARATION: Separation is not common in Maasai custom. The only time separation is mentioned is when the husband moves with livestock to somewhere because of hunger and drought.  The father must make regular visits to the mother and children to care for their basic needs.

DIVORCE: The divorce rate in a Maasai community was 0% because it is not permitted in the customs or laws.  If divorce takes place, it must be witnessed by all sides and relatives before other members of the community.  They must know where and what caused and how it will take place.  It is only death and being barren can cause an automatic divorce to young men and women.  Old couples will stay as they are forever.  One deterrent of divorce is the bride price.  Because the bride price is raised to a high level, most husbands or their families cannot pay the price by themselves.  So they have to gather money, materials, or livestock from relatives, friends, and neighbors.  Should their be a divorce, all the money, materials, and livestock have to be returned to their rightful owner.  Since this is a big disgrace, divorce is rare.

MISTRESS: A mistress is a woman having an illicit but regular sexual relationship with a married man.  In this case, both man and a woman will be banned from visiting each other at their homesteads and they’ll be cursed not to have sexual relationships any more by elders.  They will be led by an oath of not having sex anymore with each other.  If this woman disobeys all that, she may be chased back to her parents and sometimes she is beaten and the case may result in divorce.

1.16.  What are the child-rearing practices and traditions?

When the child is born in a family, the parents have an obligation to rear that child until the child grows up.  The Maasai tradition is that if the born child is a boy, they will remove blood from a bull for the mother to take it as a drink for energy and to have enough milk for breast feeding.  The mother gets to choose the fattest sheep to eat.  Before birthing, most Maasai women are almost starved to as to deliver small babies.  However, after birth she is treated to meat and fat.  The day of birthing, she will drink a liter of fat.  After day to month they must make sure they slaughter 9 sheep for fat to feed the child with and a goat for the mother to have soup in order for her to gain strength and have enough milk for the baby child.  Breast feeding is a must for the child and proper care for the mother.  The mother will go on nursing the baby until the baby grows up.  She teaches the baby with songs and stories when the baby is of age to be taught.

1.17.  How do children choose their life vocation, their role in the community?

In a Maasai custom and tradition, the children can’t choose or decide by themselves vocations.  It is the parents who chooses for them.  Note that in a Maasai culture, they only follow the patterns of the society.  Every family will train the children through stories about what will come after the other in life which is the custom and tradition for the entire society.

1.18.  What are the special days or events for families?

The most special events are when a child is born, the father of the child is to give women a ram to slaughter and eat meat to celebrate the birth of the child.  Friends and relatives who are nearby will come with firewood, milk, and other available foods for mother as presents of delivering a child.

(What about when the name is chosen for the child?)

The second most important event is circumcision.  The relatives will come and witness this rite of passage.  This includes agemates, who will also come with presents of many kinds.  The family will prepare a lot of meat and local brews for the participants to celebrate.

(What about becoming a warrior with its various stages, junior elder, and senior elder?)

The third important event is marriage whereby the best wishers will involve themselves in preparations and they will also participate and celebrate with the family in the wedding.  They will give presents to the bridegroom and the nickname to the new wife in the family.  It is women who will the name and then follows the men of the ageset to the married fellow.

The fourth event is death.  This event is sorrowful if the deceased is young.  The relative will mourn and comfort the family members for the losing the person.  If the deceased is old and died because of being old, they will slaughter the fatest oxen or ram as a symbol of respect and cleansing the family from the death of their person.  The reason why is because death is considered as evil and if the family and their relative didn’t do honor to their deceased person, they may be cursed by the spirits of the dead relative.

(What happens after death to the people who have died?)

1.19.  How is the family changing?

1.20.  How does an individual defend himself or herself within the family?

2.  Social Structure.

2.1.  How is the society of a community organized?  What are the typical, the common homogenous and heterogeneous facets of society?

The organization of a society is that they live socially in villages (small circular thorned enclosures normally holding 30-50 people, sometimes upward to 100) and make social rules of all moral laws for their community at large. They are Maasai’s typically, but sometimes you may see them marrying girls from other communities and it doesn’t make them heterogeneous. The community is homogenous.

2.2.  How do different families relate to each other?  How do families meet other families in the community?  What are the rules of meeting and making friends?

Other families relations begins from marriage.  The culture of a Maasai society strongly oppose a marriage of related or close blood, therefore, if you marry, you are to get a wife from other different families in the society.  There you will find that your grandmother is from that family which is related to that other family.  You will also notice that your father’s step-step-brothers are married to that family and this is considered a relationship.  They do meet others during times of ceremonies, celebrations, initiations and in time of needs.

Rules: In case one of a community is ailing and living near your homestead, you must visit and comfort or help in terms of treatments and labor. If he/she has a celebration or a ceremony, you help in terms of things or items needed to enable the occasion to take place. You are also required to involve yourself on other families occasions as much as you can.

By all this, you are meeting time to time with other families who are concerned and many friends are made through those kinds of meetings.       

2.3.  How is one's place in a village society or a community determined?  Is there a cast system or other type of structure within the culture?

The determination of one’s place is known when someone comes first and plants a huge stick or a green branch of a tree which they will not remove at all.   Then others will be following the

same process as long as there is a location for all to village. It is a crime for anyone to come and replace his or her stick or branch with sticks and branches of somebody elses.  If it is grazing place, the villagers will all determine either kids and calves.   Will at the north, south, west, or east, but each village can allocate a place for his/her small stock nearby the village-right at his/her location in the village.

(Are there some people who are more important than others?)

2.4.  How does society relate to foreigners?  Foreigners from another city, another race, another tribe another country?  What are the attitudes and rules of relating?

Relationships are not restricted from anyone, but you are forbidden to practice any foreign culture and tradition.  You can help a foreigner by providing food, shelter, and all humanitarian needs.  Note that this takes place to those tribes which are allied to the Maasai community.

Some communities or tribes are enemies to others.  Therefore, if they see a stranger from that society, they will interrogate and may be summoned before the others (elders, wazee) to be questioned or can be chased immediately because he may be a spy or sent to curse or with a secret agenda.

2.5.  How is real estate handled?  What are rules of ownership, selling and buying?

In the beginning of a Maasai community, there was no individualism in land allocation, but it was in terms of tribes. Its rule of ownership starts when the tribal boundary is determined.  They will meet as elders and leaders of both sides to say-----from this tree to that tree, it will be our boundary because our forefathers lived there when it was a trustland.  At this present generation, there are land allocations in the society whereby you own land by having lived there before.  If the land is still trust (not allocated to anything) someone can live on that land provided that you came from that society or locality.  No one has powers to prevent you to own the trustland because you have legal rights through the provision of customary rights of owning land.

There was no selling and buying of land in a Maasai society due to delocalization.  The society is changing many social norms of living and out of all that changing, the Maasai society has adapted a philosophy on land.  They sell and buy land.  Out of that they have changed many laws and rules on culture and tradition.  Therefore, land ownership is structured and instituted through government legal process.  To now, appropriation of land can change by transferring the name of the owner to the name of the new owner.  Cap 300 Laws of Kenya.

2.6.  How do individuals become an adult?  Are there rules of recognition and rites of passage?  At what age or ages do they occur?  What are the circumstances of their occurrence?

An individual will be recognized as an adult by circumcision practice which is a rite of passage. You cannot be recognized as an adult because of your years of age, but by being circumcised. If you are circumcised and you are 17 years or less, you are considered an adult.

Before the Maasai community was changed, you could stay without circumcision until the age of 24-30 years.  So you could grow to the ability of reasoning then circumcision is performed on you because of that circumstance. 

2.7.  What rights do individuals have within a community, within society?  What right do families have?  What rights do clans have within society?  What rights do males have?  What rights do females have?

An individual has rights of association with other community members starting from his/her age group, age set, rights of living with others, rights of marriage from within the community, etc..

Families have marks of identification which tell that cow or donkey belongs to that family.  Also, they have a right of practicing a unique culture and tradition of their own to identify them from other families, but this must be within the context of that particular society.  This same case applies to clans’ rights.  Males and females have all kinds of rights being exercised in life by that community.  Males have rights of owning properties and marrying from their community and practice all culture and traditions which males do.  The same case applies to females.  They have rights to do what other women do, e.g. getting married by the will of their fathers or relatives.  

2.8.  How are leaders chosen?  Who is eligible?  When are they eligible?

Leaders are culturally and traditionally chosen.  They are chosen from different levels or during different rites of passages.  The leader of the age set, called the chief, or olaigwanani, is chosen before all the age set members are circumcised.  He is the first leader, then after another rite of passage, another is made.  Then the last will be appointed.

There are some qualifications which qualifies a person to be a leader.  Someone who’s parents are blameless in the entire community and also spotless since they are in that society.  Must be physically good, not lacking any organ in his body.

2.8.1.  Under what conditions and by what rules are they chosen?

On the act of choosing a leader, the person or family of proposed leader will not be notified because the family may hide their son to be made a leader or the son can run and hide for awhile.  When choosing a leader, there is a ritual which must be performed.  One reason for this is that it is thought among Maasai that the leader will be the first to do everything:  go into battle, get married, become a junior elder, become a senior elder, and the first to die.

2.8.2.  How are leaders recognized by society, by the community?

Every leader elected for any age set is honorably recognized because they are elected under the customary laws which are honored by every member of the society.     

2.8.3.  How are leaders changed?

No changing of leaders is allowed because of the right of passages witnessed by many people.  And if any change occurs, it must be because the leader committed an offence which is despised by the whole age set.  The offence is considered a taboo.

2.8.4.  What are the rights and responsibilities of leaders?

The leader has a right to make a decision on what his age set or age group is to do.  He also has right of owning a few animals raised by a age set or age group member to aid a certain rite of passage which is assisted by oloiboni (witchdoctor).  He is responsible in all decisions of an age set and age group.  He acts mainly as a facilitator with a rare gift of being able to listen to all the elders as they give their opinion, then being able to summarize their opinions in a concise, yet all-encompassing manner so that all agree with his decision.

2.8.5.  How do leaders lose the right to lead?

Unless they ruin their life in too much leisure, e.g. being drunk with beer or alcohol or being mentally man, no replacement can be done.  The age set will be governed or led by another leader of that age group or age set.

2.8.6.  How do individuals relate to their leaders?

Individuals do show much respect of the leaders by supporting them with basic needs if they inquire.  By doing that, they are showing that they are related.

2.8.7.  How do leaders relate to other leaders in the culture?

Leaders’ relations to other leaders is done by sharing leadership skills to the entire community regardless of age set.

2.9.  What are the basic values within society that give it cohesion and security?

a.  The society must make sure that every member of their community has enough material possessions to support in their daily life or basic needs. In all that, every community member must strive for material things mostly livestock, wives, and children.

b.  The other value is the ethical behaviors.  There are laws meant for moral ethics which no one will dare to violate.  If he does, he/she will be punished by the society through mob justice.

c.  Code of conduct: the code of conduct is laid down in society so that they may live peacefully among themselves and obey their administrators in all instructions.

2.10.  What are the basic taboos within society?

a. The most terrible taboo is the murder of another Maasai. If someone commits murder, he/she will not be acceptable in any moral practice in society until he/she is being cleansed by a olioboni/wiseman and prominent elder of the community from the clan of the deceased and of the clan of the murderer.

b. To violate a religious law of the society, of and age set e.g. to refuse hospitality for a member of your community or age set. There are many, many taboos whereby if you violate, you’ll be charged and punished through the way of the mob justice.

c.  Maasai believe in only three sins.  The first is to murder another Maasai (all other tribes don't count).  The second is not to steal from another Maasai (again all other tribes don't count).  The third is not to sleep with a married woman while one is a moran.

2.11.  What are the common traditions within society?

The most common tradition is circumcision which must be done to every member of the community either a female or male. You cannot marry or get married to anyone if you are not circumcised.  This is being changed somewhat on the females, however only a few have not succumbed to the circumsion knife either because of forced circumsion or the enigma of not being circumsized.

Marriage: You cannot have recognition if you are not married and even you may be considered that you are curse not to marry.

The sacrifices: No rite of passage can be performed without a sacrifice of a goat, sheep, oxen. When they want to pray God for rain, they go up to the hill and sacrifice a lamb which is spotless.

Ceremony and fellowships: In any traditions, either it is circumcision, sacrifice, weddings, etc., there must be a ceremony which will be attended by members of the community.

2.12.  What are the valued arts or artforms in society?

The artforms are only being a warrior and graduate to elderhood.  The warriors spend an enormous amount of time fashioning their hair and marking their skins with red ochre.    They  make decorative ornaments from beads, fashion beads on belts and  warclubs, walking sticks, necklaces, bracelets, and anklets.  They also decorate shields and spears, carve warclubs and walking sticks, burn beauty marks around the eyes and on face, prick the skin on the shoulders, stomachs, abdomen, legs, for beauty.

2.13.  What are the learning preferences of the people?  Are most of the people oral communicators or are they mostly literate communicators?

The learning preferences are that you go for moranism to learn and experience the reality of life.  If you are a junior or senior elder, you go to the counsel of elders for education of being an elder.  Most of the people are oral communicators.  Their method of learning is apprenticeship.     

2.14.  How is communication carried out?  With whom?  What are the rules?

There is not an institution for communication in Maasai tradition.  It can be done by any person in the society unless you are under age of being knowledgeable.  And the rule is that you must communicate to a person of your age set and persons of the community who are responsible in leadership in order for the whole community to get information.

2.15.  What are the channels for news?  Who can bear news?  How?  When and how is news recognized as official and authentic?  Is there a certain place, time or artform whereby truth or authentic and authoritative news is given to the community?

Every member of the community is a channel for news for the society, but some news is taken with a special care, e.g., the news about death, war, enemies.  Every news is communicated at its time by special people appointed to do so with an approach which tells clearly what the message is about.

2.16.  How are individuals "educated" concerning rules within the community, society and culture?

The child is educated from childhood to adulthood.  Every kind of rule toward any culture and tradition of the community society. If it’s a female, you are educated by your mother.  A male is educated by the father and it is non-formal.     

2.17.  How are individuals educated?  Is there a formal education system such as schools?  Is it for everyone?  Is it pervasive?  Is it respected?  Is it effective? 

In some years of the war non-formal type of education, no schools, and now, there are schools which have the formal way of education.  This formal education is for the disliked children and boys, but not girls.  During the later times of this education, they noticed the importance for the modern education as they named it and sent many boys to school and few girls.  As they are coming to know and see the importance, it becomes effective within the society.  

2.18.  Describe the vocational respect ladder within society?  What are the levels?

There is a headsman of an age set-a chief-he is more senior than other leaders who are nominated in an age set for a specific rite of passage, not in all rites of passages.  These other leaders will not be functional, but honored while the chief is ever functional and more respected than others.  In some occasions, he can do what he wishes and directs as he wishes.

(Are some herders considered better than others and why?  Are some considered better owners of cattle than others and why?)

2.19.  Describe how the society looks upon marriage?  What are the rules in society concerning courtship, engagement, marriage and divorce?

In a Maasai community, marriage is very, very significant.  A male or female will not be as wholesome or feel complete until he/she is married.  If you don’t get married, you’ll be considered by the society that you have committed a taboo of a kind somewhere or your family has committed or you have a bad luck from God.  The society will convince your family to check with you about what is wrong with from the counsel of witchdoctors or olioboni/wisemen.

The rules for courtship are that you must pay all bride prices to the family of the girl which are first required by the family. There are some bride prices that must be paid before the wedding day.  You’ll not attempt to mate with your wife at her parents’ home, while she is also forbidden to visit her husband at his parents’ home before marriage.

Engagement rules are as follows: the parents of the man who wanted to marry a girl are the ones to go to the parents of the girl and negotiate a marriage of their son and their daughter.  After all that, the man’s family members are to go and engage the girl, not a must to members. The mother is also involved, notice that males are not involved in doing that.  Female members of the man’s clan who live nearby can also be assigned to perform that engagement exercise.  In this exercise, it is done by taking an oath of honey and sugar to the girl’s parents which they must receive. You must not get married to a member of your clan member because it is another taboo.  If in any case you did so, you will be charged a heifer to cleanse you out of that taboo.  You must also honor and give respect to all members of your wife and husband’s clan and relatives at large.  You must respect any member of your husband’s age set and age group.  You must give them hospitality when they are visiting you.

Divorce is not supported in the society unless there is a definite reason for divorcing.  If you divorce your husband or your wife without a given reason which is in accordance with the laid out rules or laws on divorce, you will be summoned and punished by the society members not your family or clan only. You can be beaten so badly if divorce your wife or husband with definite reason given in divorce rules and laws.    

2.20.  What are rules of dress within society?

a. One main rule is that you must dress respectfully before relatives. This rule applies the kind of dressing on males and females.

b. Females must hide their breasts and lower part of their bodies to avoid shameful appearance.  The hiding of the breasts is only applicable for the Christian women.  The other women breast feed their babies at the whim of the child no matter who is present.

2.21.  Describe law and order within society?  Structure?  Processes?

The laws are set for the society to abide in order to follow in their daily patterns.  Every law is considered holistic.  It is God who meant this law for our society to follow for good morals. Its orders are unquestionable because they are sacred.  No violating it otherwise you’ll be punished by the community through curses.  The way in which the law structure is patterned is just through the beginning of and age set to age group because it is through age sets and age groups a society is built up and consisting clans and sublaws.

2.22.  Describe medical care within the society?  Type?  Structure?  Practitioners?

If you’re sick, you ought to say that you are ailing or suffering from this part of the body. You’ll be attended by anyone nearby you if your sickness can be established through the study of symptoms because many people know the common diseases and therefore they can handle them quickly by using the symptoms.  If symptoms persist, the medical practitioner will be consulted in order to deal with the symptoms and the diseases.  The practitioner is highly respected and paid well for his/her service.  He/she gives prescriptions, dosages of the drugs to cure the disease.  He/she also gives precaution on treatment of the disease and do warns superstitiously on abuse of the treatment.  He/she restricts on having sex, eating some kinds of foods and some kinds of drinks.

(What about those who go to the olioboni?)

3.  Religious Structure.

3.1.  Describe the predominate religious system or systems in society?

Circumcision practice was among the Maasai community and every member must perform it. The keeping and rearing of livestock was predominantly within Maasai society.  Sacrifice was one of the significant practices of worship and cleansing.

(How does a traditional Maasai worship God daily?)

3.2.  Does the religion express belief in a god or gods? Name & describe them.  If they have a pluralistic belief in gods, what are the relationships between the gods?

No expression of beliefs to a god in any act of religion although they consider the oloiboni and other animals, trees as sacred.  Sometimes they refer to some ilobonok as god, if they are revered greatly.  At other times, they will refer to a sliver of skin from  a white ceremonial cow as their god after a sacrificial ceremony of slaughtering it to bring rain.

3.3.  Chart and describe the people's spirit world (beings, places and status).

My father or mother are dead long time ago.  Whenever I pour something like a liquid, I bless it down for my dead parents to drink because I believe that they are living at the far deepness. They hold their living relative with blessing for prosperity and security also long life.  (What if they decide to curse you, what do you do then?  Do you worship or venerate them in any way?).

3.4.  Where does the power and authority reside in the religion/s?  What is the source of the authority and the power?

The powers and authority of religion reside on the sacred leaders and elders of the society who will create awareness to the community through generations and generations.  Its source and power is the practice of the religion.

3.5.  Do the people believe in miracles and magic?  Are they superstitious?

People believe in superstitions and magic, but a miracle is not identified in a Maasai religion because the beliefs and powers of God.  But in sometime, they confuse themselves on powers offered by magicians from witch doctors or oloiboni.  They say that it is God who empowers them to be supernatural in their service.  They are very superstitious placing rocks on forked branches to keep spirits from passing that way or to ward off bad luck.  They wear amulets around their waist or neck to ward off curses or bad luck.

3.6.  What part do deceased ancestors play in the religion?  Is there interaction between the living and the dead?

The dead ancestors only hears what you tell them, but the living relatives will not hear any feedback.

3.7.  What are the primary documents of the religion?

No documentation in the culture and tradition of Maasai because they don’t know how to read and write.  The invention of writings is foreign and very difficult to adapt into the culture and tradition.

3.8.  What are the common religious rites and events?

There is the rite of circumcision and rites of passages. Instituting an age set is a big religious event and swearing of an age set into elderhood.  The other big religious event is the unification of two age sets into and age group.

3.9.  What is their view about the Godhead and the position of God?

God is miraculous and wonderful in mightiness. God stands for the whole universe and He is the greatest in all powers whereby He is the Creator.

(Is this how the traditional Maasai see God?  Is God considered to be close to them and intimately related to daily affairs?)

3.10.  What are the characteristics of the God within their religion?

In the character of God, God is merciful and at the other hand aggressive.  It is He who saves therefore God is the Saviour in His character.  God saves when you are in trouble or persecuted.

(Is this how the traditional Maasai see God?  Is God considered to be close to them and intimately related to daily affairs?)

3.11.  What are the basic beliefs?  About God?  About good and evil?  About life?  About the source of life & creation?  About death?  About mankind?  About spirits?  About wrong, sin and guilt?  About eternity?  About salvation?  About life after death?  About sickness?  About securing converts or adherents?  About deviates from the religion?  About women?

God is the one who created the world. He is in control of everything  in the world.  God keeps on watching mankind and judges their good and bad deeds.  This makes everyone to obey and worship God in everything God has done to you.

(Is this how the traditional Maasai see God?  Is God considered to be close to them and intimately related to daily affairs?)

3.12.  How does an individual relate to the religion?  Is personal choice respected?

A person relates to the religion by practicing it and supports in terms of contribution of animals to be sacrificed or given to the witch doctor.  Supporting any religious delegation with hospitality if needed and a person choice not respected if it is not in the line of customary laws.  Some laws do allow to hold a person choice in religion as per the clan is doing, but not out of culture.

3.13.  How does religion involve society?  How does it relate to society?  How does society relate to religion?  What position does religion have within society?

The religion involves the society on the morals of the society which are practiced in a religious context.

3.14.  How does religion involve family?

The family in a community is the source of the society and therefore a religion governed by the society from the family basis.    

3.15.  How does religion view foreigners?

The religion of a society foreigner very different and excommunicates them only during religious exercise.  It does accommodates them ethically on the ethical laws provided.

3.16.  How does religion view other religions?

The Maasai religion views other religions not right to associate with them.  Their beliefs are not holistic and not moral if it doesn’t cope with their religious laws and views it as abusive if applied to the culture.

3.17.  Who are the religious leaders?  How are they chosen?  Under what conditions and by what rules?  How are religious leaders recognized and sanctioned?

The religious leaders are the:

a. chief (headman)

b. sacred leaders of all age sets who are under the chief

c. the leader of an age set who leads an age set to end up with Moranism (warriorship).  They are chosen at the beginning of every age set with a ritual and rite.  They are not chosen under any condition or rule.  Their choosing is automatic and are honored by every society member regardless of clan and age set.  If they are to be sanctioned, there must be a rite to be performed by member of the ageset which symbolizes the sanctioning of a sacred leader.  This case can only occur when a leader commits a deadly taboo to his age set and the penalty code says he should be sanctioned.

3.18.  Does the religion teach and do the believers use charms, amulets and enter into magical rites?

The Maasai religion doesn’t teach believers to use charms, but amulets are very common and enter into magical rites.

3.19.  What is the relationship between the seen world and the unseen world?

3.20.  Is/are the religion/s animistic or mixed with animism?

4.  Economic Structure.

4.1.  Is society's economic structure agrarian, industrial or mixed?

4.2.  What are the primary drivers of the economy?  Capitalism, socialism or others?  Describe the economy?

The economy driver is so individualistic although the community looks social economically, it is independent.  Everyone has his own property and can to give or give to any communal contributions.  If he is an offender, he will give what the offence law demands from him whether he likes it or not.

4.3.  What are the primary economic and vocational categories and divisions in the economy?

4.4.  What are the structural patterns within society?

4.5.  How are prices determined?  What are the major influences on prices?

Prices are determined by individuals on their products.  No price set when you take your products to modern markets.  But long time ago the society set the price for everything so that they may maintain good ethics in the community.  The prices set for every product was complex so that no one would not be able to survive.

4.6.  Who is in control of the flow of money?

The flow of money depends on the individual.

4.7.  Who is in control of the financial institutions?  Are their private financial processes as strong or influential as the public institutions?

There are no financial institutions in the Maasai society.

4.8.  Describe the traditional classes in the economy? Lower/Middle/Upper

The lower class depends on their relative and sometimes the society provided by the tradition.  Upper class are taken as a society pride and blessing from God to those who are not able to support themselves in their daily needs.

4.9.  Is a barter culture in existence?  Does it predominate?  Is it significant?

It is a barter culture totally so long as they don’t start with money.  They need to exchange animals to animals as they have set by that kind of trade laws.  It predominates a lot because you can get a big animal from a small one as well you can sell a small one for a big one as the tradition laws of that trade says.

4.10.  How does the economy relate to other countries?

The society economy doesn’t relate to other countries. It deals only internally with the community.

(What about other tribes and Tanzania?)

4.11.  How is social security provided?  Within family, social or governmental structure?

The social security is provided by the warriors (moran) within family and by community.

(What about the elderly?  Who cares for them?)

5.  National Political Structure.

5.1.  How does the national political structure differ from the local structure? 

This category varies so much in approach and sensitivity, that it is best for this to be constructed locally.

The Maasai culture doesn’t have politics in its tradition, but they are influenced by the national policies to practice politics. They do little of policies, but they base their policies on the traditional points of view.

SUPPLEMENT INSTRUMENT FOR CHRONOLOGICAL BIBLE STORYING

1. Literacy

1.1.  What is the literacy level of the population?

The society is lliterate by 75% and the literate is 25% whereby its level is low.

The Kenyan government figure is 88% according to the Kajiado District Development Plan of 1989-1993, pg. 34.

1.2.  How is literacy defined by the government?

The Kenya government defines literacy as knowing how to read and write. It is being done in a  formal way from the basic educational system to the higher level of education.

1.3.  What is the illiteracy level of the population?

1.4.  Functional illiteracy level of the population (percent of population that has not made it to or has not gone beyond the 6th grade level in school).

1.5.  Percent of the total population classified as illiterate and functionally illiterate combined.  Combine the percentage figures of 1.3. and 1.4.  This figure, or percentage figure, is the oral communication percent of the population.  A combined percentage of 50% or more indicates that the target population is clearly an oral communication culture.

2. Heritage Information.

2.1.  Do the people have a heritage that is passed on to successive generations?

Before land adjudication was introduced, there was not anything which was to be inherited rather than livestock. You can inherit animals like livestock, but some times it doesn’t go beyond generation and generation. To this modern society, land ownership is introduced and it can be inherited to many generations.

2.2.  Is the people’s heritage passed on by members of society to today’s generation of children?

It is people’s heritage passed to today's generation of children e.g., culture, tradition.

2.3.  What is the current status of the heritage information?

 The current information of the heritage is the culture, tradition and land. This land heritage is not individual, but social. When land ownership was socialized through locations, every clan knows where they occupied.  The way they knew all this was orally until the invention of reading and writing through formal type of education. The system brought the tradition of documentation and written records for the future generation to adapt and follow it. Therefore, land is another type of inheritance.

2.3.1.  Was it originally communicated?

It was originally communicated orally through meetings chaired by the elders/wazee in a baraza (elders’ meeting) with the guidance of a headman or chief.

2.3.2.  Has it been reduced to writing?

Because of the introduction of land adjudication, it was reduced by the government legal system of owning a piece of land.

2.3.3.  Has is been recorded in audio or video format?

It has not been recorded.

2.3.4.  Does the oral format also exist today?

The heritage has been done earlier orally and to this current age, in the Maasai community. First is done orally on family basis. Therefore it exists.

2.3.5.  In what language or languages does this information reside?

This information resides on Maasai language which is orally spoken. But by the present moment, the information resides on English.

2.3.6.  Is the heritage passed on privately or publicly?

Information is privately passed from the family basis. If the heritage is conflicted from the family basis, it will be publicized.

2.3.7.  Is the heritage passed on through ritualistic rites?

Heritage in a Maasai is automatic. It has been done through rituals in some families. Some don’t perform any ritual, therefore it is done by individual families within the community.

2.4.  How have the people traditionally passed on their heritage to the next generation?

The heritage passed by the age set to age groups and after all that, another age set and age group to carry and extent to the other as patterns of heritage provides.

2.5.  In what way is the heritage information passed on today?

The heritage information is passed by practice of the culture and tradition among every family in the society.

2.6.  Is there a fairy tale/folklore collection that is distinct from the heritage collection?

There are many untrue stories which gives the society members a clear understanding of their heritage.

2.7.  Do the people have totems?  No totems.

2.8.  Are characteristics and values assigned to certain animals for use in stories?

The story of the being who sensed the smell form eastern direction and he followed the way towards the east. When he was going to eastern direction, the way was divided into two ways, the north eastern and south eastern. The hyena tried to follows both ways, but found himself burst into two parts.

2.9.  Is there a primary, well known, and public heritage story of the people that has been produced in a textual format?

2.10.  Do the people use storytelling as an artform to tell their heritage stories?

2.11.  Do families perpetuate their heritage primarily by storytelling?

2.12.  Is there a special time when the heritage stories are told?

The stories are being told during the time of childhood. All heritage information is being taught for every male and female to bear in mind for the rest of their life.

2.13.  Is there a specified place where heritage stories are told?

The place for giving stories I in homestead at night after supper.

2.14.  Are the heritage stories taught in the school system?

2.15.  Are the heritage stories considered to be true, or are they understood to be mythological?

Heritage is fully taken as true because society is brought up by the heritage stories which bring up the tradition and culture.

3. Storytelling.

3.1.  Is storytelling common among the people?

The storytelling is common because that was the only way of educating children to know all ways of life as a community.

3.2.  Are there special words in the language for storytelling?  Are there words that set apart storytelling from any heritage rituals that are told?  Do they share the same terms?

3.3.  Are stories told among the people that are distinctly different from the heritage stories?

3.4.  Is there formal and informal storytelling?  Only informal.

3.5.  Who tell stories?  Do men and women tell stories to the same audience?  Do young and old tell stories before the same audience?

Storytelling is only done by mothers and grandmothers and also by children among themselves.

3.6.  Are individuals designated formally or known informally as storytellers?

3.7.  Is storytelling an artform among the people?  What are the primary artforms of the people?

Yes it is an artform for collecting information and passing information.

3.8.  What is/are the dominant artform/s?  The dominant artform is narrative and singing songs.

3.9.  Are the religion/s of the people perpetuated by storytelling or variations of that methodology?

Yes religion is perpetuated by storytelling e.g., Moranism and other religions.

3.10.  How carefully do storytellers stick to the story?  Are changes or variations acceptable?

The storytellers carefully give the whole story to picture the minds of the audience in order for them to grasp the information intended.

3.11.  Does the audience participate in the story and interact with the storyteller?

When they participate, they interact with the storyteller in form of questions.

3.12.  In cases when songs are used in conjunction with stories, is the vocabulary of the songs the same as the stories?

The vocabulary of the song must be contributing something related to the story to vanish the information intended in the mind of the listener.

3.13.  Are stories told competitively?

3.14.  What mnemonic conventions are used in telling the stories which aid memory and capture the hearer’s attention?

3.15.  How are stories introduced?  What are the introductory words and phrases that are used by storytellers?  Do some of the phrases denote that a story is mythological and other phrases that the story is true, an historical event?

The story is being introduced by a word of asking if the participant has an interest about the story.  The introduction is as follows: “once upon a time”.  There is no phrases in a storytelling.  A story must be not complicated to the learner.

3.16.  How is repetition achieved within the story?  Is there repetition, and how often does it occur within a given story?  No repetition.

3.17.  Are imitation and mimicry common parts of the storytelling style?

Yes, imitation is very common, e.g. when you give a story of a lion, the storyteller will keep on roaring like a lion.

3.18.  Describe the use of tone by the storyteller.

The use of tone sometimes goes deep to loud to give an impact of the nature of the story. The storyteller will use the voice by regulating it in order to show a clear picture of the story information.

3.19.  Are the introductions and conclusions of the stories very similar?  Are there stock phrases, or certain formulas that are common to the introductions and conclusions of many of the stories?

The introduction and the conclusion are known in storytelling, but in Maasai storytelling, there is much emphasis on introduction part of the story and similar and also common

formulas.

3.20.  How is the moral of the story revealed?  Are individuals left to themselves to discover the moral of each of the stories?  Are there language markers that identify the moral of the story?  Is the moral positioned in a certain place so as to be identified?

The moral of the story is revealed in the information taught in a story. It is up to an individual to discover by themselves the morals of the story which is marked by the language itself and put on its position for identification.

3.21.  How much exposition, explaining of the story, is done by the storyteller?

The storyteller does much of the exposition than the explanation unless the audience requests for an explanation.

3.22.  Is there some kind of discussion or application of the story that takes place after a story is told?

Sometimes the audience discusses about the story after because of their interest in the story. It is only children who will learn the story and apply. The adults have already applied.

Not every story is discussed or applied. It depends on the nature of the story.

3.23.  How is the change of time, or a shift in movement, or focus within the story conveyed to the audience?  Is this done verbally, by songs, or by other means?

The change is done by the changing of tone. This will alert the audience that the story is finished.