The Red and Blue of the Masaai

On the day we arrived at the Ngorongoro crater, we first stopped atop one of the many mountains that forms the rim of the caldera. At its pinnacle, we met a man, standing with one leg up, leaning against a walking stick, standing out yet seamlessly blending in to his environment. His red and pink striped cloth draped easily over his shoulders, a blue beanie perched precariously on top of his bald head. His smile was wide, his handshake firm. Chief Ollie dorop, we learned, was the leader of the Masaai community in the surrounding mountains. He was here to speak to us about his culture, a culture so intent on preservation of their traditions, disinterested in the ways of the western world. I had met the Masaai earlier in Kenya, as their group is a Nilotic one, stemming originally from the land of the Nile: Ethiopia, even up to Egypt. Ollie dorop informed us that the word Cairo (originally pronounced kay i row) was a Masaai word meaning tent. At the moment, their numbers are fiercely concentrated in Kenya and Tanzania, and in Ngorongoro, there are about 87,000 coexisting amongst the lions and hyenas with herds of cattle and goats.

Their villages, called bomas, are easy to spot among the countryside. They are always circular in structure, expanding outward as family groups become larger and more complex. In Masaai culture, marriages are arranged, a process by which two families (specifically the mothers and fathers, both of whom have equal input) come together at a special meeting and propose a union of their children while they are still young. The families ensure that both kids grow up together and spend much of their childhood getting to know one another. Eventually, a marriage is proposed, and both the bride and groom are allowed to decline the proposal, though it is usually a shameful thing for the rejected family to have to bear.

Because the Masaai are polygamist, tradition dictates the ability for a family to grow to up to four wives per man. The Masaai say the first marriage is for the parents to decide, while the second is for the wife. The first bride must be asked if her husband should be allowed to take a second wife, and it is her choice to agree or disagree. If she agrees, she is also able to pick which family or which woman she would like her husband to marry. 

In many Western cultures, this notion may seem highly taboo, completely violating the idea of the sanctity of the relationship between one man and one woman. However, in many tribal cultures around the world, it is quite common for a woman to share the burden of raising children and taking care of the home with other close female family members, even other wives. In this situation, there are many positives to a Masaai woman agreeing to a second, third, even fourth wife, as the newer family member will always be subservient to the older wives. The third and fourth wives, however, are the husband’s choice, with all of the approvals of his preceding brides.

While males in Masaai society still undergo a trying circumcision ceremony when they are between fifteen and seventeen years old, female circumcision and female genital mutilation have been outlawed by Tanzanian law for twenty two years. It seems the tribe has taken to this new ruling quite quickly and without much resistance, though I wonder how much still persists in isolated pockets or in certain family groups. If it is anything like West Africa, one can expect the practice to continue on, though it was not explained whether or not there was a strong cultural or mythological tie to female circumcision.

Males, after their circumcision, are inducted into their society as warriors. In the days before conservation of lions by the Tanzanian government, men would be required to kill a lion to prove their ability to protect both their livestock and family in this demanding environment. Because of the abundance of predators in their native land, Masaai men carry two weapons with them at all times. The first is a long spear, devastatingly sharp and wide at one end, and filed to a piercing point at the other. The point is used to stick into the ground whenever the Masaai stop to rest or while they stand, leaning up against their trusted spear. The second weapon is a thick machete attached to their hip, used often as a throwing knife to wound lion or leopard from a distance. The Masaai have often suffered the stereotype that they are quite aggressive due to their always being seen with their weapons on hand (and past extensive tribal warfare), but these blades are strictly used for protection in the modern age. The Masaai have a saying about the great predators of the Ngorongoro area, assuring us that the first day they come and kill your cow, the second day they will come and kill you. 

In the past, the Masaai used to wear animal skins exclusively. It is said that one day, they met another tribe wearing animal skins, and being the fiercest warriors in their land, they easily killed them. When they came closer, they realized they had mistakenly killed their own brothers, and cried at their stupidity. From then on, they took the rich red soil of East Africa and used it to dye their animal skins, making sure they would always be able to see other Masaai from a great distance. As these areas gained more and more exposure to Western culture, the Masaai remained protective of their great traditions, vehemently proud of their heritage, and untrusting of the white ways that other tribes adopted so quickly. One of their few concessions was that they decided to integrate the use of textiles, but ensured that their clothing remained the vibrant red that had defined their culture for eons.

Of course, the proceeding story only applies to men. Masaai women, in great contrast to their warrior counterparts, wear a rich, royal blue. The Masaai are monotheistic, believing that there is just one God who dictates the cycles of the natural world. Their God, called Mama, stays in the sky, ever watching over her kingdom and her children on earth.

That’s right, their God is a woman. After all, Ollie dorop explained, no one can have life without a mother, and women on earth are seen as second only to God. It is for this reason they emulate Mama, wearing the beautiful sky blue of her realm. Men are only invited to wear her beautiful blue color when they make a trek up the highest mountain they can reach, striving to get as close to Mama as they can so that their prayers from the peak can be heard.

In closing, he made some incredibly interesting remarks on pregnancy and midwifery in Masaai village life, which I will let Mandy explain further. 

- Rh