subject: Get to Know Some Weird Things about the Kenyan Masaai [print this page] Get to Know Some Weird Things about the Kenyan Masaai
The Masaai people have the strongest and most famous culture in the whole country. Visitors come to the country to experience life as one of the people locally. Some even marry and start families with these Masaai Morans. They are nomadic pastoralists. They believe that there God made cattle to fall from the sky and gave them the custody of all the cattle in the world. They therefore steal them from other communities as they believe that they are the real owners. They are monotheistic and believe that there God lives on Mount Ol Donyo Lengai found in Serengeti Tanzania. This is also known as the mountain of God.
There cultural believes do not allow them to name babies before they are three months old. This is because they think that the baby might not survive for this long. In fact the baby is not recognised or accepted as a part of the society until he reaches this age. Masaai people do not bury the dead. They throw them away to be eaten by scavengers. They say that the dead will pollute the soil if buried. Burial was a reserve for dignitaries such as chiefs.
An initiation ceremony was performed once a boy reached the age of 13. This was done to boys who were at least this age and were not circumcised in the last initiation that is normally after fifteen years. It is normally a very crude and painful operation with no anesthesia. The boy is cut using a sharp knife. They are lined down naked and one of the clan's men comes along with a sharp knife cutting the foreskins. The boy is not supposed to even wince in pain. A demonstration of pain can bring shame to the family. Cow's hide is used as a makeshift bandage.
