The Maasai believe in one god, Ngai, who is androgynous. However, this god takes on two forms: Ngai Narok who is black and is associated with the North and goodness and benevolence, and Ngai Nanyokie, who is red and angry, and is associated with the South and vengeance. Ngai Narok also presides over rain, fertility, sun, and love matters. Ngai's Earthly home is "Ol Doinyo Lengai" which means the 'Mountain of God' and is located in
northern Tanzania. Ngai also created the forest, mountains,
lowlands, and highlands. When there is too much, too little, or just enough rain, when there is thunder, or drought or lightening Ngai is rewarding or punishing the Maasai.
According to Maasai mythology, in the beginning, the sky and were one in the same. One day they split, and Ngai went up with the sky. The god took the cattle with him, but since they couldn't survive, he made a rope out of fig tree roots and sent the cattle down to Earth to the Maasai people in a never-ending stream. (The fig tree is still very sacred to this day for the Maasai, and is still believed to be how the Maasai can connect with the divine). This connections was cut off one day by a hunter from a neighboring people, and the flow of cattle and the permanent connection between sky and Earth was broken.
As one might suspect, cattle hold an immense amount of spiritual significance for the Maasai, and drinking their milk and eating their meat is a religious experience enjoyed at major life events, like marriages, funerals, and initiations. Cattle are highly respected in Maasai society, and since grass is their sustenance, grass is also highly important; if one holds grass in his fist, it is a message for peace, and grass is also used for blessing ceremonies.
The religious leaders of the community are the Laiboni: Laiboni are liaisons between humans and the divine, and are human themselves. They are responsible for teaching, healing, and presiding over religious ceremonies, including sacrifice. They are responsible for communicating the intentions of through divination, and 'seeing' the future. There are thought to be three sub-types of Laiboni (though some may practice all types), which are those who heal or address illness and domestic disputes, those who are concerned with war, rain and other natural matters, and those concerned with the community at large. They heal physical ailments through their vast knowledge of herbs. One can only become a Laibon through ancestral inheritance. There is typically one Laibon per clan.
The Maasai also hold that once you are born a spirit is assigned to you to protect from evil while you are on earth. The Maasai believe that your destiny after death is determined by your behavior on Earth. If you are benevolent and helpful within your community, your spirit will take your soul to a beautiful place where there is plenty of grass and cattle. If you live a vengeful existence or live a disruptive life, however, you will go to a land in perpetual drought with no cattle.
Regarding death, the Maasai people hold that Ngai created the first warrior, Le-eyo, and Ngai taught him a spell to chant over the bodies of dead children that would allow the to come back to life and become immortal. According to the fable, however, Le-eyo did not use his power until his own son was destined for death. Because he had lived his whole life and had never used his power selflessly, it was too late, and because of Le-eyo's selfishness, mankind is destined for death.
Sources:
Mazama, Ama. The Encyclopedia of African Religion. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, 2009.
http://www.gmu.ac.ir/download/booklibrary/e-
library/Encyclopedia%20of%20African%20Religion.pdf
Finke, Jens. "Maasai - Religion and Beliefs." BlueGecko.org. 2000-2003.
11/15/2016. http://www.bluegecko.org/kenya/tribes/maasai/beliefs.htm.
As an American learning about the religion of the Maasai provided me with the opportunity to relate to what is normal in another culture in some ways, while also allowing me to feel that what I was learning about was an 'other' outside of my experience. Learning about the Maasai religion confronted my perception of the all-encompassing nature of religion for the spirituality devout, and aligned with my understanding of religion as a way for humans to make sense of life, death, existence, and things in between.
ReplyDeleteCompared to the Maasai, major American religions are more ritualistic than the Maasai in that they meet once weekly to discuss religious texts and to worship. The Laibon do advise the clan elders, but their connection to this spirituality is primarily present at major life events instead. Alternatively, the practice of Maasai religion is more action oriented than most major American religions, as the practice of sacrifice and consumption of blessed sacred cattle, and the practice of herbal medicine is oriented around the physical – what can be seen, while many Americans feel that their connection is deeply internal and personal.
In some ways, as a member of the American culture, I have an advantage because I have been exposed to major ‘normal’ ways of understanding of religion and spirituality, and because I have can have regular exposure to other ‘normal’ ways of understanding religion and spirituality. At the same time, I do not feel that my understanding is threatened in any way because I have the advantage of being exposed to these major religions. The Maasai would not necessarily have that advantage if they were to step outside of their community.
I did not speak of gender relations in my briefing of Massai religion, but I did read some text that I did not cite which spoke of the inequality between men and women perpetuated by the Laibon and the elders in Maasai culture. In attempting to explain why more women convert to Christianity from missionary efforts than men, some have cited an old fable in the Maasai culture of a group of women demanding to be responsible for their own finances and have equal say to their husbands who traveled to the meet with the Laibon and community leaders. The fable goes that the women stop to rest and send someone forward to request that the Laibon be notified that the group of women is due to arrive so the Laibon would have time to prepare drinks for them. The Laibon sent the drinks back, poisoned, and too scared to move forward, the women forgot about equality. In short, I have an advantage to live in a society and where most religious and political leader view women as equals among men.
Awesome! Thank you for always doing what I requested during the semester Ivy. Was a pleasure to have you in class. Congrats on your graduation and good luck in the world out there :-)
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