THE FIGHTING MASAI
In the year 1895 British East Africa, formerly governed under a Royal
Charter held by the Imperial British East Africa Company, came directly
under the management of the British Foreign Office. Thanks to the
assistance of the Masai, hostile tribes, such as the Wakamba, were
completely subdued; and on our side it may be said that protection was
given to the Masai against their treacherous and warlike neighbours the
Akikuyu.
Perhaps the term “warlike” should no longer be applied to Masai
tribesmen, for of late years they have been extremely peaceful.
Misfortunes, such as loss of cattle by a disease called “rinderpest,”
and outbreaks of small-pox, have made this very independent tribe rely
on the British Government for advice and protection.
There are certain points in which the Masai resemble Zulu tribes; for
instance, their fighting men must not marry, and there is a royal
family from which a chief is always selected. Some of the marriage
customs are very similar, and among both Zulus and Masai there are like
methods of painting warriors’ shields in order to distinguish companies
and larger units. Against all these points of comparison there is one
important fact, namely, difference in language, which very strongly
suggests that the Zulus and Masai are not related.
[Illustration: A MASAI VILLAGE.]
Though slaves are unknown amongst the Masai, there are a servile people
named the Dorobo who have to obey the commands of their masters; but,
on the other hand, they receive wages, and must not be bought or
sold. Very probably these people who serve the Masai were at one time
captured and enslaved; now they do not possess any cattle, and as a
rule the hardest work falls to their lot. An East African official,
Mr. Hinde, says of these Dorobo: “They do not build kraals after the
manner of the Masai, but inhabit clusters of badly built huts hidden
in the bush. In war they are not allowed to accompany the Masai, or to
carry shields and spears. Their weapons consist of a bow, poisoned
arrows, and a heavy wooden-handled spear, into one end of which a
massive arrow-head is placed. This arrow-head is thickly smeared with
poison. In attacking large game, such as the elephant, hippopotamus,
or rhinoceros, they drive the arrow-head into the animal, whereupon
the heavy shaft drops off and is recovered. A new tip is fitted, and
the native, following the wounded animal, shoots these poisoned arrows
until the creature drops from exhaustion.”
A Masai chief is a person of the greatest importance; and in former
days, when the tribe was about to undertake a great raid on some
neighbouring people, the king would throw himself into a trance, in
which he had visions of the proper way of conducting an attack or
defence. On other occasions his power of second sight caused him to
foretell possible calamities, and before waking he suggested some means
of avoiding them.
Very probably the king practised a good deal of deception, for it is
well known that he had a secret service system which informed him of
all that was taking place in his own and adjacent tribes. A son of the
royal house will always preserve his father’s skull, which, if kept
near, is supposed to bring good luck, and assist in ruling the country.
The bodies of ordinary people are just allowed to remain in the bush,
and a funeral, burial, and mound of stones are given only to members of
the royal household.
The Masai are a very bright, intelligent, and truthful people; very
rarely will a full-grown man commit a theft or tell a lie. Unlike many
African tribes, these people have no musical instruments, and their
few war songs and verses, sung while herding cattle, are very simple.
Generally speaking, African natives are musical, and flutes, drums,
also stringed instruments are very ingeniously made.
Of the personal appearance of the Masai, Mr. Hinde has said: “The adult
male Masai may be described as tall and spare, with sloping shoulders
and small hands and feet. The sloping shoulders are probably due to
a complete absence of manual labour, and to the constant carrying
of a shield or spear in either hand, each weapon weighing eight or
nine pounds. Compared with his height an average Masai could not be
considered broad-chested. A habit of stooping, and leaning the head
forward when running, gives a slovenly appearance, only slightly
detracted from by an abnormally long stride. They are extraordinarily
fleet of foot, and can run without tiring for incredible distances.
Their usual pace is a long loping trot.”
One very strange custom, looked upon as a means of ornamenting the
head, is boring the ear lobe and inserting an object of large size.
From time to time a larger object is put into the hole until the ear
becomes enormously distended; some natives have been seen with ear
ornaments consisting of one-pound jam tins inserted in holes made in
the ear lobes.
Some women prefer lip ornaments of great size, which must be in the way
at meal-times. The method of introducing these studs is similar to that
employed for fitting large ear ornaments. A small hole is filled with a
thin plug of wood, the size of which is gradually increased. As a rule
a lip stud projects into the wearer’s mouth, so that at least two teeth
have to be extracted.
Another favourite form of ornament consists of burning the skin with
acid juices derived from plants. Small circular scars arranged in
patterns are made, and in the Shilluk tribe of the Nile Valley men have
four rows of such scars right across their foreheads. Women of the
tribe have two or three rows. Sometimes these scars are made merely for
ornament, or the marks may serve to show the tribe to which a person
belongs.
[Illustration: MITTU WOMAN, SHOWING LIP ORNAMENT AND TATTOOING BY SCARS
(CICATRISATION).]
Kavirondo men and their near neighbours, the Masai, are great warriors.
In the latter tribe boys serve a long arduous military training, and
it is a proud day when they are allowed to assume the full war-time
outfit. The headdress helps to conceal people who are crouching among
long grass. The armlets are merely ornamental, but the patterns on
shields denote the military unit to which the warriors belong.
[Illustration: WARRIORS OF THE KAVIRONDO TRIBE IN FEATHER HEAD-DRESSES.]
Men, women, and children have clean shaven heads, and it is quite an
exception for a man to show any sign of beard or moustache. Although
washing the body and clothing is unpopular, the Masai have great pride
in their teeth, of which most perfect care is taken, and whiteness
and polish are obtained by frequent use of a small stick. Knocking out
the upper central teeth is a strange custom, said by the people to
have been invented at a time when there were many cases of lock-jaw,
and the patients had to be fed through the hole made by extracting
these teeth. In some instances small pieces of iron are worn, not as
ornaments, but as a protection against, or cure for disease.
All over the Sudan this wearing of charms is common, and amongst the
Mohammedan people the amulet is made by wrapping a verse from the Koran
in a roll of leather, generally worn round the neck or on the arm.
The ornaments worn by Masai women are most noticeable, and the
traveller is surprised that the wearers can move arms and legs
sufficiently well to perform their work. Iron wire is wound round the
arms from wrist to elbow and from elbow to shoulder; the legs also are
encased in iron wire from ankle to knee-joint. Metal collars, which
look most uncomfortable, are still made and worn by women and boys,
who seem willing to tolerate any amount of discomfort rather than go
without these ornaments.
Amongst the Masai there is a belief that ill luck will follow if a
man is called by his own name, and to avoid this he must always be
addressed by his father’s name. When asked for his name, a man will
always give that of his father; his own name must be inquired from some
third person. As among ourselves, names are handed down from father to
son, and among the Masai the father’s name is almost invariably given
to his favourite son. Superstitions with regard to names are carried
still further. Suppose several people in the tribe have the same name,
this must be changed immediately on the death of one of them, for it
would be considered very unlucky to retain the name of some one who
had just died.
[Illustration: LUMBWA WOMAN AND GIRL, SHOWING DRESS AND ORNAMENTS OF
WIRE, ETC.]
Boys of the Masai tribe have a very hard, unhappy life, for not only
are they made to do all the hard work of carrying, milking and driving
cattle, but in addition every one treats them harshly, and a boy
may not even speak to one of the warriors. Presently the conditions
improve, and elder boys go out shooting birds with bows and arrows,
in order to get feathers for making mantles worn by warriors. At
last the youth reaches an age at which he is allowed to live in the
warriors’ camp, where there is strict training, and no excess in eating
or drinking is allowed; smoking is quite forbidden. As the military
training advances, the boy becomes the proud possessor of a painted
shield, a spear, a sword, and a knobkerry or club. These weapons are
kept in perfect condition, the spear-heads being brightly polished with
a hard stone. Warriors are the only people allowed to grow their hair,
and each fighting man possesses a “pig-tail,” of which he is very proud.
Before making an attack, Masai warriors chew bark from the mimosa tree.
This acts in such a way as to make them nearly mad with ferocity,
and when all are very wild and excited the enemy is engaged. Enemies
face one another in long lines, and instead of a general attack being
launched single pairs are engaged in combats which are a fight to the
death. In case of success the victors will seize the best cattle,
which are driven off to the pastures of the conquerors. It is said
that the Masai never attack by night or by stealth; there is always
a preliminary warning and invitation to “come out and fight to the
death.”
Although young boys have such a hard time in order to make them fit to
be trained as fighters, girls of the tribe are very kindly treated.
Young maidens spend a great deal of time in singing, dancing, and
ornamenting themselves; as a rule, they do not even cook their own
food. Old women have all the hard menial work to perform, and very hard
is their lot in building huts, carrying loads when the tribe moves,
collecting firewood, and keeping night watches. Speaking of old women
in the Masai tribe, Mr. Hinde says: “As long as she can crawl about she
continues her labours, and death is the only release she can hope for.”
As a rule, a girl becomes the wife of a man who can afford to pay goats
and cattle for her; but the Masai parents consider their daughter’s
wishes, and she is not obliged to become the wife of a man she does not
like.
The life of Masai people depends almost entirely on herds of goats and
cattle, which are driven from pasture to pasture. Reptiles, birds,
insects, and fish are never eaten, grain only at times when meat is
scarce, while a favourite food is blood, drawn from the neck of a cow
by making a small puncture with an arrow, in such a way as to avoid
injuring the animal severely. Herds of cattle, though very docile and
easily managed by small children, are extremely fierce, and well able
to protect themselves against attacks made by hyenas or a leopard.
Though so bold in warfare the Masai are not a race of hunters, and big
game such as lions, leopards, or the rhinoceros are attacked only when
the skin is required, or the animal has become a menace to the herds
of cattle.
Among the industries, smelting of iron in clay furnaces is very
important, as it provides spear-heads and ornaments. These are not
moulded by allowing molten metal to run into vessels, but the ore,
heated in a charcoal fire, is beaten into shape while resting on a
block of hard wood or stone.
Clay taken from river beds serves as material for making earthenware
vessels, which are baked hard in a fire after being moulded by hand
into the shape required. Other vessels are made from gourds, while as a
pastime the carving of wooden pipes and ornamenting the bowls is very
common.
Hut building with such materials as hides, mud, and sticks, likewise
the construction of a stone and bush enclosure round the village,
take a great deal of time; so also does a complete removal to fresh
pastures. Hence in one way or another the time of these people is fully
occupied, and it is a great mistake to suppose that all black people
are lazy and indolent.
There must, of course, be time for leisure, which is sometimes spent in
telling the stories given in the next chapter.