The
Maasai are involved in several different types of marriage. Some families have
pre-arranged marriages set from an early age usually when the girl is still a
baby. Others have the man decide who he wants to marry. The Maasai practice
both monogamy and polygamy, more specifically polygyny where a man has two or
more wives, although, polygyny is now only practiced among older men as their
culture has continued to change causing some traditions to be discontinued. It
is the man’s choice whether or not to marry more than one woman. Depending on
the family, there are different reasons to marry. The man needs a wife to cook,
clean, collect firewood, etc. The wife is to be faithful to her husband and
take care of him. A Maasai man can marry a woman outside of the tribe, but a Maasai
woman may only marry a Maasai man. Also, a woman is only allowed to marry once.
To be even
considered for marriage a woman must be circumcised. The circumcision
symbolizes that she is ready for marriage and she has become a woman. Today,
more and more Maasai women argue against this practice of Female Genital
Mutilation (FGM). In the Maasai culture, the common age for a girl to marry is
15 years old. They practice what is called bridewealth also known as brideprice
where the husband brings gifts to the wife’s family. Honey to the women in the
future wife’s house, honey to be fermented into beer for the men in her family
and cattle once the agreement is made. The older people in the family decide
whether or not the woman will be married over in the first place. If the
proposal is agreed to, there is an animal sacrifice made at dawn for the father
of the bride and the fat is used to bless the bride. Once the bride reaches the
groom’s home she’s given a baby to carry into her new home, milk, and a cow. The
marriage ritual is done within 3 days after the bride moves in with the groom.
Maasai Religion and Beliefs
The
Maasai have polytheistic beliefs mainly based on two Gods. A red God and a black
God. The red God is the God of life and death, the angry God. The black God is
the good, benevolent, and munificent God. For this reason, black in the Maasai
culture is considered a lucky color. Their word for God is Enkai. They do not
worship their ancestors and do not necessarily believe in an afterlife, but
some actions may be seen as if they do. The Maasai people do not hold funerals
and it is looked down on if someone dies in a home. Generally, they would
remove the person from their home and into the wilderness close to their death.
Also, once a member of their tribe has died, their name is no longer spoken.
Cattle
is seen as a positive symbol for the Maasai, as a gift from God to man. In many
rituals, such as birth, circumcisions, marriage, and age-set ceremonies
livestock is killed and eaten. This is due to the fact that eating the meat or
drinking the milk is a form of uniting with the God. Their rituals are not all
held in one place, but specific places are used for certain rituals.
Circumcisions in one place, age-set ceremonies in another, etc.
Today,
many of their traditions have changed.
More and more Maasai people are converting to Christianity. Also, many
of them are becoming better educated and many churches are providing paid,
sponsored opportunities to go abroad.
References:
Finke, Jens
2003 Maasai – Clans and Families. Electronic
Document, http://www.bluegecko.org/kenya/tribes/maasai/family.htm, accessed
March 24, 2014.
Masai Kenya
N.d. Masai Ritual & Beliefs. Electronic
document, http://www.masaikenya.org/MAASAI_RITUALS.pdf, accessed April 5, 2014.
Philosophy, Theology, And Religion
N.d. Maasai
Religion. Electronic document, http://www.philtar.ac.uk/encyclopedia/sub/maasai.html,
accessed April 5, 2014.
SouthWorld
2013 The Maasai Marriage. Electronic Document,
http://www.southworld.net/newtest/index.php/component/k2/item/463, accessed March 24, 2014.
In my opinion, the Maasai way for marriage is actually very respectful which actually I didn’t expect. The man actually allows her family to choose instead of just marrying her on his own terms. I not very fond however, how the woman does not have much say in who she marries. It is the elderlies’ decision to make. Marriage is viewed differently by people, but all of that is based on their cultural upbringing or in other words enculturation. I was raised with ethnocentric views like most people, but I was also told not to judge someone by what they believe in and marriage is one of those things. Marriage for the Maasai is way different then it is here. Women here have a say in who they will marry and the man and woman both agree to marry usually because of love.
ReplyDeleteI find that the Maasai have more or less stopped polygamistic ways because of the way that their world is changing. This can be both bad and good. Bad in the sense that that was once part of their traditions, but good because it avoids the conflict between multiple wives. It also reduces the risks of spreading diseases. I learned many things when studying the Maasai and their ways of marriage and in a way it helped me more understand the reason behind polygamy and bridewealth. I had heard of bridewealth before, but did not know there was an actual term for it and a logical reason behind it. I had thought it was that the man was buying the woman to marry her instead of compensation for the loss of her in her family. Like I mentioned before the Maasai way of marriage is very respectful.
Although the Maasai's belief system does not fit of the main religions, their religion and beliefs are important to them. They have Gods, symbols, and rituals they perform, not only for themselves,but to unite with their God. Their way of life, however, I find odd. They do not mention a member's name who has passed away or even let anyone die in their own home. They even remove them from their home when they're close to dying. With modernization increasing, their way of life is changing and today they even bring dying members of their group to hospitals to die there. Most people want to die in the comfort of their own home and they do not have that privilege.
ReplyDeleteSince they are polytheistic it is possible for them to have more than the two main Gods mentioned in the post and maybe even a number of other symbols not listed. The Maasai, however, are used to this way of life. They were brought up this way and this is what they believe in. These traditions are becoming less and less common and taking a toll with the more modernizing world today. The rites of passage are also changing with the increasing number of their people becoming educated, some even as high as PhDs. I feel like one day sooner then later, their belief system just might not exist anymore since the number of people still participating continue to dwindle with conversions and educational opportunities.
Thank you Carolina!
ReplyDelete