The Maasai people are very attached to their domestic animals. They are especially fond of cattle, which are a source of milk, blood and meat, which are the major food for this tribe of nomadic pastoralists. Apart from battling lions for cattle, they traditionally used to stage periodic raids to steal domestic animals from neighboring tribes. According to books on African tribal mythology, the attachment comes because the Maasai believe that all the cattle in the land belong to them.

Just how did this belief come about? The story is that when the Maasai were created by Engai (the name of the Maasai God), he bequeathed them cattle. When the first Maasai people walked from the sky and down to earth, it was on a carpet made from raw cow hide and they were herding a group of cattle in front of them. That gave them the equivocal right over all cattle in the land.

The traditional Maasai believes and trusts Engai for all his or her needs. Whenever something is amiss, the Maasai will know that Engai must be offended by sin committed in the community. That is why at such times, they turn towards Engai with sacrifices in order to supplicate him and seek favor once more.

The Rain Sacrifice

When rain fails continuously and the Maasai and their animals face starvation and imminent death, the elders will organize a ceremony at Engai’s sacred tree. During the day of the sacrifice, a group of old men and women will lead a black cow or sheep round and round the tree while singing traditional songs of worship. It is important that the sacrificial animal be pitch black without blemish from any other color. It is also important that none of the participants wear red. According to Isaiah Ole Kutatoi my storyteller, the people will walk in circles around the sacred tree until the animal falls down and dies mysteriously! It is then slaughtered and shared between the now separate groups of men and women for roasting. A few rules are also observed at this point. The first one is that no bone of the animal should be broken during the whole ceremony. The other one is that all the meat should be eaten at the sacrificial ground and none should be taken away. When all the meat is eaten, the bones are collected and piled under the sacred tree.

Soon after the animal is skinned during the slaughtering stage, the hide is cut into long thin strips. Each of the leather strips has a hole made at one end. The participants are each given a strip that they have to wear for 4 straight days. How? The middle finger of the right hand is put through the hole on the leather strip and the dangling end is tied around the wrist. During the 4 days that one wears the leather thong, he or she is not supposed to engage in any activities that might jeopardize the sanctity of the sacrifice. These activities include fighting, swearing and sexual intercourse. On the fourth day, the strip is removed and placed under the bed. If the sacrifice is successful, Engai blesses the Maasai with rain.

Sacrifice For Barrenness

Another sacrifice involves asking for Engai to bless barren women with children. This sacrifice usually gathers a few selected barren women from the Maasai community who are accompanied by elders to a mountain far away. This mountain is referred to as ‘The house of Engai’. The group walks to the bottom of the mountain with a black sheep and traditional containers filled with milk, honey, grains and other foodstuffs. On reaching the base, the group starts to sing while moving slowly up the mountain. They walk higher and higher through the bushes, until they come to a clearing at the top. They then settle at that spot and tether the sheep to a tree and line the food containers next to it. From that moment onwards, they sing and sing until Engai appears to them. It might take days of alternate singing and sleeping, without any food. In that time, they might hear mysterious voices of men, women and children accompanied by sounds of cows, sheep and other domestic animals coming from all around the mountain. That is usually a good sign that encourages them to continue singing. Then one night, a bright light suddenly appears in front of the group. From this light, the sound of Engai comes forth and gives instructions on what should be done before disappearing just as mysteriously as it had appeared. When that happens, the group always finds that the black sheep and the food inside the traditional containers have vanished as well. Again, this is a good sign that indicates that Engai had accepted their sacrifice.

When the exhausted but happy group comes from ‘the house of Engai’, they head straight to a designated household where they are nourished. Engai’s instructions are then passed on to the rest of the community. The information might for example, involve the making of a special concoction that specific people or domestic animals have to take. According to Isaiah, it is unusual for a barren woman not to conceive on coming back from a successful sacrifice to Engai.

Maasai Sacrifices Today

Isaiah informed me that sacrifices have become ineffective in his home area near Lake Magadi. Since the 1990s, most of the rain sacrifices and trips to the mountain have not been fruitful. He attributed it to too much evil in the community. This evil has made Engai turn his face away from his people. He however informed me that the sacrifices still work as one goes deeper into Maasai territory. These are the areas where the Maasai cultural practices are still intact and are untainted by outside influence.