On the plains of Kenya and Tanzania live a collection of Eastern Nilotic tribes who all speak the Maa language and share related customs as well as beliefs. The most famous of this grouping are the pastoral semi-nomadic Maasai who are recognized around the world for their distinctive way of life.
Aside from the Maasai there exist groups such as: the Samburu who are largely similar to the Maasai but tend to herd more goats rather than cattle, the Ilchamus who mostly make their living by fishing Lake Baringo, and the dwindling Dorobo hunter-gatherers who have adopted the Maa language. The Maasai proper have a few subgroups such as the Ilkunono blacksmiths who are deeply feared and discriminated against for their alleged magic powers. Other Maasai groups include the agricultural Arusha, Parakuyu, and Ilkurman.
The Maa peoples were part of the great migration of Nilotic peoples which began in the late Middle Ages owning to pressure from Nubian migrants displaced themselves by Arab migrants further north. The ancestors of the Maa were at the vanguard of this movement into what are now Kenya and Tanzania, pushed further south by natural factors and pressure from the ancestors of peoples like the Turkana. Along the way they absorbed Cushitic peoples and many of their customs such as circumcision and age-set social organization.
Around 1700 was the dawn of the Maasai conquests. The newly ascendant Oromo people of the Horn of Africa and part of what is now Kenya pushed both Plains Nilotic peoples like the Maasai and highland Nilotic people like the Kalenjin into new territories. Throughout the 18th century the Maasai and related peoples stormed across the Great Rift Valley, leaving political and social upheaval in their wake. Highland Bantu peoples such as the Kikuyu entrenched their villages up higher in the mountains to fight off Maasai raiders more easily. By the mid-19th century the Maasai dominated an area of influence as far south as central Tanzania and as far east as Swahililand, even launching bold assaults against Mombasa on campaign against the Oromo, Akamba, and Mijikenda.
Notably, the Maasai were vehemently opposed to slavery although they did extract tribute in other goods from Arab and Swahili trade caravans crossing Eastern Africa. In spite of this age of martial and cultural prominence, the Maasai and their kindred witnessed a period of rapid decline with the late 19th century “Emutai” meaning “wipeout”. The Emutai was a disastrous confluence of droughts, locust swarms, intertribal warfare over increasingly scarce resources, smallpox, and worst of all: the Rinderpest epidemic. Infected cattle from India were sold in East Africa and rapidly proceeded to infect native herds. Over 90% of Maasai cattle died, and with their lifeline reduced to virtually nothing 2/3rds of the Maasai people perished in the calamity.
The plains of Maasai country were gradually reclaimed by nature as the warrior-herdsmen could no longer keep the population of wild animals in check for the sake of their cattle. The reduced grazing allowed plant life such as trees and shrubs to recover. The famous national parks of the Serengeti, Maasai Mara, and Ngorongoro Crater were indirect products of the Emutai. In the wake of these events, the Maasai were evicted from their ancestral lands by British colonists to establish British-owned farms and ranches and wild game reserves. This practice has sadly continued into contemporary times with the Kenyan government marginalizing the Maasai and Samburu in order to sustain the tourist industry.
For the most part, the Maa have been successful in preserving not only their traditional beliefs but also their way of life despite the efforts of Christian and Muslim missionaries. The supreme being in Maa tradition is known as Engai. This name for God is shared with many other ethnicities like the Kikuyu, Akamba, and Meru. An aloof divinity, Engai is said to primarily intercede in the world through a demiurge known as Neiterkob.
Maa mythology provides examples of the following tropes:
- Heaven Above: Engai is most closely associated with rain, stars, clouds, the sun, and other heavenly phenomena.
- Lunacy: Olapa is the moon and wife of Engai.
- Our Demons Are Different: Nenaunir is a demon described as having the head of a predatory animal, clawed feet, and a body like stone. He calls out to solo travelers in the bush and lures them into his clutches.
- Our Dragons Are Different: An Endiamassi is a sort of lion-like “dragon” in Western terms.
- Our Ogres Are Hungrier: Nkukuuni or Ng’wesi are functionally ogres who take various appearances. But regardless of these, they share traits of cruelty and man-eating.
- Semi-Divine: Neiterkob can best be described as a demigod or divine servant of Engai.
- Star Power: Kileken is the Morningstar. He once visited earth in the shape of a young boy with extraordinary magical powers.
