TRADITIONAL CHILD BEARING PRACTICES,BIRTH AND NAMING CEREMONIES FOR

THE MAASAI
1
Traditional african child rearing practices are diverse in nature according to the different
customs and practices across Africa, i'll be specifically focusing to traditional child rearing
practices , naming, birth and initiation ceremonies into adulthood in kenyan context, many of
these practices bear some resemblance in terms of cultural beliefs because one or another
these community believed in pre established ways and customs that were followed to the latter
and any deviation from the norm was considered to bring curses to the individual and the
community as a whole

The maasai are a nilotic group located in kenya, they have traditional birth assistants who offer
massages to expectant mothers and they believe that the massage helps the baby and the
mother to stretch their muscles which will eventually help the mother have a comfortable
delivery, the midwives who were specifically grandmothers of the expectant mothers uses
traditional herbs and oils to specifically message the expectants mother lower abdomen and
lower chest near the diaphragm

After birth the mother rest while feeding on milk mixed with traditional herbs which they really
believed in as a community as medicinal to help relaxing the mother, the new born baby was
only taken outside into the sun after six months and the grandmother whos is the midwife would
massage the joints of the baby with herbs and oils which they believed helps to gently stretch
the babies muscles from its folded form and also helps to shape the child's bones, Winning
was done with both goat and cows milk as well as fat extracted from the milk, when the baby
was old enough to take solid food the maasai fed them with kidneys and liver which help the
child to develop properly

The maasai trained their children from a young age as from four years girls and boys were
taught to be responsibility by training them in herding practices, checking out warts and bugs,
basic milking and feeding the lambs which eventually graduate to taking care of mature cattle,
for the boys this training is done by morans or warriors while for the girls it's done by mothers
and grandmothersThe young girls would be taught house chores, how to fetch water from the
river,fetching firewood and cooking they are also shown how to herd lambs as they play so to do
multiple tasks as they grow up

In maasai culture immediately a child is born belongs to an ageset, these children must obey
the regulations controlling the “ ageset” in order to control vices of pride, jealousy and
selfishness,theses rules are controlled by taboos with one of them being that a daughter must
not be present while her father is eating.

1
https://bettercarenetwork.org/sites/default/files/attachments/reflections_on_africas_indigenous_knowledg
e_on_parenting-_indigenous_parenting_practices_of_different_communities_in_africa_-_2014_.pdf
Some of the traditions include young men must bow their heads as they great the elderly inorder
for the elderly to place their hand on them as a sign of great respect to the seniors,young girls
are also taught not to enter a house where elders are inside but rather wait til the edders leave
for them to enter the house and also never to share a seat with their fathers.

2
The maasai too like the Luos do not name their children immediately after birth but but a
ceremony for naming the child happens between four to six months of birth and at time the child
can remain nameless for three years but rather meantime before the ceremony the child and the
mother seclude themselves from the clan and takes on a temporary name called Embolet, some
common names include Enkoshoke-ai meaning my womb

The naming ceremony called Enkipukonoto Eaji which means coming out of seclusion in
Maa,This ceremony main detail include and elderly woman shaving both the mother and the
child, this ritual consists more than just razor to scalp bt also a healthy cows hide, elders stool
and guard of watery milk, the father names the child after he has consulted his age group and
the clan elders, this consultation is important in order not to give the child the name that
belonged to a former thief, murderer or social misfit , thus in Maa culture the name given to a
child must not be seen to bring bad luck, the name must reflect favour and blessing and this
start is very important in the maa culture as they also share traditional food and honey beer in
the ceremony

3
many of the maasai rituals symbolize a passage of phase men go through three phases that is
childhood, adulthood and warrior while women only go through two phases that is from
childhood to adulthood and as such the first ritual is called Enkipaata a ceremony which
happens before circumcision,where a delegation of boys aged between 14 to 16 years must go
around their land announcing their next ageset accompanied with their elders for guidance after
which a few days to the circumcision they are tasked to gather cattle for seven days in a row
and if they manage to pass the trial they will be circumcised on the eight day

Before the circumcision ceremony the boys have to sleep outside the village in the savannah
and when coming back they they have to wear wide robes and dance all day as they prepare for
the circumcision ceremony called Emuratta, before the ceremony the boys have to bath in cold
shower and cut their hair to purify themselves and a s custom before very stage both men and
women had to shave their heads as a sign of new beginnings.Circumcision is carried just before
dawn by qualified and experienced elders , after which they receive gifts of head of cattle from
friends and family to become moran warriors.

Many of the pregnant maasai women had a very strict diet that they were supposed to follow
coming from a traditional systems of predominantly eating meat and milk form their cattles, they
were not allowed to take sheep meat,milk of sick cows, certain herbs, reduced sugar intakes
and many at times they could only take two meals a day to easen the weight of the baby for
comfortable delivery of the infant

2
https://paukwa.or.ke/maasai-naming-ceremony/
3
https://www.exploring-africa.com/en/kenya/maasai-people/maasai-rituals-and-cerimonies
4

4
https://hrmars.com/papers_submitted/4446/the-parenting-environment-in-the-contemporary-agikuyu-com
munity-of-kenya.pdf
5

6
Kalenjin initiation rites (Tuumwek)
there are several main events in the life of a kalenjin,which starts from birth and naming
ceremony in one becomes the member of the family, the second being puberty as one shifts
from child to adulthood, third one being marriage which makes legitimate the creation of ones
own family

The second main event in the kalenjins known as keeba tuum which is the coming of age of the
initiation period was considered to be the most important event in the life of the kalenjin which
began for both girls and boys and extended over a period of months, initiation included
circumcision and into secret rituals of the tribe and the teaching of tribal customs
They spent months in initiation where they were taught adulthood in seclusion known as
kaayat-aap taarusyeek, they learnt varied things which would later help them in life they ranged
between 12 to 18 years of age girls could spend three to twelve months moer in seclusion and
the blessings of the father was needed for a child to be considered an initiate

Rites for male and female were almost identical though were not opened for the othr gender to
know what hapened to their counterparts,for boys prior to the operation they built a meenyjeet,
which is temporary house to live in seclecsion and is was far awya fromother houses, the
parents helped to supply the materials, the motiryoot ( ceremonial parent who was the teacher)
of the camp placed tolooita( kingsport). Separate doors were made for use by the the teacher
and the boys

A ceremony called Rootyineet begun before the day for going into seclusion where early in the
morning the candidates gathered branches form the toothbrush plat which was compulsory to
gather a specific number, each candidate would tie the branches aaginst the mabwita which
was considered an act of worship. The mabwiita was a help in talking to Asiis, their creator they
believed it would result in life and health

5
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalenjin_Naming_System
6
https://www.the-star.co.ke/sasa/2016-02-23-understanding-kalenjin-initiation-rites/
7
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214139122000014
8

8
https://kenyacradle.com/kamba-tribe/