The Maasai People
The Maasai people belief system is known as monotheistic therefore believes in the deity known as Engai and a dual nature commonly referred to as vengeful and benevolent. Engai sometimes referred to as Enkai is believed in their community to manifest himself through colours in addition to the feelings community members’ experience. The various types of colours such as black and dark blue have hidden meaning. Black and dark blue means that God is well disposed towards men whereas the red colour indicates that God is irritated with the various types of actions the community members are practising (Stephanou, Elleni, et al, 50). “. The Enkai in Maasai community has two manifestations. Primarily, the Enkai-Narok or commonly the black God denotes good and beloved statements which are manifested in the prosperity of the community. The Enkai Narok God is found in rain and thunder. Enkai-na-Nyokie or the Red God sometimes termed as vengeful indicates signs of famine and hunger and it is found in lightning and illustrated during the dry season. The Maasai God referred at times as Ngai is neither male or female and that He is the creator of everything
The most important wealth in Maasai, cattle, are at times rendered as a sacrifice to the Enkai as a sign of thanksgiving and that via different legends which tend to explain the issues happening in Maasai affirms to the signs based in colours initiated by the Creator of the earth who is Enkai. According to the legends, Enkai is believed to have stayed in the planet together with human beings and that at one given point he decided to rise to the sky and brought all vtogether with him. The story follows different.
Works Cited
Kipuri, Naomi. “Human rights violation and indigenous peoples of Africa: The case of the Maasai people.” Indigenous Peoples’ Wisdom and Power. Routledge, 2017. 246-256.
Quinlan, Robert J., et al. “Searching for symbolic value of cattle: tropical livestock units, market price, and cultural value of Maasai livestock.” Ethnobiology Letters 7.1 (2016): 76-86.
Stephanou, Elleni, et al. “The Warrior’s Dilemma: Can Maasai Culture Persist in a Changing World?.” Consilience: The Journal of Sustainable Development Thirteen (2020):23-90.