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Die Masai
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Historical SummaryContrary to this, the warrior class of the African Masai, comprising males between the ages of about eighteen and twenty-six, is the dominant age level, and its members retire from active life at about the age when the Australian male is beginning to enter the influential class. The Masai live largely by cattle raiding among neighboring tribes, and beginning with initiation, the life of the boy is directed toward entering the warrior class:
Up to the time of circumcision the male child is designated as a boy (ol aijoni, el aijok); during the preparation for circumcision and until the wound is healed he is called ol siboli. . . . After that and over a period of about two years he is introduced to the life of a warrior. During this time he is termed ol barnoti. The purpose of these apprentice years is to let thoughtlessness and youthful exuberance have their fling. Once this period is over he is respected as full-fledged warrior and called ol morani. . . . The "best years" of the Masai warrior, until he leaves the
warrior group at the age of twenty-eight to thirty, are spent in this pursuit. Then he marries and remains an ol moruo to the end of his life.1
Many primitive groups have men’s societies or clubs and in his study of these Schurtz2 has argued that these groupings are always based on age levels and that other features, such as the payment of an entrance fee, distinguished military record, sharing a supernatural experience, are later innovations introduced upon an age-level basis.3 This claim is, in fact, an example of the theory of unilineal evolution—that all societies take the same steps in the same order. In this form the position is untenable. On the contrary, the congregation of young males is a spontaneous and congenial phenomenon, comparable with the formation of boys’ gangs in American cities. There are also certain behavior patterns and possessions which give claims to distinction and among these personal bravery, material wealth, and spiritual intimacy are prominent. Individuals, families, and self-constituted groups seek self-expression by emphasizing one or more of such values, and the direction taken will be to some extent dependent on the character of the given culture complex.
1Merker, M.n/an/an/an/an/a, , 66–67 (Dietrich Reimer. By permission).
2 Schurtz, H., Altersklassen und Mannerbünde.
3 [In his paper on "Plains Indian Age-societies" (Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., Anth. Pap., 11: 955–984) Lowie has refuted this particular claim. At the same time the volume of Schurtz remains the most extensive presentation of materials on men’s clubs.]
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Chicago: "Die Masai," Die Masai in Primitive Behavior: An Introduction to the Social Sciences, ed. Thomas, William I. (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 1937), Original Sources, accessed September 18, 2024, http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=36RP2CU1MV4MNVI.
MLA: . "Die Masai." Die Masai, in Primitive Behavior: An Introduction to the Social Sciences, edited by Thomas, William I., New York, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 1937, Original Sources. 18 Sep. 2024. http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=36RP2CU1MV4MNVI.
Harvard: , 'Die Masai' in Die Masai. cited in 1937, Primitive Behavior: An Introduction to the Social Sciences, ed. , McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York. Original Sources, retrieved 18 September 2024, from http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=36RP2CU1MV4MNVI.
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