Narrative
The Masai: Their Language and Folklore
Alfred Claud Hollis · 1905
Synopsis
The volume opens with a grammar of Maa, then gives, in the original language with the English translation facing, tales, proverbs, riddles, the organisation of clans and age classes, myths and customs. It includes the story of the two gods, the black one, benevolent, who wants to give rain to men, and the red one, malevolent, who withholds it from them; that of the beginning of the world, in which God finds on earth a Dorobo, an elephant and a snake; and the adventures of the hare, of warriors and of demons.
Context
Printed by the Clarendon Press with an introduction by Sir Charles Eliot, the book owes the bulk of its material, according to its preface, to Justin Ol-omeni, a Maasai trained by the Church Missionary Society at Taveta and near Mombasa; the free translation of the songs is by W. J. Monson. Dated from Nairobi in May 1904, this preface says it wishes to preserve the thoughts of a people it believes to be threatened with disappearance, and calls for support for the missions. The Maasai objects that the author gave to the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford have been the subject, since 2017, of a re-examination carried out with Maasai representatives.
Who it is for
For those who want to read Maasai tales, proverbs and myths collected over a century ago, with the original text facing.
Prizes and reception
In his introduction, Sir Charles Eliot regarded the author's linguistic gifts as a guarantee of the seriousness of the work.
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