The Maasai of Matapato: A Study of Rituals of Rebellion

320 Pages·2003·17.428 MB·English

by  Paul Spencer

THE MAASAI OF MATAPATO
First published in 1988, The Maasai of Matapato has become a classic of
ethnography. This detailed study of the Maasai of the Matapato region of
Kenya builds up a full and engaging picture of the rituals and ideals of life
amongst the Maasai. It deals with the cultural phenomenon of age organiza-
tion, and looks particularly at three central questions: how men and women
are controlled by age organization for the majority of their lives; how men
and women develop age-sets and turn them into ongoing concerns; and how
age-sets are connected to the management of households, particularly the
control of women, children and cattle. Spencer examines the age system,
marriage and family to consider how the Maasai’s social values and relation-
ships are expressed in, and shaped by, concepts of age.
In his new preface, Paul Spencer looks back at how he came to write this
important work, its continuing relevance today, and how the Maasai have
been affected by global developments since the book’s first publication.
Paul Spencer is Honorary Director of the International African Institute and
Emeritus Professor of African Anthropology at the School of Oriental and
African Studies in the UK. He is a world authority on the peoples of East
Africa and author of The Samburu (1965, 2004), and Time, Space and the
Unknown (2004).
ROUTLEDGE CLASSIC ETHNOGRAPHIES bring together key anthro-
pology texts which have proved formative in the development of the discip-
line. Originally published between the 1930s and the 1980s, these titles have
had a major impact on the way in which anthropology, and most particularly
ethnography, is conducted, taught, and studied.
Each book contains the text and illustrations from the original edition, as
well as a new preface by a leading anthropologist explaining the book’s con-
tribution to the development of anthropology and its continuing relevance in
the twenty-first century.
ABORIGINAL WOMAN
Sacred and profane
Phyllis M. Kaberry
WOMEN OF THE GRASSFIELDS
A study of the economic position of women
in Bamenda, British Cameroons
Phyllis M. Kaberry
STONE AGE ECONOMICS
Marshall Sahlins
THE MAASAI OF MATAPATO
A study of rituals of rebellion
Paul Spencer
THE SAMBURU
A study of gerontocracy
Paul Spencer
HUNGER AND WORK IN A SAVAGE TRIBE
A functional study of nutrition among the southern Bantu
Audrey Richards
CUSTOM AND POLITICS IN URBAN AFRICA
A study of Hausa migrants in Yoruba towns
Abner Cohen
THE MAASAI OF
MATAPATO
A study of rituals of rebellion
Paul Spencer
First published 1988
by Manchester University Press
This edition first published 2004 by Routledge
11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2005.
“To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s
collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.”
© 1988, 2004 Paul Spencer
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter
invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Spencer, Paul, 1932–
The Maasai of Matapato : a study of rituals of rebellion / Paul Spencer ;
[with a new preface by Paul Spencer].
p. cm.
“First published 1988 by Manchester University Press” – T.p. verso.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0–415–31723–1 (pbk.)
1. Masai (African people) – Social life and customs. 2. Masai (African
people) – Rites and ceremonies. 3. Age groups – Kenya – Matapatu.
4. Matapatu (Kenya) – Social life and customs. I. Title.
DT433.545.M33S64 2004
306′.089′965 – dc21 2003046979
ISBN 0-203-58340-X Master e-book ISBN
ISBN 0-203-33886-3 (Adobe eReader Format)
ISBN 0–415–31723–1