Joseph Gichuki
25 June 2008
Nairobi — The Maasai elders behind the "deportation" of errant morans from the city have different backgrounds, as their clubs are carved from different tree species.
Every Monday afternoon at the Kamukunji grounds in Nairobi, the elders sit in a semi-circle under a shade.
They exchange greetings and pleasantries, while others find a chance to taste their peers' snuff.
It's all "Sopa oleng?" (how are you?)"- the traditional greetings, before they ask about the health of the livestock, the children and wives in that order.
It is mandatory for the Maasai elders to carry a walking stick.
"I was born with it. I herded the cattle with it. This emuti-the stick, is what distinguishes a man from the rest of the world," says Mzee Tengere ole Lamaya, a senior elder at the urban traditional council.
Weak body
Mzee Lamaya reveals that it is bad manners for a man and an elder to address gatherings without the stick. "It's the measure of judgment. It is the means to justice. It's the voice of the elders. It is like the mallet of the judge in courts. In any case, it supports my weak body in the morning when I wake up," he says.
Mzee Lamaya reveals that the elders come form different regions with diverse shades of wisdom.
"We have come from different villages and clans. I come from Namanga Division, Meto Location, Endebes sub-location, Kajiado District," he says.
He is quick to point out that he specifically comes from Likishunu clan and the old manyatta of Olingororiti.
"This is where our inspiration and sense of judgment was nurtured in the early days," he says.
"The old manyatta of Olingororiti is famous for its fair trial and sense of judgment in difficult cases. How many cases have been referred to this community court by the Government? There are cases of land disputes, elderly fighting and marriages," he says with a sense of finality.
"Look, we uphold respect for the grassland, men, women and the children. We cannot afford to be biased in our judgment. And that is why we cannot miss a representation at any important Masaai ceremony.
Herbal merchants
"And why do you think a Maasai elder leads prayers when Parliament is being opened? It is because of the fair judgment rooted in Maasai culture.
"It might look like a joke to send the rogue morans back to the village, but we know what we are doing and achieving as a community," he says.
The elders insist that apart from health risks associated with ignorant morans working in the city, the minority community would lose more if the morans refuse to multiply. Most of the elders, are herbal traders and suppliers to the larger urban market and the tightly-knit network of Masaai herbal merchants.
"We are the elders from the forest. We know the herbs that heal. If a disease lacks cure in Nairobi, we bring the medicine. And if we find that other disease of morans getting lost in immorality and alcohol, we treat it accordingly." The group of elders does not only consist of the medicinemen and general clansmen, but also the traditional seers.
Ole Koila, a senior member of the judgment table, is a close descendent of the legendary Masaai paramount chief, Lenana ole Sendeiyo.
Popularly known to elders as ole Masiokio, for his curved long ears, he holds the last word in the judgment of the difficult cases or in determining the road map for the urban community's prosperity. "He is the seer. He predicts the cause of the current trends of the Maasai community, drawing his inspiration from the springs of the savanna," says elder Papa ole Kimuyu.
Ole Koila is one of the elders said to have resisted learning Kiswahili or any other language apart from Maa, lest their language becomes extinct.
Awkward charms
Ole Koila believes that the city girls are using "awkward charms' to lure the morans."
Although the elders have of late expanded the mandate of their mission to new areas like Kisumu, Eldoret and Nakuru, they lament that their organisation was thinly financed.
"We don't have enough money to rehabilitate the morans, that we fish from these towns. Most of them are sometimes very poor and just idle in towns. We need to put them back on their feet. There are others, who are very hostile.
"They arrange with the women that eat their money to blow the whistle that we are criminals. They incite their urban community to chase us back. In such cases, we are always well armed and ready for any eventuality," says ole Marias, exposing a sword tucked in his loins.
And whenever the extradition squad plans to execute such a mission, they first seek a police order, that the moran in question should be put under community arrest. "The police letter sometimes helps us to seek free transport from police station outside Nairobi or in remote areas," says Marias.
Ole Marias learnt the skills of staking out for the errant morans from the drills gained in hunting lions.
Elder Sendeyo Lasaris emerges from the nearby herbs market in haste. He is looking for Sh2,000 emergency loan to transport yet another moran back to the village. He was found in Dandora estate after squandering all his money.
"We know their tricks in the city. They hide their faces with a strand of grass," says Mzee Sendeyo, who signs the dispatch warrant. The community elders contend that their efforts have started bearing fruits.
Grow old
"Many of the morans taken back to the village are doing well. They have become responsible citizens," says Mzee Marias. "They now have their own goats, cows and are leading a happy life with their families," he adds.
Mzee Nandare ole Kolei belongs to the Laiseke clan, in Kajiado District.
He bears all the signs of the traditional regalia that say he has seen many seasons. Old as he is, Mzee Nandare is not the kind to sit on the fence and watch young morans running around the city like wild bulls.
The red omindui beads dangling from both his ear lobes and the silver embernyet on the upper ear lobe are not worn by boys, he says.
He turns and asks: "Just tell me, would you prefer all the elderly people in the countryside to be thrown in the Indian Ocean and eaten by the crocodiles? Don't you think that you will also grow old?" The Maasai elders pay homage to pioneer elder and founder of the their council, Leterian ole Morel, who comes from Loitoktok, Olongururoi Location, in 1997.
"The founder was a senior adviser of the former Local Government minister, Mr Stanley Oloitiptip.
Poor family
He continues to find solutions to difficult problems within the community, says ole Kimuyu, the current chair of the council of elders.
The biggest test, however, lies on the detection of a HIV and Aids victim among the morans.
"This has given us the greatest challenge especially if he comes from a poor family, and happens to have squandered all his savings. However, we warn the healthy wife not to have unprotected contact with him at whatever cost.
"We also involve the local chief and the elders, to handle the rest in collaboration with health officers," says ole Kimuyu.
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