Book
The Maasai of Matapato: a study of rituals of rebellion
Indiana University Press • Bloomington, Ind. • Published In 1988 • Pages: [xiii], [297]
By: Spencer, Paul.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This work focuses on the dynamics of the age grade system of the Maasai of Matapato, Kenya. The age grade system provides the central institution for political action in the society. Much of the emphasis in this study is on the [n]moran[/n] (warrior) age-set and the process through which the Maasai establish their warrior villages ([n]manyat[/n], s. [n]manyata[/]). These villages are established through a ritualized form of rebellion directed by the [i]moran[/i] against their fathers. According to Spencer, this is the '…first stage of an extended rite of transition separating them from the villages ruled by the elders and culminating years later when they are themselves incorporated into elderhood' (p. 5). A description of this process occupies the major portion of this monograph. This study also contains data on the pastoralism of the Maasai, marriage, childhood, the [n]eunoto[/n] festival, the status of women, puberty and initiation rites, and family relationships.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Pastoral activities
- Settlement patterns
- Age stratification
- Family relationships
- Military organization
- Organized ceremonial
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Maasai
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 1996
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Africa
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Eastern Africa
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- Book
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Ethnologist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- John Beierle ; 1994
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- July 1976-September 1977
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1976-1977
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Matapato tribal section, Meto, Kajiado county, Kenya
- NotesAdditional notes
- Paul Spencer
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 279-281) and indexes
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 87026035
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Masai (African people)