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African
Traditional Methods In Kenya:
A Case Study Of The Pokot And Maasai Peace Building Cultures
Presented by Dr.
Somjee Sultan from Peace Museums Kenya.
The Maasai and Pokot are
two ethnic groups that have been involved in ethnic clashes for
over a decade. Both groups come from a Nilotic background, with
territories that stretch over the political boundaries of East
Africa.
Reconciliation
among the two ethnic groups is not usually a one time event,
like the signing of a peace accord after battle, it occurs in
series, building on and affirming peace symbols with rituals
related to the community’s experiences and memories handed
over from past generations.
Peace Concepts And Symbols
Peace concepts
and symbols are used in this process of reconciliation.
Osotua -
This is a Maasai word meaning Peace /Relationship/
or a gift out of a relationship. The umbilical cord is also
called "Osotua" to symbolize the first relationship
between the mother and child. One does not just cut the Osotua
with a knife as it is done in the hospitals today, a prayer has
to first be said, and grass tied on the head . Three times the
mid-wife has to take the knife up and down and then cuts the
relationship. This ritual shows how deep the respect of life is,
and the respect for relationship.
Grass - This
is another symbol used by the Maasai and other groups like the
Kalenjin to demonstrate peace in war times and ethnic tensions.
Whenever there is a fight and a Maasai picks up grass, the
fighting stops because they believe they all come from one womb,
one mother and the one relationship. To the Kalenjin grass is
pasture and pasture is milk for cows. So grass is a
life-sustaining element.
Leketio - Among
the Pokot is a pregnancy belt called Leketio, which
supports pregnancy hence life. This belt is studded with cowrie
shells. When the Pokot are fighting and a mother removes her
pregnancy belt and puts it between the men, the fighting must be
stopped. She does not have to be the biological mother for in
this community, a mother is a mother of the community. It is the
same among the 18 Kalenjin groups.
The Maasai word
for Osotua, is also the word for beauty. They believe
that where there is no beauty there is no peace. For the Pokot
the word is "Pichio" which also means beauty.
Beauty follows peace. Where there i’s peace, there is beauty.
Ol Donyio Mount
Kenya is a mountain of peace because it is a mountain of
Keri - beauty.
Amongst the Maasai it is referred to as "Ol Donyio Keri"
because the white glaciers contrast with the dark valleys,
forming one sacred mountain. This contrast reflects the contrast
in human society. The Maasai accept and follow the philosophy of
Osotua, which is not only harmony, but also harmony
brought by living with contrast or differences. Thus they say, "In
disorder, there is order".
This appears
again in the discipline of making ornaments. They make 150
different types of ornaments following six aesthetic systems
that are based on the understanding of the philosophy of peace.
These then relate to other environmental symbols like trees.
Trees are still living symbols of peace-making in this part of
Africa.
Oloip - When
the Maasai are making peace they sit under a shade of a
particular tree. This shade is referred to as "oloip".
But before they sit, each one of them has to drop all the
weapons that he is carrying and then proceed under the tree to
begin the negotiations. When there has been a murder in the clan
or within a group, the Maasai meet under a dead tree where there
is no "oloip" because they are discussing
something very grave.
These are some of
the different examples of a culture of peace that still
exists today in resolving conflict. Very often ethnic groups
that neighbour each other use similar symbols. Peace is a
holistic issue, a heritage within different groups in society.
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