Maasai Mara · Who the Cattle Were Meant For

The Maasai herd cattle and hold that all the cattle in the world were given to them by God. Cattle are wealth, bride-price and food, and blood mixed with milk is what is offered to a guest.

In their account there is a long chain of cause: people die because, long ago, God placed immortality and death on the same road, and the one who took the wrong path chose death.

On the plains nothing matters more than livestock. The Maasai herd by day and pen the cattle behind thorn fences at night — and they can recognise every set of footprints on the grassland.

Folklore / Maasai Mara · Kenya / Time immemorial