The
greatest of the Maasai medicine-men was Mbatian, after whom the summit of Mount
Kenya is named. He died in about 1890, at the time when an outbreak of
rinderpset swept through East Africa.
When on the point of death, he called the elders of
Matapato, the sub-district in which he lived, and said to them: ‘Do not move
from your country for I am about to die, and I will send you cattle from
heaven. If you move, you will die of smallpox, your cattle will all perish, you
will have to fight with a powerful enemy, and you will be beaten. I wish my
successor to be the son to whom I give the medicine-man’s insignia. Obey Him. The elders said: ‘Very well,’ and left. When they
had gone, Mbatian called his eldest son Sendeyo, and said to him: ‘Come
tomorrow morning for I wish to give you the medicine-man’s insignia.’ Sendeyo
replied: ‘Very well,’ and went to lie down.
While this was taking place, Lenana, who had hidden
himself in the calf-shed, overheard the conversation. He arose early in the
morning and went to his father’s hut. On his arrival he said: ‘Father I have
come.’
Now Mbatian was very aged and he had only one eye.
He therefore did not see which of his sons was before him and gave to Lenana
the insignia of the medicine-man, at the same time saying: ‘Thou shalt be great
amongst thy brothers and amongst all the people. ‘Lenana took the
medicine-man’s insignia and went away. Sendeyo then went to his father, but was
told that his brother had already been there and been given the medicine-man’s
insignia. When he heard this, he was very angry and said: ‘I will not be
subject to my brother; I will fight with him till I kill him.’ Mbatian died and
was buried near Donyo Erok. When he was dead, some of the people proclaimed Lenana the principal medicine-man,
‘For’ they said, ‘Mbatian told us that he would give the insignia of his office
to whichever of his sons he wished should succeed him.’ They therefore remained
with Lenana. But others said: ‘We will not acknowledge this man for he is a
cheat,’ and threw in their lot with Sendeyo. Now disease broke out amongst
Sendeyo’s people, many of whom died, their cattle all perished, and they were
defeated by the Germans; whilst those people who remained with Lenana did not
fall ill, and they obtained cattle, as Mbatian had predicted. The two rivals
waged war for many years, and eventually Sendeyo was beaten. He came in 1902 to
beg his brother to allow him to live with him, and peace was concluded between
the two parties.
The
Masai: Their Language and Folklore
A.C.
Hollis
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