830 MASAI, TURKANA, SUK, NANDI, ETC. 



deal with the cure of wounds, the arresting of haemorrhage, and the 

 mending of broken bones. When a large wound has been inflicted, the 

 two sides are brought together by means of the long, white thorns of the 

 acacia, which are passed through the lips of the wound like needles. A 

 strip of fibre or bass is then wound round the exposed points of the 

 thorns on each side of the wound, just as a boot might be laced up. 

 Ha?morrhage is arrested in the same way, or by ligatures, or pressing on 

 to the severed vein a poultice of cow-dung and dust. A fractured limb 

 is straightened as far as possible so that the broken ends of the bone may 

 come together, and is then tightly bandaged with long strips of hide. 

 When they are absolutely obliged to amputate a limb a tight ligature is 

 tied just above the line of amputation. The limb is then placed on a 

 hard, smooth log, and is deftly chopped off by the stroke of a sharp 

 Masai sword. Before the advent of the European the Masai would apply 

 butter to the stump to assist healing; but now they have such a belief 

 in that nauseous-smelling drug, iodoform, that they will send considerable 

 d^tances to a European doctor to obtain it for curing their wounds and 

 ulcers. 



The medicine men of the Masai are not infrequently their chiefs. 

 The supreme chief of the whole race is almost invariably a powerful 

 "medicineman." These " Laibon " * (as they are called) are priests as well 

 as doctors. They are skilled in the interpretation of omens, in the 

 averting of ill luck, the bringing of rain, and the interpretation of 

 dreams. 



The Masai have very little religion. They believe in a vague power of 

 the sky, whose name simply means "sky" ("Angai"f). Sometimes this 

 word is equally used to indicate rain, though there is also a special word 

 for the water descending from the sky ("Attasha"). The sky god is 

 sometimes invoked when a severe drought threatens ruin to the pastures. 

 On such an occasion as this the chief of the district will summon the 

 children of all the surrounding villages. They come in the evening, just 

 after sunset, and stand in a circle, each child holding a bunch of grass. 

 Their mothers, who come with them, also hold grass in their hands. 

 The children then commence a long chant. 



Some of the Masai hold that at the time when their race began there 

 were four deities ruling the world. One was black, and full of kindness 

 towards humanity; another was white, but held himself more aloof— was, 

 in fact, the god or goddess $ of the Great Firmament. Then there was 



*■ The word really is in the singular Ol-aibon ; in the plural, El-aibon. 

 ^ t Sometimes pronounced "Kgai." It is difficult to say whether the root is 

 "Ngai" or "Gai," with the feminine article "En-" or "An-." 



u For "Ngai" may be a word with a feminine significance. 



