At the start of the week-long visit, Maasai delegates, museum staff and selected members of the Maasai diaspora were invited to participate in the welcoming ceremony, which had been set up in line with cultural guidance and support from Samwel Nangiria and Chief Laibon Oloiboni Mokompo Ole Simel. This emotional opening ceremony began with the making of a new fire to ceremonially bless all the participants.
This was the first time the delegation had seen all five objects, which were laid out, covered in blue cloth on trays at the front of the room. Each family member greeted their object, which had been identified during this process as being taken from their ancestral lineage. Seeing the ornaments, four of which have been in the Museum for over a century, the delegates later described how they felt strong physical reactions, as if they were about to faint or unable to breathe, hear or see.
The family members felt intense shock and sadness because seeing the objects reminded them of all the hurt and pain their families had endured in the last century. In Maasai conceptualisations, the taking of these sacred ornaments must have involved extreme violence and their absence will lead to devastating loss of life and land for the families in question. When an object like this is lost or stolen, the whole family will suffer greatly; children will be stillborn, cattle die and whole lineages can disappear. Although they knew that the objects were in the UK, having received updates from the project and photographs from the Museum, it had been almost inconceivable to them that this was real. Meeting the objects face-to-face after all this time provoked physical pain and stress, nightmares, faintness and loss of hearing and vision.
To help with this, and following cultural and spiritual advice, specially selected calming herbal teas were made, using the roots of plants harvested in the Loliondo sacred forest. These were ceremonially applied to the objects (in small quantities and as previously agreed with the PRM conservation team) and were then offered to the delegates, staff and participants. Delegates later said that one of the reasons they were able to withstand the hurt was dues to these herbal medicines of Oseki and Eluaai, commonly known as sandpaper-sauce berry and whistling thorn respectively. For the Maasai, the boiled and cooled preparation of Oseki brings feelings of happiness, manages stress levels and brings harmony to the environment (in this case, the Museum). The ceremonially prepared beverage of Eluaai brings clarity of vision, positive imagination and healing at both a personal and institutional level.
Opening speeches by Maasai Living Cultures project leader, Samwel Nangiria, PRM Director, Prof. Laura Van Broekhoven and PALCA representative, Ruth Sintamei, outlined the different steps in the process so far, building trust and new practice for all partners involved, all made possible thanks to the vital support of the Staples Trust. Sam and Ruth stressed the importance of cultural healing as one of peaceful unification and reconciliation for the whole Maa Nation, especially as the innovative conceptualisation of this process as one led by women, ensured it transformed into one of cultural revival and healing. Among the Maasai, cultural knowledge in the form of language, cultural traditions of making and meaning-giving is often transferred by mothers but for too long, women's crucial contributions to this knowledge-transfer have been unacknowledged and underrepresented. This women-led delegation is, therefore, seen as one of hope and liberation.
The Outcome
After a week of deliberations, the Maasai family delegates, who had been specifically selected as cultural knowledge keepers by their families, made the decision that the objects should remain in the care of the Pitt Rivers Museum. They felt that it was clear that the objects were being well cared for. This decision was reached after much discussion and deliberation and following advice from Mokompo. From a Maasai perspective, these hereditary objects would never be given away or sold (they can only be lent to family members for a very short time) and therefore, they must have been taken by killing the owner and removing it from the body on the battlefield. The objects are considered as warriors and in Maasai tradition, when a warrior dies, they are not brought back home but are buried on the battlefield. Hence, the delegates decided that it would be appropriate, given that the objects are being well cared for, that they would best be kept in the care of the Museum. This was deemed comparable to a soldier, having been killed overseas, being buried in a Commonwealth cemetery.
Having reached this decision, more cultural provenance information was shared and each family member gave further cultural guidance on how they would like the Museum to care for their objects. Because we now know the names of the original owners of these ornaments and because these ornaments are considered to equate to the bodies of their owners, the families asked for each object to be kept in a separate box bearing the name of each owner. It was also agreed that the Maasai nation, families and individuals will have lifetime access to the five ornaments, which can be facilitated online.
The stories behind each object will also be documented and made available, in case anyone wants to learn more about the circumstances of separation and the process of healing. Interpretation materials in the form of booklets, video or audio can be made available in two languages - English and Maa, although it was flagged as a matter of urgent concern for the Maa nation, that many people, particularly women and girls, continue to lack the formal education to enable them to access this material.
The Legacy
The continued presence of these objects and the legacy of the Maa-led peaceful process of Osotua (relationship building in peace) represents a bond for life, as the ornaments, which are referred to as 'mothers and fathers', remain in the care of the Museum, as part of a process imbued with cultural healing and relationship building. Maasai representatives will work with the Museum on future collaborations to decide how the outcomes of this unique process and Maasai cultural traditions can be best represented in the permanent galleries of the Museum, so that as many visitors as possible will learn from this process.
