Child with purple plastic doll near Kumasi, Ghana

Excerpt I. Enslavement

My father, besides many slaves, had a numerous family, of which seven lived to grow up, including myself and a sister, who was the only daughter. As I was the youngest of the sons, I became, of course, the greatest favourite of my mother, and was always with her; and she used to take particular pains to form my mind. I was trained up from my earliest years in the arts of agriculture and war; and my mother adorned me with emblems, after the manner of our greatest warriors. In this way I grew up till I was turned the age of eleven, when an end was put to my happiness in the following manner:- - Generally, when the grown people in the neighbourhood were gone far in the fields to labour, the children assembled together in some of the neighborhood's premises to play; and commonly some of us used to get up a tree to look out for any assailant, or kidnapper, that might come upon us; for they sometimes took those opportunities of our parents' absence, to attack and carry off as many as they could seize. One day, as I was watching at the top of a tree in our yard, I saw one of those people come into the yard of our next neighbour but one, to kidnap, there being many stout young people in it. Immediately, on this, I gave the alarm of the rogue, and he was surrounded by the stoutest of them, who entangled him with cords, so that he could not escape till some of the grown people came and secured him. But alas! ere long, it was my fate to be thus attacked, and to be carried off, when none of the grown people were nigh. One day, when all our people were gone out to their works as usual, and only I and my dear sister were left to mind the house, two men and a woman got over our walls, and in a moment seized us both; and, without giving us time to cry out, or make resistance, they stopped our mouths, and ran off with us into the nearest wood. Here they tied our hands, and continued to carry us as far as they could, till night came on, when we reached a small house, where the robbers halted for refreshment, and spent the night. We were then unbound; but were unable to take any food; and, being quite overpowered by fatigue and grief, our only relief was some sleep, which allayed our misfortune for a short time.

Excerpt II. The Middle Passage

I now saw myself deprived of all chance of returning to my native country or even the least glimpse of hope of gaining the shore, which I now considered as friendly. I even wished for my former slavery in preference to my present situation, which was filled with horrors of every kind.

There I received such a salutation in my nostrils as I had never experienced in my life. With the loathesomeness of the stench and the crying together, I became so sick and low that I was not able to eat, nor had I the least desire to taste anything. I now wished for the last friend, Death, to relieve me.

Soon, to my grief, two of the white men offered me eatables and on my refusing to eat, one of them held me fast by the hands and laid me across the windlass and tied my feet while the other flogged me severely. I had never experienced anything of this kind before. If I could have gotten over the nettings, I would have jumped over the side, but I could not. The crew used to watch very closely those of us who were not chained down to the decks, lest we should leap into the water. I have seen some of these poor African prisoners most severely cut for attempting to do so, and hourly whipped for not eating. This indeed was often the case with myself.

I inquired of these what was to be done with us. They gave me to understand we were to be carried to these white people's country to work for them. I then was a little revived, and thought if it were no worse than working, my situation was not so desperate. But still I feared that I should be put to death, the white people looked and acted in so savage a manner. I have never seen among my people such instances of brutal cruelty, and this not only shown towards us blacks, but also to some of the whites themselves.

One white man in particular I saw, when we were permitted to be on deck, flogged so unmercifully with a large rope near the foremast that he died in consequence of it, and they tossed him over the side as they would have done a brute. This made me fear these people the more, and I expected nothing less than to be treated in the same manner.

I asked them if these people had no country, but lived in this hollow place? They told me they did not but came from a distant land. "Then," said I, "how comes it that in all our country we never heard of them?"

They told me because they lived so far off. I then asked where were their women? Had they any like themselves? I was told they had.

"And why do we not see them" I asked. They answered, "Because they were left behind."

I asked how the vessel would go? They told me they could not tell, but there was cloth put upon the masts by the help of the ropes I saw, and then vessels went on, and the white men had some spell or magic they put in the water when they liked in order to stop the vessel when they liked.

I was exceedingly amazed at this account, and really thought they were spirits. I therefore wished much to be from amongst them, for I expected they would sacrifice me. But my wishes were in vain- - for we were so quartered that it was impossible for us to make our escape.

At last, when the ship we were in had got in all her cargo, they made ready with many fearful noises, and we were all put under deck, so that we could not see how they managed the vessel.

The stench of the hold while we were on the coast was so intolerably loathsome, that it was dangerous to remain there for any time. . . some of us had been permitted to stay on the deck for the fresh air. But now that the whole ship's cargo were confined together, it became absolutely pestilential. The closeness of the place and the heat of the climate, added to the number of the ship, which was so crowded that each had scarcely room to turn himself, almost suffocated us.

This produced copious perspirations so that the air became unfit for respiration from a variety of loathsome smells, and brought on a sickness among the slaves, of which many died- - thus falling victims of the improvident avarice, as I may call it, of their purchasers. This wretched situation was again aggravated by the galling of the chains, which now became insupportable, and the filth of the necessary tubs [toilets] into which the children often fell and were almost suffocated. The shrieks of the women and the groans of the dying rendered the whole a scene of horror almost inconceivable.

Happily perhaps for myself, I was soon reduced so low that it was necessary to keep me almost always on deck and from my extreme youth I was not put into fetters. In this situation I expected every hour to share the fate of my companions, some of whom were almost daily brought upon the deck at the point of death, which I began to hope would soon put an end to my miseries. Often did I think many of the inhabitants of the deep much more happy than myself. I envied them the freedom they enjoyed, and as often wished I could change my condition for theirs. Every circumstance I met with, served only to render my state more painful and heightened my apprehensions and my opinion of the cruelty of the whites.

One day, when we had a smooth sea and moderate wind, two of my wearied countrymen who were chained together (I was near them at the time), preferring death to such a life of misery, somehow made through the nettings and jumped into the sea. Immediately another quite dejected fellow, who on account of his illness was suffered to be out of irons, followed their example. I believe many more would very soon have done the same if they had not been prevented by the ship's crew, who were instantly alarmed. Those of us that were the most active were in a moment put down under the deck, and there was such a noise and confusion among the people of the ship as I never heard before to stop her and get the boat out to go after the slaves. However, two of the wretches were drowned, but they got the other and afterwards flogged him unmercifully for thus attempting to prefer death to slavery.

Excerpt III. Arrival in the New World

As the vessel drew nearer, we plainly saw the harbor and other ships of different kinds and sizes and we soon anchored amongst them off Bridgetown. Many merchants and planters came on board. . . They put us in separate parcels and examined us attentively. They also made us jump, and pointed to the land, signifying we were to go there. We thought by this we should be eaten by these ugly men, as they appeared to us. When soon after we were all put down under the deck again, there was much dread and trembling among us and nothing but bitter cries to be heard all the night from the apprehensions. At last the white people got some old slaves from the land to pacify us. They told us we were not to be eaten, but to work, and were soon to go on land, where we should see many of our country people. This report eased us much, and sure enough, soon after we landed, there came to us Africans of all languages.

We were conducted immediately to the merchant's yard, where we were all pent up together, like so many sheep in a fold, without regard to sex or age. As every object was new to me, everything I saw filled me with surprise. What struck me first was that the houses were built with bricks and stories, and in every respect different from those I had seen in Africa, but I was still more astonished to see people on horseback. I did not know what this could mean, and indeed I thought these people were full of nothing but magical arts. While I was in this astonishment, one of my fellow prisoners spoke to a countryman of his about the horses who said they were the same kind they had in their country. I understood them, though they were from a distant part of Africa and I thought it odd I had not seen any horses there; but afterwards when I came to converse with different Africans, I found they had many horses amongst them, and much larger than those I then saw.

We were not many days in the merchant's custody, before we were sold after their usual manner. . . . On a signal given, (as the beat of a drum), buyers rush at once into the yard where the slaves are confined, and make a choice of that parcel they like best. The noise and clamor with which this is attended, and the eagerness visible in the countenances of the buyers, serve not a little to increase the apprehension of terrified Africans. . . . In this manner, without scruple, are relations and friends separated, most of them never to see each other again. I remember in the vessel in which I was brought over. . . there were several brothers who, in the sale, were sold in different lots; and it was very moving on this occasion, to see and hear their cries in parting.

As a boy Moran - for such we may call him for convenience' sake - was pleasing in the extreme. At a very early age Moran broke away from his mother's apron-strings, and with miniature bow and arrow aped the bigger boys in their play. As he had no linen to soil, he only roused his mother's laughter if he turned up encrusted with filth. He was not even put through the horrors of the tub. Sometimes, however, his mother, in a fit of affection, and imbued with the belief that some day he would make a name for himself as a smasher of skulls and a lifter of cattle [cattle raider], would make up an unctuous and odoriferous composition of grease and clay, and anoint him therewith till he shone forth with a splendour dear to the Masai heart. On these occasions he would strut forth with all the pride proper to a small boy who has just had a suit of new clothes.

And so life went on, and he was promoted to the rank of a boy proper. He was provided with a real bow and arrow. A square piece of sheep-skin was tied over the left shoulder, leaving the legs quite bare. He now began to cultivate, not a moustache, but his ear-lobes; that is to say, he took means to stretch them out till they would almost touch his shoulder, and he could nearly put his fist through the distended portion. This is done by first putting a slender stick through the lobe, and gradually replacing it by a bigger, till a piece of ivory six inches long can be inserted lengthwise.

Our hero now looked longingly forward to the day when he should be a warrior; but meanwhile he must employ himself herding the goats and sheep. This was his first occupation. He had by this time acquired some notion of the geography of the country around, as his parents had not been stationary, having been compelled to move about from place to place according to the pasturage. The donkeys on these occasions conveyed their household goods, though his mother had to carry nearly as much, and build the hut after. He had also to accompany his parents in moving up from the plains to the highlands in the dry season and vice versa in the wet season. . . .

Meanwhile Moran practiced with the spear, and killed innumerable imaginary enemies. He listened intently with beating heart to the stories of daring cattle-raids and sanguinary fights, but as yet he could only dye his spear in the blood of an antelope, or, it might be, of a buffalo. His food still continued to be that of a non-fighter, namely, curdled milk, maize, or millet, and meat. But vegetable paste was the meat of women and children, and. he loathed it, though he ate it.

As he approached the age of fourteen he began to develop a truculent and ferocious expression, instead of making himself sick in the attempt to smoke a cigar, or examining his upper lip in the glass, as a lad of proper spirit in England would have done at the same age. It is quite laughable to think of Moran trying to look dangerous, pursing his brow, and generally cultivating the fiendish. And really, I am told he was the admiration and the envy of all the [boys] of the district, and quite won the hearts of the girls.

At last it was agreed that Moran had become a man, and was fit to be a warrior. A certain rite [circumcision] was performed; and Moran was no longer a boy, he was an El-moran - a warrior. His father, who was wealthy, resolved to rig him out in the height of military fashion. . . . They chose a handsome shield of buffalo hide, beautifully made, elliptical in shape, and warranted to stand a tremendous blow from a spear. . . . After a careful examination, Moran selected a spear, with a blade two feet and a half long, a wooden handle fifteen inches, and a spike at the end about one foot and a half. The blade had an almost uniform width of from two to three inches, up to near the top, where it abruptly formed a point. A sword and a [club] of formidable appearance completed his warlike equipment.

These important acquisitions made, our hero now proceeded to dress himself up as became his new character. He first worked his hair into a mop of strings, those falling over the forehead being cut shorter than the rest. Instead of the ivory ear-stretcher hitherto used, he put in a swell ear ornament formed of a tassel of iron chain. Round his neck he put a bracelet of coiled wire, and round his wrists a neatly formed bead mitten. On his ankles he bound a strip of the black hair of the colobus (monkey) of Central Africa. A glorious layer of grease and clay was plastered on his head and shoulders. This completed, he donned a very neat and handsomely decorated kid-skin garment, of very scanty dimensions, which served to cover his breast and shoulders, but hardly reached below the waist, and thus stood forth the complete military masher [dandy], ready for love or war.

And now the great step of his life was taken. Thus far he had lived in the [camp] of the married people, and accordingly had to comport himself as "only a boy." Now he proceeded to a distant [camp] in which were none but young, unmarried men and women. To keep up his dignity and supply him with food his father provided him with a number of bullocks. Reaching the [camp], our friend found himself among a large number of splendidly built young savages – indeed the most magnificently modelled men conceivable. And here let me for a moment pause in my story to indulge in a passing word of description.

There is, as a rule, not one of the El-moran under six feet. . . . Their appearance, however, is not suggestive of great strength, and they show little of the knotted and brawny muscle characteristic of the. . . typical athlete. The Apollo type is the more characteristic form, presenting a smoothness of outline which might be called almost effeminate. In most cases the nose is well raised and straight, frequently as good as any European's. The lips also vary from the thin and well formed down to the thick and everted. The eyes are bright, with the [whites] whiter than is common in Africa. The slits are generally narrow, with an upward slant. The jaws are rarely prognathous, while the hair is a cross between the European and the negro, rarely in piles, but evenly spread over the head. Hair is scarcely in any case seen on the face or any part of the body. The cheek-bones are in all remarkably prominent, and the head narrow both above and below. Tattooing is not practised; but every Masai is branded with five or six marks on the thigh.

Such are the main characteristics of the El-moran; but before we resume our narrative let us note a few facts about the young [girls] who are soon to be flirting with our hero. Happily facts support the verdict of gallantry when I say that they are really the best-looking girls I have ever met with in Africa. They are distinctly ladylike in both manner and physique. Their figures are slender and well formed. They share, like the men, the dark gums, and the bad sets of teeth. The hair is shaved off totally, leaving a shiny scalp. As to dress, they are very decent, and almost classical, if a stinking greasy hide can have anything to do with things classical. They wear a dressed bullock's hide from which the hair has been scraped. This is tied over the left shoulder, passing under the right arm. A beaded belt confines it round the waist, leaving only one limb partly exposed. . . . Their ornaments are of a very remarkable nature. Round the legs from the ankles to the knees telegraph wire is coiled closely in spiral fashion. So awkward is this ornament that the wearer cannot walk properly, she cannot sit down or rise up like any other human being, and she cannot run. Round the arms she has wire similarly coiled both above and below the elbow. Round the neck more iron wire is coiled - in this case, however, horizontally - till the head seems to sit on an inverted iron salver. When the leg-ornaments are once on they must remain till finally taken off, as it requires many days of painful work to fit them into their places. They chafe the ankles excessively, and evidently give much pain. As they are put on when very young, the calf is not allowed to develop, and the consequence is, that when grown up the legs remain at a uniform thickness from ankle to knee - mere animated stilts, in fact. The weight of this armour varies according to the wealth of the parties, up to thirty pounds. Besides the iron wire, great quantities of beads and iron chains are disposed in various ways round the neck.

Such, then, were the people that now greeted Moran, who, being a novice, had to suffer a good deal of chaff from both sexes. He was, however, soon initiated into the mysteries of a warrior [camp], and had seen a bit of life. The strictest diet imaginable was the rule. He had to be content with absolutely nothing but meat and milk. Tobacco or snuff, beer or spirits, vegetable food of all kinds, even the flesh of all animals except cattle, sheep, and goats, were alike eschewed. To eat any of those articles was to be degraded - to lose caste; to be offered them was to be insulted in the deepest manner. As if these rules were not strict enough, he must not be seen eating meat in the [camp], neither must he take it along with milk. So many days were devoted entirely to the drinking of new milk, and then, when carnivorous longings came over him, he had to retire with a bullock to a lonely place in the forest, accompanied by some of his comrades, and a [girl] to act as cook. Having scrupulously made certain that there was no trace of milk left on their stomachs by partaking of an extremely powerful purgative, they killed the bullock either with a blow from a [club] or by stabbing it in the back of the neck. They then opened a vein and drank the blood fresh from the animal. This proceeding of our voracious young friends was a wise though repulsive one, as the blood thus drunk provided the salts so necessary in the human economy; for the Masai do not partake of any salt in its common form. This sanguinary draught concluded, they proceeded to gorge themselves on the flesh, eating from morning till night - and keeping their cook steadily at work. The half-dozen men were quite able to dispose of the entire animal in a few days, and then they returned to the [camp] to resume the milk diet. . . .

Till a war-raid was planned, Moran, our interesting protege, found he had nothing to do but make acquaintances and amuse himself with the girls. His cattle were looked after by some poor menials, and though the [camp] was stationed near a dangerous neighbour, yet no fighting took place. It was, however, a rule in the warrior [camps] that no fence for protection was allowed, hence the utmost vigilance had to be exercised. Moran thus in the course of his duty had frequently to act as watch. At other times he practised various military evolutions, and he kept up his muscle by [a] peculiar mode of dancing. . . . They led what might be called a serious life. They had no rollicking fun, no moonlight dancing, no lively songs, no thundering drums. No musical instrument whatsoever enlivened the Masai life, and their songs were entirely confined to such occasions as the return home from a successful raid, or the invocation of the deity. As soon as darkness fell upon the land the guard was appointed, the cattle milked, and everything hushed up in silence.

Shortly after joining the [camp], Moran was called upon to record his vote in the election of a Lytunu [Olotuno] and a Lygonani [Olaigonani]. The Lytunu is a warrior elected by a number of [camps] as their captain or leader, with absolute power of life and death. He is their judge in cases of dispute. He directs their battles, though, curiously enough, he does not lead his men, but, like the general of a civilized army, he stands aside and watches the progress of the fight under the direct command of the Lygonani. If, however, he sees symptoms of his men wavering, he forthwith precipitates himself with his bodyguard into the battle. Of course he holds his office purely on sufferance, and if he fails to give satisfaction he is summarily deposed. This, indeed, is almost the only attempt at a form of government. Each war-district elects its own Lytunu. The Lygonani, again, is a very different personage. He is the public leader of a [camp]; leads and guides the debate in cases of dispute. To be such arrogant and pugnacious savages, the Masai are the most remarkable speakers and debaters imaginable. . . . They will spend days discussing the most trivial matter - nothing, indeed, can be settled without endless talk. But we must proceed with our history.

The Lytunu and Lygonani having been elected, a raid to the coast was determined on. For a month they devoted themselves to an indispensable, though somewhat revolting, preparation. This consisted in their retiring in small parties to the forest, and there gorging themselves with beef. This they did under the belief that they were storing up a supply of muscle and ferocity of the most pronounced type. This strange process being finished, and the day fixed on, the women of the [camp] went outside before sunrise, with grass dipped in the cream of a cow's milk. Then they danced and invoked Ngai [God] for a favourable issue to the enterprise, after which they threw the grass in the direction of the enemy. . . . Previous to this, however, a party had been sent to the chief lybon [laibon – prophet] of the Masai – Mbaratien [Mbatiany] - to seek advice as to the time of their start, and to procure medicines to make them successful. On their return the party mustered, and set off. It was a remarkable sight to behold these bloated young cut-throats on the march, and it is almost an impossibility to convey any clear picture of their appearance in words. . . .

Let us pause and in imagination watch some enthusiastic young [girl] buckling on the armour of her knight. First there is tied round his neck, whence it falls in flowing lengths, . . . a piece of cotton, six feet long, two feet broad, with a longitudinal stripe of coloured cloth sewed down the middle of it. Over his shoulders is placed a huge cape of kite's feathers - a regular heap of them. The kid-skin garment which hangs at his shoulder is now folded up, and tied tightly round his waist like a belt, so as to leave his arms free. His hair is tied into two pigtails, one before and one behind. On his head is placed a remarkable object formed of ostrich feathers stuck in a band of leather, the whole forming an elliptically-shaped head-gear. This is placed diagonally in a line beginning under the lower lip and running in front of the ear to the crown. His legs are ornamented with flowing hair of the colobus, resembling wings. His bodily adornment is finished off by the customary plastering of oil [fat]. His. . . sword is now attached – it does not hang - to his side; and through the belt is pushed the skull-smasher or [club], which may be thrown at an approaching enemy, or may give the quietus to a disabled one. His huge shield in his left hand and his great spear in his right complete his extraordinary equipment. For the rest you must imagine an Apollo-like form and the face of a fiend, and you have before you the beau ideal of a Masai warrior. He takes enormous pride in his weapons, and would part with everything he has rather than his spear. He glories in his scars, as the true laurel and decorative marks of one who delights in battles.

With astonishing hardihood, Moran and his comrades, thus terribly arrayed, shaped their course towards [the coast]; for, strangely enough, they have found that they can [raid] the cattle with greater impunity there than anywhere else. With a consummate knowledge of the region, the Masai warriors threaded their way by special pathways. . . . Nearing the coast, they stowed themselves away in the bush, while a few of the bravest went forward to spy out the land. . . .

The raid was, of course, successful, and our savage friends returned in great glee. On reaching their homes, however, matters had to be squared up, and the spoil divided. So many head of the captured cattle were set apart as the portion of the lybon, who had directed them so well, and whose medicines had been so potent. Then followed a sanguinary scene over the apportionment of the remainder. There was no attempt at a fair division. The braver men and bullies of the party, consulting only their own desires, took possession of such cattle as pleased them, and dared the rest to come and seize them. The understood rule was that if any warrior could hold his own in single combat against all comers for three days, the cattle were his. And thus began the real fighting of the expedition, revealing sickening sights of savage ferocity. There were more warriors killed over the division of the spoil than in the original capturing of it. To kill a man in this manner was considered all fair and above board. Blood feuds were unknown, a man not being considered worth avenging who could not hold his own life safe. If, however, a man was murdered treacherously, the criminal had to pay forty-nine bullocks. Our young warrior, as he was only as yet winning his spurs, had to be content with the honour and glory of the raid, and he had the modesty not to pit himself against abler and more ferocious fighters. It must be remembered that the cattle thus captured did not remain the property of the successful warriors. A warrior can have no property, and hence they all become his father's.

The spoil being divided, the party were next able to do full honour to the men lost in the raid - those being considered worthy of all praise "who rush in to the field, and foremost fighting fall;" while men who die ignobly at home are only worthy to be despised and thrown to the vultures. Hence the warriors howled and jumped into the air in the dance, till the dead were duly commemorated. In this manner, Moran saw a good deal of fighting, and soon rose to fame in many a campaign. . . .

And so with war and women, life passed in happy fashion. His demeanour was serious, and his expression ferocious, though he acquired an aristocratic hauteur, truly striking. He showed curiosity in a dignified manner. He rarely indulged in vulgar laughter, and smiling was hardly possible on a face which could only be called fiendish.

He passed some twenty years in this manner. At last his father was found to be on the point of death, and he was sent for. Shortly after his arrival, the old man succumbed. . . .

He was now sole heir of his father's herds, for his younger brothers did not receive a single head of cattle, though they had captured in their raids considerable numbers of them. Any they might secure now, however, would be their own property. Moran decidedly preferred the free and easy life of the warrior's [camp], but, alas! he discovered, not that he was becoming bald or developing grey hairs, but that he could not take the regulation dose of purgative as formerly. From this, coupled with the fact that he could not take such liberties with his stomach, he gathered that he was not quite so strong as formerly. We can imagine how he would curse his luck and look fiendish on discovering this unpalatable truth. There was nothing for it but to marry, and become a staid and respectable member of society. He had sown his wild oats.

Casting about, he fixed upon a [girl] after his heart. The preliminaries having been arranged - the number of bullocks to be paid, &c - she was sealed to him. . . . At last the happy day arrived, and the final seal was put upon the marriage by both parties disposing of their chain earrings, and substituting a double disc of copper wire arranged spirally. The lady also shaved her head, laid aside the garment of the [girl], and clothed herself with two skins, one suspended from the waist the other from the shoulder. Strangest of all, however, and strikingly indicative of the fact that he had exchanged the spear for the distaff, Moran had actually to wear the garment of a [girl] for one month. . . .

And now Moran's sole idea was to rear a brood of young cattle-[raiders], and so that he got them, he was not very particular as to the manner of it. He was not jealous, asked no awkward questions, and employed no spies. . . . We shall here prudently follow his example of non-inquisitiveness; for we might find that the domestic affairs of our friend's household will not bear a too curious scrutiny.

He was now wholly a changed being - as indeed who is not when he gets married? His strict rules of diet were abandoned, and, though meat and milk were still the main items of his eating, he could now vary it with vegetable food, obtained by his wife from neighbouring agricultural tribes. Luxuries, also, he might now indulge in. He sported a fancy snuff-box and tobacco-box of ivory or rhinoceros horn, and delighted to rap up its contents as he handed it to a friend. He chewed tobacco (mixed always with [soda]), though he never smoked. Then, as often as convenient, he liked to foregather with his friends, and have a jolly carouse over beer or mead.

It is pleasant to know that with this change in his mode of life there was a corresponding alteration (very much for the better) in his views of things. He delighted to talk with the traders whom before he had gloried in killing or annoying, and would in token of good-will cordially exchange the courtesies of life by spitting upon them and being spat upon. . . . He had no suspicions, and was communicative about his affairs and beliefs. He would even at times exercise a friendly guardianship of passing traders, and was able to ward off many a disaster by judicious warning. He was not stinted in his presents, and generally gave far more than he got. He has been known even to protect strayed porters, and tend sick men left behind. The softening down of his ferocity reacted upon his face. The habitual scowl gradually died away, and was replaced by a more pleasing and genial expression. . . .

Moran found married life sadly dull after his warrior experiences, and to kill time he accompanied one or two war-parties. But that was exceptional. His time henceforward was chiefly occupied in eternal and interminable discussions on the most trivial questions, or wandering long distances on visits to his friends, while his wife stayed at home to milk the cattle, or occasionally made journeys to neighbouring hostile tribes to buy grain. She, however, was in her element when a caravan came round, and then she enjoyed the double pleasure of an intrigue and a lovely present of iron wire and beads.

In time Moran's first wife became old and ugly, and he took to himself a second - the former being stripped of all her iron wire for the purpose of decking the new comer. At last the day closed for both of them, and one after the other, they formed the subject of horrible hyenas' laughter. These fierce creatures, with the vultures and the storks, tore their flesh under the light of the moon. Nothing remained but a couple of grim skulls and some bloody bones when the sun rose over the grassy plain in the morning; and the young urchins of the [camp] kicked them about and laughed as they threw them at one another.

[referring to previous reports of a disturbance at Rotian on June 25th ]

2. The evidence and finding at the inquest 1 as well as the judgment in the trial of 43 Masai for riot show that an attack was made on me and my family by some Masai of the Kishun age. 2

. . .

5. The rioters were all between the ages of 16 and 19 years with the exception of two of the Salash age who were accused by all the Kishun of having caused the trouble. This accusation was brought against the Salash by the Kishun at the [meeting] I held just after the incident and again at the [meeting] held by you the following morning and yet again that evening when I asked for the names of the ring leaders.

6. The manner in which the Salash are alleged to have caused the riot is as follows: Two Salash on seeing a cedar which they erroneously supposed had to be removed set up a shout calling the Kishun to fight with the Europeans. There is uncertainty about the words used in calling to arms, but it is quite beyond doubt that all the Kishun without more ado or a word of discussion threw their [hoes] away and rushed to the manyatta to arm for war. 3 They were joined by other Kishun in the manyatta and by some who had never been to work and were not going to work on the road.

7. The only explanation given by the Masai themselves of this conduct is that it arose from 'folly' or 'sin.' It is attributed to Satan. 4 They are particularly impressed at the suddenness of it. Those who were present of other [age sets] were too paralysed by astonishment to give any warning or take any active steps to prevent it.

8. The events of the previous day have been examined. . . in the hope that some light might be thrown on the origin of this ebullition. There has been nothing except the reference to the cedar to suggest that there was any discontent in regard to the road work which they had agreed to do for wages.

9. The conditions of the work (feeding, pay, and organisation) had been fully explained at a [meeting] attended by at least 300 on the afternoon of the 24th [June] for the benefit of some newcomers. No one said anything to indicate that there was the slightest disagreement or discontent. Nearly all returned. . . to the [camp] where there was dancing and general enjoyment. . . .

11. There is not only ample evidence to show that there had been no sign of discontent during the night but no one of the many whom I have questioned has suggested that any of the 300 who went to work that morning had shown the slightest reluctance to do so. No one seems to have taken arms. . . .

14. The most significant feature of the whole affair is that it was not preceded by any discussion and was strenuously opposed by the Olburuogeni [OloburuNkeene], two of the l'aigwenak [ilaiguanak] 5 and three influential leaders of the Kishun who had been selected by themselves as assistants to Headman Oimeru Ole Masikonde who was in charge of the work on the road. These six. . . were the only people present at the road work or in the manyatta who did not either remain flabbergasted or join in the riot.

15. There is only one explanation for this incident, which completely surprised everyone concerned even the rioters themselves. It is that in some way the shout raised by the two Salash amounted to a challenge to the Kishun to prove their virility by defying authority. The response was an immediate decision to attack Europeans and those who wear [western] clothes. There was no other motive - nothing in the nature of a protest against the work to which they had all agreed and do still agree, or of personal antipathy to myself.

16. The only thought was death or glory. . . . When I looked into their faces. . ., I saw no. . . light of sense or reason. Each had an expression of demoniacal insensate savagery. The mysterious and interesting point to be considered is how it can happen that a lad - for they were all under nineteen - who starts the day in a reasonably happy frame of mind can, in a flash, without premeditation be plunged into an ecstasy of ferocity, and behave without considered purpose or regard for consequences. . . .

18. The Masai moran are undoubtedly very emotional and even, as moran, glory in the uncontrolability of their emotions. The epileptic fits 6 which they throw as moran are never repeated after they cease to be moran. They are in certain moods utterly illogical unbalanced savages capable of committing any act of violence for they do not regard human life with any sense of awe.

19. A survey of the events preceding this outburst will not in point of fact explain it but will show how it came about that these Kishun were collected together.

20. When I took over the District in March I read the following extract from Mr. Jennings Annual Report:

"The position with the moran is far from satisfactory. Experienced officers are divided upon the question as to the advisability of allowing the moran to follow the Tribal Custom of having manyattas. From my short experience with the Masai, I am of the opinion that the recognition of the 'Moran System' is tantamount to recognising organised crime which includes murder, assaults, theft, disobedience of orders of administration and elders and general indiscipline. As instances I quote the following:

Murder:

Five Masai of Kenya were implicated in a stock raid in [Tanganyika] when 89 head of cattle were stolen, and one native killed. In this case the Masai were arrested. . ., only 8 head of cattle were recovered but there is every reason to believe that a large proportion of the stolen cattle were brought to Kenya but it is impossible to get further evidence.

Assaults:

[A] considerable number of assaults by marauding gangs of moran have been made on old men and small boys herding stock. The former are usually stoned when coming out of their [camps] to investigate noises made by the thieves, owing to darkness identification of the assailants is impossible.

Disobedience of Orders:

The elders wished to hold a [meeting] with the moran, who flatly refused to attend. It took two months to arrest the ring leaders who were eventually sentenced to 2 months imprisonment.

The other school of thought on the 'Moran System' holds the view that by allowing manyattas you have the moran under control. I entirely disagree with this theory. The position as I see it is purely "bluff" and once the moran 'call that bluff' . . . one cannot deal with the situation. In this connection if one is successful in getting sufficient evidence, which is extremely doubtful, to warrant the imposition of a fine on the manyatta, it simply amounts to the relatives paying the fine as by Custom the moran do not hold property until. . . [they have] settled down as elders.

The whole position is more complicated by the fact that individually the elders are getting tired of the behaviour of the moran but collectively they are too frightened to take any firm action."

. . .

22. . . .The Kishun moran would, in the normal course of events, be passing through their Eunoto Ceremony in the near future. 7 . . . It then occurred to me that a remarkable opportunity presented itself of combining a piece of development work with the concentration of moran which would take place for the Eunoto. . . .

23. The Kishun represent the left hand circumcision age and are therefore the younger and somewhat despised brothers of the Salash with whom they will form one age [set] after passing through the Eunoto. . .

24. The decision as to time and place for the Eunoto would lie with the elders, particularly the Olotuno of the Ol Piron age, in this case the Il Twati [age set]. 8 I held a [meeting] with them and had a long conversation with the Olotuno who promised to consider the matter and move the moran manyattas. . . to [near Rotian] if the circumstances were propitious. Shortly after this he informed me that the manyattas would be so moved by the end of April. . . .

25. A large gathering of moran then came to Narok, probably 200 of them and said that their laibon Kimoruai had decided to postpone the Eunoto to the end of the year when it would be held in the Mau forest. . .where the [army] attacked the Laitteti [murran] in 1922 and where the previous age, the Meruturut, had collected to defy authority. 9

26. Kimoruai lives mostly in the Kajiado district though he also has a village in this district. He is the Purko laibon and his prestige with the Purko moran is immense. . .

27. While it is not normally the business of the laibon to fix the time and place of the Eunoto, his presence at it as a high priest dispensing charms and blessings is essential and I decided to send for him so as to discuss the proposals with him, realizing of course that he cannot be whole heartedly on the side of Government and that he would be more concerned with his prestige and emoluments in cattle than with any hopes or fears which Government can inspire. . . . I fully realized that in sending for Kimoruai I ran certain risks as there is always the danger of being double-crossed by him. . . .

29. When Kimoruai arrived, the manyattas had already assembled at Rotian. . . . At that time there was no doubt that the Ol Piron elders had decided to hold the Eunoto at Rotian and that it only remained to decide on the date. Kimoruai was in favour of holding the Eunoto early, while Chief Masikonde was inclined to postpone the date. The ultimate decision seemed to rest with. . . [the spokesman of the Ol Piron age].

30. [Kimoruai then became ill. He believed that he had been bewitched, but was diagnosed with pleurisy. He was sent home to recover.]

31. On his recovery I brought him back to the manyatta as he wished to finish certain ceremonies which could be completed in a day. The following day I went in to the manyatta and found about 200 moran gathered round Kimoruai in a squatting attitude surrounding a small pile of cattle dung in which a faded darkish blue flag had been stuck. There was something distinctly sinister about the chanting accompaniment and the expression on the faces of those taking part. . . . I was with headman Oimeru Ole Masikonde who told me that the ntalingoi Orrkirembe 10 was being administered and that it had been responsible for all the trouble in the past as it keeps alive the defiant spirit and perverted racial pride and acted like a trumpet on the minds of the moran. . . .

32. I decided to. . . [return Kimoruai] immediately to Kajiado as I was certain that his influence, which had been helpful up till that day, had turned to the old appeal which had made for trouble in the past.

33. Kimuruai did not wish to leave and asked to be allowed to stay another month. He had just begun to collect cattle off the moran, 12 head having been sent that day as his fees for Ntalingoi. . . .

34. [Kimoruai eventually leaves]

35. It will now be appropriate to say something about Ntalingoi in general and about the uses of Ntalingoi at the Eunoto. . . .

36. The name Ntalingoi is used by Masai to refer to "charms" and medicines which have their origin with a [laibon] and can be dispensed only by him. When a ceremony is to be held such as the Eunoto or a charm to bring good fortune, or to prevent sickness, or to ensure the success of a raid, or to prevent a murderer from being hanged, is sought, either the person most concerned or, more commonly, a deputation of those concerned visits the [laibon]. The instructions he gives them and the charge he makes depends upon the importance of the charms sought. In some cases, he first instructs the deputation to bring him certain ingredients for the preparation of the charm. In connection with this Eunoto, 8 of the Kishum age who had been working on the road were given leave several days before the Eunoto to collect certain ingredients. . . .

38. [There are many different charms] Some charms may be prescribed once only for a special occasion, others may be used time and time again for a special purpose. It is probable that certain ceremonies are not complete unless the prescribed charm or charms for that ceremony are used. If for instance the Orrkirembe or Nanga Narok ["black cloth"] Ntalingoi or charms have been used in previous Purko Eunoto ceremonies then they are probably essential to the ceremony which would not be binding in their absence. . . . If the use of the charm is believed to be contrary to the interests of the tribe, the [laibon] might be made to vouch for its safety or he could be held responsible for its effects. He might even be advised by the Ol Piron age to prescribe something less potent.

39. The foregoing general remarks are necessary in considering two aspects of this affair namely the attitude of the Masai elders and authorities to Kimuruai and the reactions of the moran to the incident. . .

40. There is no doubt that Kimoruai though respected, feared, and revered by many Purko is not [popular] with the [chiefs]. Oimeru Ole Masikonde has been very outspoken in censuring the unwisdom of inviting him to the district or even allowing him to attend the Eunoto in view of his load of past guilt in every disturbance for the last twenty years. This jealously, for that is partly responsible for this consideration, has made it difficult to sift the truth. It is not certain who will succeed Kimoruai as the Purko laibon but during his lifetime I doubt very much if ceremonies such as the Eunoto could be held without his "charms."

41. Since the disturbance I have informed [the chiefs] and [the leaders] of the Kishun age that if the disturbance arose as a result of Kimoruai's charms, it is their duty to inform me of the actual facts. [The chiefs]. . . accuse Kimoruai of having initiated the moran in such away as to make them susceptible to war mania. . . . It is impossible to know what Kimoruai does teach the moran as he takes the moran by themselves when no elders are there. The moran are not prepared to divulge anything which throws any light. . . .

42. There was one particularly curious incident on the night after the disturbance. The Olotuno came to my hut at Rotian just before dark and just after the [meeting] at which there had been a flat refusal to give the names of ringleaders. It was the first occasion on which we had met since the disturbance and in view of his position as chief councillor to the Kishun [age] I was most anxious to secure his cooperation. He was in a very agitated state. . . . Five minutes later I called for him as I intended to. . . discuss the situation with him, as a report had just been received of a concentration of moran ready to attack the camp. . . . To my astonishment he had disappeared. . . . No one had seen him leave. . . . He was there when I returned but neither that night nor the following morning would he tell me anything though he must by virtue of his position have known what was going on. The following morning. . . I had him remanded to gaol on a charge of inciting a riot and showed him a similar warrant which would be executed in the case of Kimoruai. That afternoon after his flight it seemed to me that he realized the futility of resistance to the tremendous power of Government and during the night he convinced me that he would cooperate and that I could safely entrust myself to his keeping in dealing with the moran even if they had collected for battle.

43. Subsequently events have shown that this confidence in the Olotuno's good intentions and power was not misplaced but it is still too early to expect him to explain what happened after the disturbance and whether in fact the moran were collected in the bush awaiting his instructions or even prepared to act without them. His sudden appearance in camp may have been to warn me. . . . His equally sudden disappearance may have been due to natural causes of no significance. He is a pivotal man and though he has only been in office for a month he has shown that he possesses real authority. . . .

44. In considering the reactions of the moran to Kimuruai's instructions and initiating charms it will be worth commenting on the general relationship between laibons and moran. The system is not peculiar to the Masai but is found in all tribes where the training of a warrior class is the central feature of tribal organization. . . .

45. . . . A great deal has been written on this subject in connection with the Masai in 1918 and 1922. . . . It is not my intention at this stage to do more than observe that a vacillating attitude has probably encouraged both the laibons and moran in their disregard of the Pax Britanica, and a contempt for constituted authority whether European or tribal. . . .

47. The mental background of the Purko moran is extraordinarily narrow. . . . [While] his knowledge of modern affairs even of developments in the areas adjoining his own reserve is so limited as to amount to nothing, his mind is steeped in stories of the prowess of his ancestors as warriors. . . .

48. If in administering the Nanga Narok and Orrkirembe Kimoruai prepared the minds of the Kishun to respond to a call to arms as a proof that they were worthy sons of their fathers he did them a disservice. He knows well enough that the glories of the Masai race which began a hundred years ago and lasted till the middle of last century cannot return.Their name cannot again inspire terror as in the days when they barred the way between the Coast and [Lake Victoria]. . . .

50. This mental condition must in some way explain the red hot response to some insult which was contained in the words used by the two Salash.

51. I had foreseen the possibility of some such insult which would be particularly galling and therefore dangerous if the Kishun were in the neighbourhood of their manyatta. Each age of moran tries to prove its superiority to the preceding one and as it were wrests its laurels and prestige from the elder brothers. Their emotional nature is intensely sensitised at the time of the Eunoto. . . . It occurred to me that it would be preferable to divide the Kishun and Salash, keeping the Kishun at the north end of the road, while the Salash worked on the necessary diversions between Rotian and Narok. . . .

53. I therefore visited Chief Masikonde and. . . discussed this point. He was emphatic in saying that the Salash would have a steadying influence on the Kishun and that he would prefer them to work together for that very reason. . . .

54. It now remains to give some account of the work on the road from Narok to Njoro. . . .

[report concludes with details of the organisation of the work and the purpose of the road]

[signed] C.E.V Buxton

District Commissioner

A: Interview with Aitteti ole Nkarara, Sironkei ole Nkoie, and Seiro ole Rakwa – May 1973

Buxton was the man who shot Il Kidotu at Rotian. He was very brave but not a good man. He forced them to dig a road. They were told that they were going to cut a track. There were 600 murran cutting the road. Il Diegi had drunk milk but Il Kidotu went to Eunoto after the fight. 1 Kimoruai was the laibon. He was [very] powerful . . . and had many cattle. He was . . . a very nice, bright, man -- polite, not harsh. He was friendly to the Europeans, but even if he was not , the Europeans did not care because they had defeated the murran , all the elders and the laibons. . . .

The day that the fight occurred, Il Diegi were in the forest cutting and Il Kidotu were the murran digging. They had changed from the day before. There was a tree . . . that caused the fight. They had to cut it for eight days. On this day, Il Diegi passed the tree. Buxton came along on a horse with a white leg and stood by them and told them to cut the tree. They had cut the other trees and they refused to cut this big tree. They cut another tree. Then he started to insist and they again refused. Then people cried out . Buxton heard this and went, shouting to his camp. The murran heard the cry and thought that the elders were fighting the Europeans. They gathered together, threw down their [hoes], and rushed to their manyatta, which was nearby, to prepare. The elders tried to stop them but they would not listen. Buxton called his askaris 2 and killed some murran. Then they agreed and dug the road. Kimoruai was not there, he had been taken away by Buxton to his home. Kimoruai did not want them to fight. He told them not to, but, because of the hard work, they did not obey him. . . . The fight was caused by that cruel man Buxton. The Maasai and the Europeans had an oath not to fight and Buxton ignored it.

B: Interview with Senjura ole Nchoe – January 1983

The fight broke out when the government told them to dig the road from Narok to Mau. . . . [Il Diegi] started to dig and the murran joined them and were told to dig. The murran did not want to dig the road. They collected a few of the leaders of the murran to join [Il Diegi] in digging the road. Il Diegi were following behind the murran and the murran cleared the road ahead. There was a big cedar tree left still standing and Il Diegi cried out against it: "The murran have left this big tree for us to cut down; we are dead." The murran heard the outcry from ahead and they thought that the Europeans were beating their seniors. 3 They ran to their manyatta and brought out their weapons. Buxton was camped at Rotian. He heard the cries of Il Diegi and the war cries of the murran. He got on his horse and came up. On the way, he met the first murran and he went back at a gallop. A sword and club were thrown at him. He drew up the askaris. When they saw the murran advancing the askaris shot at them and killed three. The murran in front prevented those behind from coming [forward], so Buxton was able to go down the road to Narok with his wife. That is how the fight was.

[Senjura then describes negotiations between the murran and the colonial administration]

[At a meeting] the murran told Buxton that they hated digging the road and that they had not planned to fight. It was just that they had heard the seniors shouting and had thought that the askaris were beating them. Those seniors, when the fight broke out, went to the camp. The seniors told Buxton that it was true about the shouting because the murran were working ahead of them. So Buxton said: "Let us stop fighting and make peace. But let us go back [to Narok] because the [Officer in Charge] is coming ..." Then they could tell [him] what they disliked. . . .

[The murran were taken to Narok--to court--and the administration had already decided what they would do, which was to enroll the murran as Tribal Police]

Kimoruai was there at the manyatta. He was preparing for the Eunoto and Buxton thought that perhaps he was the one refusing them Eunoto [ie delaying the ceremony] because, as you know, laibons are consulted about the Eunoto. So Kimoruai was taken [away] to his own place. He was not inciting the muran. Anyone who says so is lying: he was not. Kimoruai just want to look after the murran so that he would be given cattle. He did not give them any charms to fight. It depends on how much medicine they take in the forest. 4 The charms of a laibon can do nothing to a murran. It is only medicine in the forest that makes him brave. . . . There was rivalry between right and left hand [circumcision groups]. The seniors were contemptuous of the left because, they said, they were very young. But when they had [retired as murran], who could despise them as they were all becoming elders then? Il Diegi were taunting [Il Kidotu] and even now, if they have been drinking, they still do. . . . It's just a joke – not serious now. But they were friendly when they were digging the road because they were one [age set]--only the names are different.

The elders wanted the murran to dig the road. They discussed it and agreed on it. Ole Galishu and ole Kotikosh were giving the orders. Ole Galishu liked the murran but did not want them to stay [murran] any longer without retiring. He had forced Il Diegi to have Eunoto while they were still [young initiates]; and after Eunoto some of them had built another manyatta. . . . Ole Galishu wanted to end murranhood completely. He wanted just a few days of murranhood and then they should settle down and become elders. . . .

[Senjura then describes disagreements between the chiefs over whether murran should retire early and whether they should be allowed to have manyattas. To force Il Diegi to retire, Ole Galishu had pressured their spokesmen into going though the final retirement ceremony in secret and in their fathers' camps.]

Ole Galishu wanted them to [retire] early to lessen the trouble that they might cause. Il Diegi caused trouble because they were many. They could have gone on a raid and finished people if they had been allowed to. They went [as small raiding groups] on more than one occasion, but not [as a major war party]. . . . Ole Galishu was ol piron of Il Diegi [and Il Kidotu] 5 and the other sponsors agreed with him. . . . They agreed because Ole Galishu was olaigwanani kitok and ruled them. 6 No one would go against what he said because it was the spokesman speaking.

Why I Taught the Sources

A number of societies in Eastern Africa, including the Maasai, divide the male life-cycle into distinct stages: childhood; murranhood (or "warrior"); and elderhood. Age-set societies like the Maasai are perhaps unusually explicit in the way that they divide up the life cycle whereas other societies find different ways of socialising the young and managing generational tension. Among the Maasai, the stages are marked by a series of graduation and retirement ceremonies that emphasize the growing cohesion of the generational group and its changing relation to others.

I use three texts on the Massai murran with upper level or seminar classes dealing with youth, either in a specifically African context or more generally in world history. The first is a travel account entitled Through Masai Land by Joseph Thompson. The second is an official report written by Clarence Buxton, District Commissioner, Narok, to the Officer in Charge on the Masai Reserve in July 1935 after a murran riot. The third contains field notes from interviews with elders about events under colonization. The interviews were conducted by historian Richard Waller and took place in 1973.

Since the texts are, essentially, about the way that social maturation is controlled and contested, there are comparative possibilities. I ask students to consider the contrasting natures of the types of sources and to think about how they might be contextualized and assessed. The variety of sources and their separation in time—from 1880 to 1973—offer a number of critical perspectives about processes of change.

How I Introduce the Sources

I generally introduce primary materials towards the middle of a course. Students need to acquire a degree of familiarity with the subject matter before they can make full use of unfamiliar materials. As they gain confidence, their grasp improves and they begin to understand the importance of primary sources for historians and become engaged in the process of interpretation. They learn how to "listen" to a text – for what it is not saying as well as what it is saying. In the process, they learn how to identify and analyze bias and subtexts.

Students read the texts before class discussion. I generally divide a class into a number of small working groups. Each is given either one text or one theme to explore in depth. Because all group members have read the three different texts, we are able to discuss how primary sources, like the secondary literature, have an internal logic that only appears if the entire text is examined.

Reading the Sources

I provide background material and present some of the ideas leading to the major theme of youth culture and its context through an interrogation of its construction. I also pose preliminary questions for students to think about when reading these sources. For example, I ask students why Thomson places young men center-stage in his travel account, with only a few dismissive paragraphs about middle-aged men. Were these young men, the murran, simply more visible, assertive, and flamboyant? Why the long descriptions of dress? Does this reflect readers' expectations of the exotic or the essence of murranhood as experienced by the Massai? Was Thomson more confident in describing what he saw than what he was told (through interpreters)?

I then ask for comparisons with the second document, the 1935 report written by Clarence Buxton, the British official who served as District Commissioner in Narok after a murranriot. Murran are still central, but does he see them in quite the same romantic way? Have they become archaic obstacles to progress? Has Buxton, any more than Thomson, sufficient understanding of language and culture to understand what he is seeing and being told? Comparing this report with Thompson's reminiscences, I ask whether they are really talking about the same thing.

In the third source, the interview field notes, is the elders' understanding of events and their significance different from Buxton's? What were the elders trying to convey to the interviewer about generational relations? I also ask students to consider what shifts occurred over time between these two narratives. Did the aggressive and self-confident warriors of 1880 become the defensive and hostile teenagers of the 1930s? Or did two different authors in two different times interpret the actions of the murran in different ways? What other factors, including external changes as well as the different narrators and kinds of documents, might be involved in these different perceptions?

Reflections

Although anthropologists and historians have not generally done so, it is possible to see murran as youth gangs: Maasai elders and British administrators would not have disagreed. Like gang members elsewhere, Maasai murran create a world and a group identity for themselves apart from "the mainstream."

In some respects, the murran whom Thomson met were not dissimilar from those that Buxton dealt with. In the 1880s, the Maasai had been at the height of their power yet much had changed in the intervening fifty years. Over time, the Maasai lost much of their grazing lands and were confined within a Reserve under colonial rule. Raiding had been outlawed, and the martial virtue of the murran, useful to the British during their conquest of what became Kenya, seemed both archaic and threatening in a time of colonial law and order. The balance of power between murran and elders had also shifted in favour of the latter. Defiant before, angry young men now saw their world threatened and themselves marginalised. They were more obviously subservient to and dependent upon their elders than before.

The Maasai struck back to maintain their honour and their way of life in a series of risings, against a background of calculated disobedience and refusal. After the risings in 1918 and 1922, the British administration decided, in effect, to abolish murranhood, but the attempt failed. By the early 1930s, the administration began to experiment with a modified form of "managed murranhood," allowing young men to be murran for a limited period with supervision.

Sympathetic administrators like Buxton saw that youth must have a space and hoped that its energies and competitiveness might be channelled and controlled by working for the community and perhaps by organised sport. Experience showed, however, that murran could be suppressed but not tamed, and young men, uncertain about their future, continued to "give trouble" to the end of the colonial period and beyond.

The Atlantic Slave Trade and Slave Life in the Americas: A Visual Record amasses over 1,200 images documenting the history of the Atlantic slave trade and the lives of slaves and former slaves in the Americas. The images document the history of enslavement in West and West Central Africa, the English and French Caribbean, Brazil, and the United States. Most of the images are watercolors, sketches, and prints from 18th and 19th century European and American texts, although a few pieces predate this era, or are digitalized versions of previously unpublished archival material. Finally, the site also contains a few newspaper advertisements for runaway slaves, such as this 1763 "Fugitive Slave Advertisement" publicizing the escape of four slaves, including one 15-year-old boy.

Viewers can search for images of children within this site by browsing the 18 broad subject categories by which the database is organized. Two categories that include many images of children are Pre-Colonial Africa: Society, Polity, Culture and Family Life, Child Care, Schools. Larger numbers of images involving children can be located by doing a keyword search from the general database for children (97 images), girl (26 images) and boy (33 images).

While the types of sources contained in this site pose some challenges to effective classroom use, instructors who think carefully about how to have students use these images will be rewarded with rich results. Both full bibliographic references and a clear indication of the geographic and temporal setting depicted are provided for each image. Also included are any relevant textual passages that might have accompanied an image in its original publication. However, as the site makes clear, its authors have made little effort to interpret the images or establish the historical authenticity or accuracy of what they depict, so much is required in this area by viewers.

There are several ways to approach this material. Instructors might point out to students that the images do not necessarily document slavery's history in a straight-forward and unmediated fashion, and in this case, they might design exercises for students that called for them to consider how the context and objective of an image's creator shaped the content of the image generated. This approach could be done by either restricting students to the use of material contained at the site, or by requiring them to do further research on the images’ creators.

Another option would be to explore the ways in which children are ubiquitous in images on this site, for example, as infants, strapped to the backs of women – presumably their mothers. Yet this depiction seems at odds with what we know to have been the extremely high rates of infant and childhood mortality that children experienced across the Americas under slavery. Young children in these images are also most often shown playing near, or sitting on the laps of their mothers, yet again, we know that it was common for slave children to be sold to others separately from their mothers. Instructors might therefore ask their students: Have these artists exaggerated the predominance of children's proximity to their mothers in these images? If so, why?

Instructors might start by encouraging students to formulate interpretations involving childhood and children in slavery from the images, and then moving to secondary source material to learn more. Or an assignment could begin with historical context and then look for patterns mentioned in the literature or for images that counter a historical narrative. A few secondary sources that would work well with this collection of images include: Digital History's entry on African American Voices and Annie L. Burton's 19th century slave chronicle, Memories of Childhood's Slavery Days.

One fascinating theme to explore would be inter-racial relations that childcare arrangements between slave and slave-owning families entailed. See, for example, Enslaved House Servants and White Children, South Carolina, 1863 and Black Nursemaid, New Orleans, 1873-74. Instructors might have students study these and other such images to consider how the relations they depict suggest ties of emotional intimacy and social proximity that contradict the more brutal relations between slaves and slave owners portrayed in so many other images at the site.

Instructors could also use images in this collection to examine the issue of gender, encouraging students to consider, for example, how the slave experience differently affected boys and girls. Students could analyze such images as George Cruikshank's pro-abolitionist drawing, "Punishment Aboard a Slave Ship, 1792" which depicts a 15-year-old girl who was tortured to death for her "virgin modesty" (she had refused to dance naked on the deck of a British slaving ship) or the similar scene illustrated in "Whipping a Slave in Surinam, 1770s". Such illustrations allow students to examine how slave owners and captors projected notions of heightened sexuality, or presumptions of sexual availability on female slaves, and contrast these with the experience of males.