- Collection type
- Object
- Description
- Sword with very long narrow leaf-shaped blade and short ribbed grip covered with leather. [For sheath see 1905.6.11 .2] [El.B 13/11/2007]
- Long description
- Sword with very long narrow leaf-shaped blade and short ribbed grip covered with leather. [For sheath see 1905.6.11 .2] [El.B 13/11/2007] Sword and scabbard typically Maasai, and still used today. Local names for sword is Sime (Swahili) Olalem (Maa) Local names for sheath is Ala (Swahili) Enchashur (Maa). The sword is culturally symbolic of manhood and an important part of a man’s outfit. A man is not completely dressed without his sword, as the Maasai feel they must be on guard all the time and ready to fight. When a visitor comes to your home, you take your sword down and put it by the bed, thereby inviting him to stay with the family. Most importantly, if you need something, you leave your sword in someone’s home and they must give you a cow, in this way it can be used by the poor. [ThW [Living Cultures Project] 17/3/2021]
- Date / Period
- Date made: Before 1905
- Date collected
- By 1905
- Acquisition information
- Donated: 1905
- Materials and processes
- Material Wood Plant, Material Animal Leather Skin, Material Iron Metal, Process Forged (Metal), Process Carved, Process Covered
- Dimensions
- Length: max 896 mm
- Object numbers
- Accession number: 1905.6.11.1
- Research and responses
'Sword and scabbard typically Maasai, and still used today. Local names for sword is Sime (Swahili) Olalem (Maa) Local names for sheath is Ala (Swahili) Enchashur (Maa). The sword is culturally symbolic of manhood and an important part of a man’s outfit. A man is not completely dressed without his sword, as the Maasai feel they must be on guard all the time and ready to fight. When a visitor comes to your home, you take your sword down and put it by the bed, thereby inviting him to stay with the family. Most importantly, if you need something, you leave your sword in someone’s home and they must give you a cow, in this way it can be used by the poor.'
The information used to describe this object has been reviewed through a process of consultation with Maasai representatives and community elders as part of The Maasai Living Cultures Project. Living Cultures started in 2017 and is a partnership between Maasai representatives from Tanzania and Kenya, the Pitt Rivers Museum and InsightShare, an Oxford-based NGO. The project is working to represent the history and narratives behind artefacts held in museum collections. Over the course of three years (2017, 2018, 2020) Maasai delegates have visited the museum to discuss how their culture is represented and how the Museum speaks about Maasai communities in its displays, databases, and education programmes. [ThW [Living Cultures Project] 16/3/2021]
1905.6.11.1
Sword with very long narrow leaf-shaped blade and short ribbed grip covered with leather. [For sheath see 1905.6.11 .2] [El.B 13/11/2007]
1905.6.11.1
Digital asset copyright: Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford
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