Description
African Maasai Pangi Machete
The Maasai (also Maasi) are a group of semi-nomadic people located in Kenya and Nortern Tanzania. They were once regarded as fierce lion hunters . This type of machete was commonly seen on the tribesman. They would fashion blades out of any metal at their disposal.
The Maasai tribe saw lion hunting experience as a sign of bravery and personal achievement. In the past, when the lion population was high, the community encouraged solo lion hunt. However, over the last several years, due to the decline of the lion population, mainly because of rabies and canine distemper virus, the community adapted a new rule that encouraged warriors to hunt in groups instead of solo lion hunt. Group hunting, known in Maasai as olamayio, gave the lion population a chance to grow.
According to Maasai customary laws, the warriors were not allowed to hunt a lion, suffering from drought, snared or poison. The Maasai believed that female lions are the bearers of life in every species. As a matter of fact, it was prohibited to hunt a female lion– unless the lioness posed threat to livestock or human life.
The Maasai well understood that lions are important to the savanna’s ecology. For that reason, the Maasai took extra caution when it comes to lion hunt. The Maasai warriors did not just go out and hunt lions because they can. The rules were there and were followed by every warrior.
Lion hunting experience allowed the Maasai warriors to show off their fighting ability on a non-human target. At the end of each age-set, usually after 10-15 years, the warriors would count all the lions hunted, then compared with those hunted by the previous age-set. The purpose was to compare the number of lions hunted between previous and current age-set.
