Maasai families from Kenya and Tanzania whose heritages are on display at the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford have received a ‘symbolic gift of cows’ as part of a project to build equitable relationships with indigenous peoples whose heritage is represented in the museum’s collection.
According to the Kenyan newspaper The nation, 98 cows were donated to members of the Sululu and Mpaima families at a ceremony this weekend in Loita, southwest of Nairobi near the Tanzanian border. The Pitt Rivers Museum said six ceremonies took place between June 26 and July 5. According to the K24tv website, the Moseka family in northern Tanzania and the Sayialel family in Kenya have also received donations of cows.
Maasai human rights activist Samwel Nangiria visited the Pitt Rivers Museum in 2017 and discovered culturally sensitive heirlooms in the collection, the project’s website says. In a statement issued after the visit, Maasai leaders said they were “annoyed, annoyed, annoyed” by the presence of artifacts in the museum.
The Five Culturally Sensitive Objects Image: © Pitt Rivers Museum
The five objects in question are a hereditary necklace and a hereditary bracelet transmitted from father to son, an earring and a head ornament worn by young women after excision, and a neck ornament worn by married women. These can never be borrowed, sold or given away, according to Maasai custom. All five were acquired by Alfred Claud Hollis, a British administrator and writer who spent much of his career in East Africa.
“These objects have never been displayed or studied publicly, perhaps due to limited historical documentation and a lack of research interest in Maasai collections,” the Pitt Rivers Museum states on its website. .
“Their absence from a family is believed to bring bad luck, so that the presence of objects in the museum continues to harm descendants,” said Pitt Rivers. “The museum then followed the advice of Maasai elders and religious leaders to find ways to move forward with regard to the care of the objects.”
The 2017 visit led to the creation of the Maasai Living Cultures Project, a collaboration between the Pitt Rivers Museum, Maasai community leaders and InsightShare, an Oxford-based organization that helps indigenous people protect their territories, languages and their cultures using participatory video. The cows were funded by the Staples Trust, which funds the project.
“We hope that this reparation process, which has been carried out by the Maasai over the past six years, will have a significant impact on the Maasai families who are the descendants of the people whose objects were taken during the periods of war and disaster. colonial oppression,” says Laura. Van Broekhoven, the manager of Pitt Rivers.
The Pitt Rivers contain 95,327 objects from Africa, including 9,443 from Kenya and 2,794 from Tanzania, according to its website. Of these, 188 are attributed to the Maasai. Since its inception, the Maasai Living Cultures Project has expanded to include the Horniman Museum in London and the Museum of Archeology and Anthropology in Cambridge.
On its website, the Pitt Rivers states that no claims have been submitted for the objects, but if it were to happen “we would follow established university procedures.”
