On the eve of the burial of former Transport and Licensing Board boss, Hassan Ole Kamwaro, Maasai elders were readying a rich send-off full of rituals befitting a Massai leader of repute.
A ritual meant to cleanse his family took place on Friday, September, 27 marking the beginning of Kamwaro's send-off to be held the following day on Saturday.
The ritual which is very significant for the Maasai community dictates the slaughtering of a bull by elders at his Eior Enkitok Home in Narok.
A bull considered to be special was chosen by distinguished elders from his clan to signify the beginning of the burial activities.
The bull must be castrated, uniform in color and picked from his herd to symbolise that the head of the family has passed on, this is according to Joseph Ole Karia, a Maasai elder.
“All the meat will be roasted on an open fire. The pieces of meat from the right side of the bull will be served to members of his nuclear family, beginning with the sons, then the daughters and lastly the mothers," Karia explained.
"None of the mourners is allowed to eat the meat until the family is full," he added.
The same ritual was done during the burial of former Cabinet minister William Ole Ntimama.
When a prominent Maasai man practicing Christianity dies, the fat from the bull is usually not smeared on his body but on the sides of the coffin bearing his body. Fat extracted from the bull after cooking its meat will be applied on his body by his sons shortly before his burial.
After the burial, all the sons of the departed man are required to wear a special metal bracelet to indicate that they have lost their father.
Kamwaro was the national organising secretary of the Maasai Council of Elders. His body was flown into the country after succumbing to cancer in the USA where he was undergoing treatment.
He was aged 75.
