The Maasai Legend on How Death Came to Be

One of the famous stories from the Maasai community in Arusha, Tanzania.

Origin of Death, according to the Maasai (2020) by Advithi EmmiProject FUEL

There is a legend that the Maasai tell about the origin of death. They say that there was once a man known as Leeyio who was the first man that Naiteru-kop, a deity associated with creation, brought to earth. Naiteru- Kop told Leeyio that when a man dies and they dispose of the corpse, he must remember to say, 'Man die and come back again, moon die, and remain away'.

Many months passed away. One day, a neighbour's child died and Leeyio was called upon to dispose of the body. When he took the corpse outside, he made a mistake and said, 'Moon dies and comes back again, man dies and stays away.' So after that, no man survived death. A few more months passed, and Leeyio's own child died. The father took the corpse outside and said, 'Man die and come back again, moon die, and remain away."

On hearing this, Naiteru-kop said to Leeyio, "You are too late now for, through your own mistake, death was born the day when your neighbour's child died." This is how death came about, and why, up to this day, when a man dies he does not return, but when the moon dies, it always comes back again.

Credits: Story

Project FUEL would like to thank the Maasai community in the Losimingori village of Arusha, Tanzania for opening their hearts and home to this research. 

This exhibit is part of the Wise Wall Project, an initiative of Project FUEL, to document, design, and strengthen the wisdom of rural communities and marginalized villages using art and community outreach programs. In the third edition of this project, we collaborated with the Maasai, in Arusha, Tanzania, to build an on-ground community centre for the people and bring an exclusive insight into the life, lifestyle, and learnings of this inspiring community.

Illustration: Advithi Emmi

Research, Interviews and Curation: Project FUEL

Project Partners: Vijana Inspiring Foundation, Vikram Solar Ltd., Lions Club of Dar es Salaam and Arusha, Google Arts & Culture

Credits: All media
The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.
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