Lenana: The Story of the Famous Maasai Oloiboni

Lenana was born at Ngoshua, near Monduli at the foothills of Mt Kilimanjaro. He was the only son of one of Mbatian’s 100 wives.

Lenana was initiated into the Talala age group by circumcision rite, as is customary with Maasai tradition.

The Maasai believed that prophetic powers were hereditary among the Oloiboni clan and therefore Lenana and all his brothers apprenticed to become prophets.

He was at a disadvantage because his father preferred teaching his elder brother Senteu the duties of Oloiboni. However, Lenana upstaged his brother and quickly perfected his Oloiboni skills by watching his father work whenever opportunity presented itself.

When Mbatian was about to die, he announced that whichever son he would call to his deathbed, would inherit his place as Oloiboni. By this time, Lenana had come of age. When he got word of Mbatian’s announcement, he devised a plan to take advantage of his father’s senility and partial blindness and inherit the position of Oloiboni.

In this way Lenana usurped his brother Senteu’s birthright. This created enmity between the two brothers, which was escalated by the onset of a drought and a breakout of plagues of livestock diseases. The frequent wars aimed at restocking livestock after the droughts and disease grew so serious that they spilled over into what is today known as Tanzania.

In addition, the wars between the brothers and frequent attacks from the Agikuyu severely weakened Lenana’s stronghold. It is at this time that Lenana sought collaboration with the British.

Lenana saw the British as an ally who would help him track down and defeat his brother Senteu who was destabilizing the region by raiding and stealing cattle from other Maasai clans.

In 1898, Lenana was appointed Paramount Chief by the British and was given resources to monitor and stop his brother Senteu. At the time, what is today known as Tanzania, was under German subjugation and the British were interested in avoiding a war between them and the Germans.

In the years that followed, Lenana’s powers as a Paramount Chief drastically reduced, and The British appropriated his land and that of other Maasai clans through a series of bogus agreements.

Lenana’s legacy lives on:
Lenana’s legacy lives on and one of the peaks of Mt. Kenya is named after him.

The Maasai community lifestyle is mainly pastoralist, which has been compatible with wildlife conservation. For example, traditionally the Maasai people did not eat wild animals even in times of extreme drought. Let’s recognize the traditional Maasai values of letting wildlife live!