MASAI SPITTING

This isn’t just regular spitting we are talking about. The Masai tribe (an ethnic African group found in Kenya and Tanzania) have an unusual way of greeting friends: they spit on one another. Furthermore, when a new child is born, the Masai men will spit on it and say it is bad believing that if they praise the child they will curse it to a bad life. When greeting elders, a Masai warrior will spit in his hand before offering it to be shaken as a sign of respect.

Wedding ceremony in the Masai nation of Kenya is very unusual. First of all on the day of wedding the bride’s head is shaved and lamb fat and oil is applied on her head. In most cultures head shaving of women is not encouraged. It’s a sign of disgrace. In India widows used to shave their heads to decrease their beauty.  The second custom is that after her wedding her father spits on her head and breasts. Spitting is again a symbol of disgrace usually but in Ma
sai nation it is thought to bring good luck and fortune. Then she leaves for her new home with her husband and never looks back. The husband doesn’t stay in the house in which she stays for the next two days and then her mother in law shaves her head. This commences the wedding ceremony declaring them man and wife for life.