Antique Masai (Maasai) SEME Knife – Kenya

1920-1930. Cm. 54.0 in length (21.26″); the blade is cm. 39.8 in length (15.67″). Weight: 329.1 grams (11.61 oz.).

The Seme (sime) is the constant sidearm of the Maasai (Masai) man. It is a light short sword with a double-edged, leaf-shaped spatulate blade. The Maasai use this blade for everything from clearing brush, butchering cattle, to peeling fruit. They also use it for self defense.

Maasai are a Nilotic ethnic group inhabiting central and southern Kenya and northern Tanzania. The Maasai speak a Nilo-Saharan language. They inhabit the African Great Lakes region and arrived via South Sudan. Most Nilotic speakers in the area, including the Maasai, the Samburu and the Kalenjin, are pastoralists, and are famous for their fearsome reputations as warriors and cattle-rustlers.

The Maasai and other groups in East Africa have adopted customs and practices from neighboring Cushitic-speaking groups, including the age set system of social organization, circumcision, and vocabulary terms.

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