magic

ol-oibónì Nom sg: ol-óíbònì. Variant: ol-óíbóní. Acc pl: il-oibónòk. Nom pl: il-óíbònòk. Variant: ɔibónɨ̀; aibónì. n. 1 • Ritual expert, medicine man, prophet, diviner who has the highest rank in Maasai society. Ɛshɔmɔ́ ɨlmʉ́rrán oloibónì mɛtámayɨanɨ. The warriors have gone to the fortune-teller to be blessed. Eibónítò olóíbònì ɔlárràbàl. The diviner is divining the war. (W). An oloibónì is a man of about fifty years of age who has the highest rank in society because he is believed to have supernatural powers to heal, bless, undo witchcraft, and to mediate between God and man. The main functions of an ol-oibónì are: 1. Making predictions; 2. Advising and blessing warriors with regards to the success of their battles; 3. Concocting and undoing curses: If someone is cursed, ol-oibónì can figure out who made the curse, and what action the person should take to undo it, or he can give out medicine to cure the curse; 4. Searching for the cause of diseases that are especially challenging. He ascribes his position from his deceased father and will maintain it until he passes it on to his eldest son just before his death. The Maasai may have only one or two oloibónì at a time, and every section of the Maasai will visit him at certain days of the month. Ol-oibónì is no longer very powerful, but in previous years he was the most prominent person in Maasai society. Still nowadays, warriors will not go to war without first consulting with ol-oibónì. Also, other people will go to see ol-oibónì: If someone cannot understand the cause for something that has happened, or wants to know what might happen in the future, he will go to ol-oibónì, who will give him magic/explanation, or ɛn-áíbón. Ol-oibónì can explain why there is a problem, or who placed a curse on the individual (ɛn-áíbón). He can also possibly explain why another person placed a curse on that individual, and what the person should do to get the curser to undo his curse. He is also known to curse if consulted to do so. He will only be able to perform his duties under the influence of alcohol. His consultation fee is always paid in form of cows (usually 49). In traditional Maasai society there have been and still are famous ink-oibónòk, as for instance Sekenan, who lived near Magadi. Il-oibónòk use en-kidoŋ (calabashes) to carry small objects used in divination.

enk-oibónì Prophetess. Li oibónì! O ritual expert! See: a-ibón ‘To exercise the office of ritual expert’; en-kídòŋ ‘Calabash’; ɔl-abáànì ‘Healer’; ol-kuyantiki ‘Self-proclaimed healer’.