Massai Seme (Ol Alem)

  • Massai Seme (Ol Alem)

  • Massai Seme (Ol Alem)

  • Massai Seme (Ol Alem)

  • Massai Seme (Ol Alem)

  • Massai Seme (Ol Alem)

  • Massai Seme (Ol Alem)

  • Massai Seme (Ol Alem)

  • Massai Seme (Ol Alem)

  • Massai Seme (Ol Alem)

Massai Seme (Ol Alem)
Maasai or surrounding neighbors
Tanganyika, German East Africa - Kenya Colony, British East Africa (Kenya - Tanzania)
Late 19th - Early 20th century (ca.1890 - 1925)
Steel, wood, leather
Blade: 64,8cm
Hilt & Blade: 78,7cm
Hilt, Bade, Sheath: 78,7cm
Collection Date: 2024
Collection Number: 385

Ex. Sword and Antique Weapons: Brisbane, Australia (2024)
Ex. Michael J. Bowman, Newton, UK (2019)

The seme, or Ol Alem (Swahili), is the traditional sword of the Massai and surrounding tribes of Kenya and Tanzania, East Africa. Usually, a weapon of last resort as the spear and shield make up the prime armaments. Nevertheless, every Maasai male would carry a seme after completing the rites of passage into adulthood and warrior status.

This one is an early example, still with its original belt intact, probably around 1900. The double- edged steel blade is long and narrow, with a medial ridge extending into a leaf shaped point. It has a very heavy and solid steel construction. The hilt is wood with a leather wrapped grip. Wooden sheath covered in dyed red leather, with original leather belt attached. Missing the iron chape ring. A quality early example of the Massai sword.

Photograph 8: Maasai Warriors. Niarobi, Kenya, 1969.
Photograph 9: Warriors of the Gwas' Ngishu Maasai, Kenya, 1899.