The Masai of today are Christians and a few have converted to Islam. You will rarely find someone who strictly follows their traditional religious beliefs. Traditionally, the Masai are monotheists. They believe in ‘Engai’, a god who is supposed to live on Ol Donyo Lengai, a mountain in Serengeti, Tanzania. The mountain is also known as the ‘mountain of God’. A Laibon who was the religious leader of the people connected them with ‘Engai’. He was the prophet and seer of the people.

In Masai cultural beliefs, once a child is born, it is not fully accepted into society until it is at least three months old. [moons] ancient. This is due to the high infant mortality rate. After three months, a ceremony is performed in which the boy is shaved and given a name to welcome him into society. Once he turns thirteen, if he is a boy, an initiation is performed involving circumcision. The boy now becomes a young Moran.

The Masai believe that all the cattle in the world belong to them. They say that the first Masai man and his wife were given cattle on Mount Kenya by God and told to take care of them. Therefore, they find nothing wrong when they are stolen from other communities because they say they are the rightful owners. The Masai do not believe in burying the dead. They dump the carcasses to be eaten by scavengers like hyenas. They believe that corpses once buried can contaminate the soil. Burial is a right reserved for dignitaries such as chiefs.