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Originally Posted by Manolo
Hello Jim,
The aversion to touching metal is also seen amongst the Masai is it not? As I understand it, the whole cult associated with smiths and metal craftsmen ,
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Before selecting a sword or spear from the smith Maasai men must first grease their hands. Also, traditionally the smithing races - Chagga and debased Maasai groups who lost their cattle during the rinderpest epidemic were historically kept in a state of near slavery. For payment they were given bad animal, which the Maasai raised for them and kept until they were needed for slaughter.
Many of the smithing groups also were not allowed to circumcise their males because it was believed that they were unclean due to the metal work but also because it was thought that they contained both a male and female essence.
You also see the fear of the blacksmith in the old Mali epic the Sundiata and it goes into great detail about this.