Erhardt was a missionary in
East Africa and published this dictionary in 1857 in W�rtemberg, Germany, after he left
East Africa. It does not appear that Erhardt had ever visited any Maa-speaking communities
but relied upon enslaved Maa-speakers. Originally the work was entitled Vocabulary der
Masai-Sprache and in the Tanga Journal of 1854 he referred to it as Enduguk
Iloikobani, (Language of the Masai). This was one of the first publications
of the Maasai language, proceeded by Johann Kraf's dictionary, Vocabulary of the
Engutuk Eloikob or the Language of the Wakuafi Nation in the Interior of
Equatorial Africa, in 1854.
Dictionary
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