The Maasai warriors are one of the most prominent and respected ethnic groups in Kenya. The warriors are so feared that it is said that lions and cheetahs will flee or stop pursuing game if a Massai warrior is nearby. As soon as a Massai warrior is started, his spear and shield are decorated with red paint, symbolizing his status in society.
The central unit of Massai society is the age group. Although young children are sent out with the calves and lambs as soon as they can walk, children’s childhoods are primarily playtime. The girls are responsible for tasks such as cooking and milking. Every 15 years or so, a new generation of individually named warriors will be started. This involves most children between the ages of 12 and 25 who have reached puberty and are not part of the earlier age group. A rite of passage from boyhood to young warrior status is a painful circumcision ceremony, performed without anesthesia. The maa word for circumcision is emorata. The boy must endure the operation in silence. Expressions of pain bring shame, even if temporarily. The healing process will take 3-4 months, and children must stay in black clothes for a period of 4-8 months.
During this period, newly circumcised boys will live in a “manyatta”, a “village” built by their mothers. The manyatta does not have a barricade surrounding it for protection, which emphasizes the warrior’s role in protecting the community. Further initiation rites are required before attaining senior warrior status, culminating in the eunoto, “coming of age” ceremony.
When a new generation of warriors is started, the existing warriors will graduate to become lesser elders, who are responsible for political decisions until they in turn become greater elders.
The warriors are in charge of the security of the society and now spend most of their time wandering the Maasai lands, beyond the confines of their sectional boundaries. They are also much more involved in the cattle trade than they used to be, developing and improving basic cattle through trade and barter rather than stealing like in the past. The children are responsible for herding the small livestock. During the dry season, both the warriors and the children take responsibility for herding the cattle. The elders are directors and advisors for daily activities. The women are in charge of making the houses, as well as supplying water, collecting firewood, milking the cattle and cooking for the family. One myth about the Massai is that each young man is supposed to kill a lion before being circumcised. Although lion hunting was an activity of the past, and lion hunting has been banned in East Africa, lions are still hunted when they mutilate Massai cattle, and young warriors who engage in traditional lion killing face no consequences. significant. Growing concern about lion populations has given rise to at least one program that promotes accepting compensation when a lion kills livestock, rather than hunting and killing the predator. However, killing a lion gives one great value and celebrity status in the community.
