subject: The Masaai Initiation Ceremony [print this page] The Masaai Initiation Ceremony The Masaai Initiation Ceremony
This takes place after every fifteen years. Boys between the ages of thirteen and twenty five who did not take part in the last ceremony are lined down and there foreskins cut. The life of a Masaai is full of ceremonies and rituals that promote one from an age set to another. Once a child is born, it is not recognised for the first three months otherwise known as moons. This is because of the high mortality rate in the region. If a child survives this period, a ceremony is performed where it is shaven and named thus introducing and accepting it into the society.
The circumcision ceremony is the most important ceremony in the life of a Masaai. This transforms him to a man and an important person in the society. He is respected and deemed as a protector not only to his family but the entire community. The ceremony is performed by a clan elder. The boys are lined down naked and he comes along with the knife and cuts off the foreskins. The boy is supposed to stay still and not show any sigh of fear or pain. If he does, he brings shame to his family.
After the cut, makeshift bandages made form cow hide are used to stop the bleeding. The healing can take even more than three months. During this time, walking and passing urine is almost impossible. They are taken to a manyatta which was build by their mothers. This does not have a security fence around it to emphasize their role as the security force of the community. Here, they are fed until they are strong enough and well again. They are adorned in black clothes for the next eight months.
