Kenya's Maasai gather for once-in-a-decade ceremony to turn warriors into elders


  • World
  • Thursday, 24 Sep 2020

Maasai men of Matapato attend the Olng'esherr (meat-eating) passage ceremony to unite two age-sets; the older Ilpaamu and the younger Ilaitete into senior elder-hood as the final rite of passage, after the event was initially postponed due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Maparasha hills of Kajiado, Kenya September 23, 2020. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya

MAPARASHA HILLS, Kenya (Reuters) - Thousands of Maasai men clad in red and purple shawls and with their heads coated in red ochre gathered this week for a ceremony that transforms them from Moran (warriors) to Mzee (elders).

Around 15,000 men from all over Kenya and neighbouring Tanzania congregated in Maparasha Hills in Kajiado County, 128 km from Nairobi, to feast on an estimated 3,000 bulls and 30,000 goats and sheep.

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