Maasai men are brought up to become warriors and protect our Elders, Mothers, sisters, brothers and animals from predators and other tribes.  After young boys between the ages of 15 and 25 undergo a very painful circumcision ceremony performed by our Elders with no complaining and no anesthesia, we start the new stage of our life as men and after a few months of recovering and training, we become “Morans”.  Once we become Morans, the safety of the entire Maasai community lies in our hands. There are certain new rituals and customs that we must start following.  For example, as Morans we are not allowed to either eat alone or eat any fat-containing food within a Boma or Manyatta.  After marrying, our wives are not allowed to be with us when we eat inside the house.  We are also not supposed to see our wives while they eat. There are a few exceptions to this rule for few Morans that marry and "purchase" the right not to have to follow these rules.

 

Only Morans, weak Elders and non-Maasai women and men are allowed in the “Orpul”. This is the place just outside a Manyatta or Boma, located in the open bush where Morans cook, eat and slaughter animals for special occasions. Certain parts of the animals we slaughter are reserved for men and certain parts are only to be eaten by our women. As an example, women eat intestines from sheep while only the men can eat intestines from goats.  Both men and women can eat cow intestines. Women are only allowed to come to the Orpul with our permission, which is very rarely given.  We typically reserve meat and bring it over to them for their consumption.

 

We often get together to sing, dance and compete with our high jumps. When we sing, women must be present to sing back to us. Singing and dancing are very important traditions in our culture.  Morans who jump the highest have been traditionally rewarded with the best girls but currently, girls are the ones choosing their boyfriends after our jumping, singing and dancing.