Rites of Passage for Mesai and Nubian culture - Research Paper Example

In the Maasai culture, ceremonies are used as a way of expressing their culture and self-determination. All the ceremonies form a part of their lives because they are rites of passage. The younger Maasai boys and girls get very anxious to reach the right age and qualify to go through these rites of passage. The pre-circumcision ceremony referred to as Enkipaata is the first boy’s initiation. It is arranged by the fathers of the new age-set group. The ceremony is carried out only when the senior warriors have been settled.

Boys aged between 14-16 years later move all around their land in a period of about five months giving information that they will be forming their new age-set. The boys going through initiation are offered a house which has been built in their respect. The Maasai prophet, known as Oloiboni, is responsible for choosing the location of the houses where all the boys of the whole community will be initiated. During this process, the chief of the boys, known as Olopolosi, is chosen, although this position is considered by the community as unfortunate.

This is because the chief of the boys is the person supposed to carry all the sins committed by members of his age-group. The boys to be initiated are supposed to sleep in the forest, and at dawn they run towards the homestead and go in with a raider’s attitude. They dance throughout the day of the ceremony dressed in loose clothes. It is after this ceremony that the boys are ready for circumcision. The circumcision ceremony is the most important rite of passage in the Maasai community, for men and women.

It is the process that develops young girls and boys from childhood to adulthood. However, due to upcoming challenges of civilization and the 21st century, circumcision for Maasai women has been fading over the years. Once a Maasai boy has been circumcised, they become warriors. After becoming warriors, they fully take the responsibility