Maasai gather for once-in-a-decade ceremony to turn warriors into elders
A Maasai elder blesses the celebrants during the Olng'esherr (meat-eating) passage ceremony to unite two age-sets; the older Iipaamu and the younger Ilaitete into senior elderhood as the final rite of passage in Maparasha Hills, Kajiado on September 23, 2020. PHOTO | 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, 128km from Nairobi, to feast on an estimated 3,000 bulls and 30,000 goats and sheep.
