Initiation Ritual of Junior Warriors Into Elders in African Maasai Tribe

About 15,000 Maasai men from all over Kenya and neighboring Tanzania gathered for the initiation ceremony in Kajiado district, 128km from the capital of Kenya, Nairobi.

To participate in the ceremony, the men donned red robes and an array of colored jewelry. Many of the participants in the ceremony were accompanied by their wives.

1 / 10

Maasai women decorate each other as they prepare to watch Maasai morans, or warriors, take part in an Olng'esherr ceremony at the foot of the Maparasha Hills, near Kajiado, in Kenya Wednesday, 23 September 2020. The Olng'esherr ceremony, which attracted more than ten thousand Maasai from around the region, is a meat-eating rite of passage which takes place only once every 15 years and marks the end of being a young warrior and the beginning of becoming an elder.

2 / 10

Maasai women sing for their men of Matapato clan before attending 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 23 September 2020.

3 / 10

Maasai men of Matapato jostle to parade as they 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.

4 / 10

Maasai morans, or warriors, take part in an Olng'esherr ceremony at the foot of the Maparasha Hills, near Kajiado, in Kenya Wednesday 23 September 2020. The Olng'esherr ceremony, which attracted more than ten thousand Maasai from around the region, is a meat-eating rite of passage which takes place only once every 15 years and marks the end of being a young warrior and the beginning of becoming an elder.

5 / 10

Maasai men of Matapato clan apply red orchre before attending 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 23 September 2020.

6 / 10

Maasai women gather to watch Maasai morans, or warriors, take part in an Olng'esherr ceremony at the foot of the Maparasha Hills, near Kajiado, in Kenya Wednesday, 23 September 2020. The Olng'esherr ceremony, which attracted more than ten thousand Maasai from around the region, is a meat-eating rite of passage which takes place only once every 15 years and marks the end of being a young warrior and the beginning of becoming an elder.

7 / 10

A Maasai moran, or warrior, takes a photograph with his smartphone using a selfie stick as he attends an Olng'esherr ceremony at the foot of the Maparasha Hills, near Kajiado, in Kenya Wednesday 23 September 2020. The Olng'esherr ceremony, which attracted more than ten thousand Maasai from around the region, is a meat-eating rite of passage which takes place only once every 15 years and marks the end of being a young warrior and the beginning of becoming an elder.

8 / 10

Maasai women sing for their men of Matapato clan before attending 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,o after the event was initially postponed due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Maparasha hills of Kajiado, Kenya 23 September 2020.

9 / 10

10 / 10

A Maasai moran, or warrior, wears sandals made from piece of a tire as he and others take part in an Olng'esherr ceremony at the foot of the Maparasha Hills, near Kajiado, in Kenya Wednesday, 23 September 2020.