The Massai is home to a series of different rites of passage, according to the different tribes, that are still carried out presently. The ceremonies are named differently according to the tribal tongue but usually represent the same thing, the transition for a boy into a warrior or a girl into an eligible wife. The Massai take their rites of passage very seriously and those who do not complete the tasks set out for them successfully often end up as social outcasts.

Children in the Massai tribe are placed into age groups at birth, with whom they will grow up with and live in for the remainder of their lives. It is in these groups that the Massai usually complete their rites of passage, according to their age. The age that the child is deemed ready...