Hundreds of Maasai "Moran" (warriors), aged 18 to 26, take part in the "Eunoto" ceremony in western Kenya, a vital rite of passage that marks their transition into adulthood. The Maasai have three rites of passage, all of which are on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list in need of urgent safeguarding.
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00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:07 For us, this mass is very important for us, because this
00:11 is what brings us together.
00:13 It integrates us together.
00:15 We can never meet such a multitude without this
00:18 [INAUDIBLE]
00:20 This is one of the biggest ceremonies we have in our
00:23 lives as a mass.
00:24 [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
00:52 We are now graduating to another level, which is
00:56 manhood.
00:57 We are now becoming some men, so responsible men.
01:01 My father can live for me, a home, and I can manage it
01:04 perfectly, because I've graduated from this manhattan.
01:08 [NON-ENGLISH SINGING]
01:38 We teach them, in the whole of that period of monanism, we
01:44 teach them to be responsible future citizens, or future
01:48 members of society.
01:50 They also have to love our culture.
01:52 They have to keep their culture.
01:54 They have to dress the way we address them.
01:57 [NON-ENGLISH SINGING]
02:09 [NON-ENGLISH SINGING]
02:31 That is the greatest fear we have as elders, that in the
02:34 near future, we might not be able to practice this culture,
02:37 because of the subdivision of land, and the laws of the land
02:41 that does not have any respect for the Maasai culture,
02:45 apart from the dressing that everybody's embracing, but
02:48 they are not protecting for us.
02:49 [NON-ENGLISH SINGING]