The Magic of Maasai

The Up, Up and Up Story!

Maasai Jumping or the dance is every tourist’s delight! The delightful dance has been captured in endless pictures, videos, and documentaries before. The Adumu, often called the “jumping dance,” is a highly recognisable ritual of the Maasai life.

What is the Maasai life, anyway? For the Maasai, the adumu is just one in a series of rituals that make up the Eunoto, the ceremony in which the junior warriors, or morani, graduate to the ranks of manhood. Yes, it is the way of jumping up, up and up to grow up!

Maasai warrior society is mainly organised by age groups. So, yes children stay at home with parents until the teenage years and when the boys are inducted into the first stages of manhood via the Emuratta, a ritualised circumcision ceremony. It is important to note that, while women don’t have their own “age group” like boys but do undergo some of their own rituals on the way to adulthood. Coming back to discussing the warrior boys who successfully go through the Emuratta (one of the requirements is that you cannot even flinch) are officially elevated to the status of junior moran. After the ceremony, the new morani move to a manyatta, an encampment where they will live together for up to ten years.

Now that they are cordoned off from the rest of their tribesman, they are not even allowed to eat or drink in the presence of a woman. It is a part of the reasoning behind the manyatta camp – to teach male Maasai independence, since mothers generally take  care of household tasks as they’re growing up. So now it’s understandable that the morani jump at the chance to graduate to full adulthood, like, literally!

The Eunoto ceremonies may last for more than ten days. The ceremonies are marked with singing, a parade in front of elder warriors, ritual cow slaughter, and the first sip of alcohol, traditionally made from the fermented roots of aloe and honey. Sounds interesting? But one of the most photogenic elements of the entire ceremony undoubtedly remains the adumu.

The young morani form a circle, which one or two will enter at a time. Bodies held in a narrow pose with heels never touching the ground, the young warriors begin jumping up and up.

Why is it such a big deal to jump higher? Well, because the higher and more graceful the jumping, the more appeal the warrior has to the young women looking on. Soon after this ceremony, it also opens up the opportunity to marry. A Maasai can only marry after the Eunoto ceremony is complete. Well, there’s some serious motivation, there! 

When one warrior starts to feel tired which kicks in pretty soon, usually after just a few jumps and the height attained is often impressive! And there’s no kidding as it requires serious athleticism, another young warrior takes his place. All the while, the morani forming the outer circle sing, raising the pitch of their voices to “match” the height of the jumps.

Wait, there’s more to it! After the ceremony is over, the morani shave off their long hair as a sign of their new status as full-fledged warriors. They can now return to the community, marry, and start families of their own. Awesome, right?

Really, it’s enough to put a spring in anyone’s step!

If you now can’t stop yourself from witnessing one of such incidents, you can definitely visit Tanzania! And Yusuph Haphani, my friend can surely help you explore!