Maasai Circumcision

MAASAI CIRCUMCISION

Circumcision is an important public symbol of manhood for the Maasai. The major events that surround and occur during a Maasai circumcision, including the actual procedure, are depicted in great detail. The surgery itself is unlike anything Westerners are used to; the cutting is as complicated as the Maasai concept of masculinity.



Boys are changed in public, in front of dozens of their peers, who mock and prod them to avoid the embarrassment of displaying doubt or pain. Girls are cut in the privacy of their mother's home, surrounded by only four women who whisper encouraging words. Men are carried while women initiates stand and walk to the bed where they will rest and heal. These inequalities are emblematic of the differences that will separate Maasai women and men from now on in their lives.

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