Why God weeps for the children of the Masai
My name is not important; there are thousands of young boys just like me in Africa. I am strong and tough and soon I will become a Masai warrior. I am almost fourteen and my time to become a... man is nearing. Since I was a very young boy, I knew that this day would come, and I have tried to be prepared. I am frightened that I will fail this test and bring shame on my family. The men in my village have been taunting me for many days calling me a women and child. They poke me with sticks and spit on me. I lay awake every night listening for the footsteps of the villages elder warriors as they approach my family’s mud hut. They will all come and drag me in the dark of the night to the river. My hands and feet will be bound, and my face painted white. I will be held down and without anything to ease my pain; my flesh will be cut with a sharp knife. The blood will flow from me, and I will be circumcised. This is the ceremony and test to become a Masai warrior. I must endure the excruciating pain for if I cry out or even grimace as the knife tears into my flesh, the ceremony will end. I will have failed, and I will never be accepted as a man in my village. My family will be shamed, and I will be mocked forever. I will never marry and never have children. Should I succeed, I will rinse my mutilated body in the muddy river. I am sure that like most boys, I too will suffer for months and months with infection and fever after my ordeal. But if I survive, I will have the respect of all Masai people in my village. I will also be able to take any unmarried girl or women I chose and have sex with her, even rape her. When I am ready, I will take many wives to give me children. For a Masai, the more wives and children one has, the more they are respected and admired. My wives will obey and care for me. A Masai warrior is powerful.
My name is not important; there are thousands of young girls just like me in Africa. I must be quiet and learn to obey because I will one day grow up to be a Masai woman. I have heard talk and I am frightened by what I hear. Soon I will be ten and my mother said I must be prepared to become a woman. I do not really understand everything that I hear the older girls talk about, but I know it happens down there. My friend’s sister said that the village women will cut me with a knife, and I will scream out in pain. When I asked her why they cut me, she said so I won’t feel pleasure when I am with a man and so I will not want other men when I marry. I am confused and scared. I have heard that there will be a lot of blood and that I may be sick for a very long time maybe even die. My mother said that after … I am forbidden to wear underwear so that I can be easily taken by any Masai warrior. I am scared because any Masai man, no matter his age, can choose to have me or marry me. Even if I am raped, I cannot tell anyone… not even my mother. If I marry, I must take care of all the needs of my husband. I must have many children, or I will be punished by the elders. I do not understand why the Masai girls must only learn to obey and give her life to the Masai man.
The stories of these young children describe the ceremonial act of genital mutilation practiced today by several tribes in Africa most notably, the Masai. Not long ago the government of several countries made it illegal to cut the genitals/clitoris of the young girls. However, it remains legal for the boys to be circumcised by the tribe. I was told all of this in a personal conversation that I had with a Masai that had converted to Christianity, as we traveled through the Serengeti in a rusty old safari truck. He also told me that the tribes feel that the law is only the modern world trying to diminish their culture. Thus, genital mutilation is still being performed in secret on young girls today. This barbaric ritual is done by people with a cell phone in one hand and ancient cultural lifestyle being practiced with the other hand. There seems to have been missed the space in between that would have put some practices outside of the realm of modern civilization. Not that I can find any time in history that these practices would have made sense. This is why God weeps for the children of the Masai.
Masai are the most famous of the tribes in Kenya. They total about 1.3 million, half of who live in Kenya and the other half in northern Tanzania. They are semi-nomadic and have largely kept their traditional lifestyles.
My name is not important; there are thousands of young boys just like me in Africa. I am strong and tough and soon I will become a Masai warrior. I am almost fourteen and my time to become a... man is nearing. Since I was a very young boy, I knew that this day would come, and I have tried to be prepared. I am frightened that I will fail this test and bring shame on my family. The men in my village have been taunting me for many days calling me a women and child. They poke me with sticks and spit on me. I lay awake every night listening for the footsteps of the villages elder warriors as they approach my family’s mud hut. They will all come and drag me in the dark of the night to the river. My hands and feet will be bound, and my face painted white. I will be held down and without anything to ease my pain; my flesh will be cut with a sharp knife. The blood will flow from me, and I will be circumcised. This is the ceremony and test to become a Masai warrior. I must endure the excruciating pain for if I cry out or even grimace as the knife tears into my flesh, the ceremony will end. I will have failed, and I will never be accepted as a man in my village. My family will be shamed, and I will be mocked forever. I will never marry and never have children. Should I succeed, I will rinse my mutilated body in the muddy river. I am sure that like most boys, I too will suffer for months and months with infection and fever after my ordeal. But if I survive, I will have the respect of all Masai people in my village. I will also be able to take any unmarried girl or women I chose and have sex with her, even rape her. When I am ready, I will take many wives to give me children. For a Masai, the more wives and children one has, the more they are respected and admired. My wives will obey and care for me. A Masai warrior is powerful.
My name is not important; there are thousands of young girls just like me in Africa. I must be quiet and learn to obey because I will one day grow up to be a Masai woman. I have heard talk and I am frightened by what I hear. Soon I will be ten and my mother said I must be prepared to become a woman. I do not really understand everything that I hear the older girls talk about, but I know it happens down there. My friend’s sister said that the village women will cut me with a knife, and I will scream out in pain. When I asked her why they cut me, she said so I won’t feel pleasure when I am with a man and so I will not want other men when I marry. I am confused and scared. I have heard that there will be a lot of blood and that I may be sick for a very long time maybe even die. My mother said that after … I am forbidden to wear underwear so that I can be easily taken by any Masai warrior. I am scared because any Masai man, no matter his age, can choose to have me or marry me. Even if I am raped, I cannot tell anyone… not even my mother. If I marry, I must take care of all the needs of my husband. I must have many children, or I will be punished by the elders. I do not understand why the Masai girls must only learn to obey and give her life to the Masai man.
The stories of these young children describe the ceremonial act of genital mutilation practiced today by several tribes in Africa most notably, the Masai. Not long ago the government of several countries made it illegal to cut the genitals/clitoris of the young girls. However, it remains legal for the boys to be circumcised by the tribe. I was told all of this in a personal conversation that I had with a Masai that had converted to Christianity, as we traveled through the Serengeti in a rusty old safari truck. He also told me that the tribes feel that the law is only the modern world trying to diminish their culture. Thus, genital mutilation is still being performed in secret on young girls today. This barbaric ritual is done by people with a cell phone in one hand and ancient cultural lifestyle being practiced with the other hand. There seems to have been missed the space in between that would have put some practices outside of the realm of modern civilization. Not that I can find any time in history that these practices would have made sense. This is why God weeps for the children of the Masai.
Masai are the most famous of the tribes in Kenya. They total about 1.3 million, half of who live in Kenya and the other half in northern Tanzania. They are semi-nomadic and have largely kept their traditional lifestyles.
