Eunoto - Becoming An Elder
BENBEN: Eunoto - Becoming An Elder
Amiaquo comes from a village in Kenya, near the border with Tanzania. He is from the Massai tribe, a tribe known by most of the world for their legendary fierce warriors. The Massai have kept a very strong culture and have kept their traditions intact, despite criticism from the Western world.
Only men can become warriors, and a young man must pass through initiations before gaining the important status of a warrior. There are four significant stages for a Massai warrior: junior warrior, senior warrior, junior elder, and senior elder. Amiaquo will pass through each stage of life with his generational group - a group of boys or men divided by age - and will experience initiations and transitions together as a unit.
The Massai warrior is called the ol-murrani. He is skillful with his spear, which he carries by his side at all times so that he can hunt and protect his village. He is courageous, brave, confident, and intelligent. The ol-murrani protects and tends the cattle and is feared by outsiders but admired by his village.
The warrior stage of a man's life is one that is always seen as a triumphant time. Many old men remember their warrior days with nostalgia. The young boys are always anxious to become warriors, and the junior warriors are always anxious to become senior warriors. It is when the junior warriors begin pressuring the senior warriors for their positions that preparations begin for the graduation of the senior warriors, who will then become junior elders. This event is called the Eunoto Ceremony.
The Eunoto Ceremony is not a secret ritual - in fact, hundreds of people will attend the event. This ceremony is a very important step in a man's life, as it is an event with great spiritual meaning. The ceremony itself lasts four days and takes place in a ceremonial hut that is specifically built for the event. Once the village has chosen a day for the ceremony to begin, the graduates (the senior warriors) begin preparing for the transitional event. During the ceremony, warriors dress in full warrior attire and carry long white poles as a symbol of passing into elderhood. A group leader (the olotuno) is chosen: he is one of upstanding character and outstanding leadership qualities. Being chosen leader is a very high honor, but one that comes with many responsibilities, so it is very important that the right man is chosen for this duty.
One ritual of the eunoto is the feast of the black ox. After the ox is slaughtered, the olotuno drinks a mixture of the blood from the ox and milk (this is a common food for the Massai tribe). After the olotuno drinks, the rest of his age group drinks the same liquid. The entire ox is used during the ceremony, as with all traditional ceremonies, and the hide is cut into grafts that are worn by the new elders after graduation.
Warriors must have their heads and eyebrows shaved by their mothers. A warrior's mother will perform the ritual on the same cowhide on which he was circumcised. After each warrior has their long hair shaven, they leave the site of the ceremony to decorate their heads and bodies before returning to the hut in a procession.
Towards the end of the Eunoto Ceremony, the olotuno chooses a wife. This is a significant event, as it is a symbol that the age set is now able to marry! Milk-drinking and meat-eating ceremonies follow, lifting the warrior restrictions surrounding drinking milk and eating meat, and the senior warriors graduate into elders. The morans (junior warriors) now become senior warriors, making room for a new age set to be initiated into junior warriors.
The new elder now has different roles and responsibilities than he did when he was a warrior. He is now able to marry, and his duties as an elder call for much discipline and intelligence. The Eunoto Ceremony is only the beginning of one's journey as an elder.
