During our latest African Safari at the Serengeti, a great honor was bestowed on us by loving brothers and sisters at our Maasai village to commemorate our silver anniversary. After checking the boxes of suburban American life and pushing two children through to college, I am an old man on our 25th and my wife is ageing gracefully. Nevertheless it was an epic experience for us participating in intriguing traditional ceremonies and rituals of a remarkably rich culture that the noble Maasai have somehow managed to preserve without dilation despite rampant European plundering and land grabs in the African continent.

Watch a video of our Maasai Wedding ceremonies.

Attempting at quick familiarity of a peoples and a culture as righteous and opulent as the Maasai's is like Genghis Khan trying to comprehend Salvador Dalí.

The Maasai, literally "Maa speaking people", are polygamous and members of a village are one extended family. The words "village" and "family" are therefore interchangeable. Every ceremonial ritual and words of songs have profound implications.

As hunters who are also herdsmen greatly dependent on domesticated animals, the Maasai are nomadic. They move between semi-permanent villages. There are rules for temporary occupation of available villages left empty by prior families. A smaller family does not occupy a village meant to house a large one.

Small tidbits of information about the Maasai that percolated to us in childhood about food and drink traditions are correct but incomplete. Yes, they drink cattle blood but that is not all they drink.

The Maa language does not have a script. I do not yet speak the oral-only Maa, neither do I understand the words in the songs, but here is a naive attempt at interpretation of what happens in the different ceremonies in our wedding. Given our monumental ignorance and incompetence in traditional ceremonies, our roles are mostly performed by surrogates appointed by the Chief in agreement with the village.

The Chief hands me his wand. This is a traditional welcome honoring guests to the village, a gesture that implies I, a guest and a traveler, am the temporary Chief with the village at my service. Guests are treated as very special in all ancient cultures, particularly so in nomadic cultures. We from the Indian subcontinent too have grown up with the Sanskrit mantra of "अतिथिदेवो भव:" which equates a guest with god.

The village dresses up and then dress us up in wedding attire. A series of ceremonies accompanied with dances and songs then carry us through the wedding.

Getting dressed for the wedding

A young Maasai traditionally comes of age by killing a lion with a spear, after which he is an eligible bachelor ready to look for his bride. The Chief educates me by demonstrating the art of  the fatal throw of a spear. Anyway, one of the first ceremonies is about me the groom, having killed a lion, now traveling to another village in search of a bride. 

Played out by my surrogate to wonderful vocal polyphonic songs with no instruments, I try to make an impression on the girls by singing and dancing, part of which is jumping as high as one can.

The ceremony changes when a girl, my wife's surrogate, expresses interest in getting married to me. This is reflected by the girl coming up and returning the dance moves and the jumps.

A celebratory mood sets in when I bring my bride back to my family village. There are multiple songs and dances performed at this time. It appears to me a continuing connection is made with the universe and supreme power Nkai who manifests as colors red and black. Blessings are sought for good health, long life, enough food and for married women long married lives. Eventually my wife is pulled into the ceremony which she happily joins.

The bride and the groom

A great feast ensues. A goat is sacrificed with a classic Maasai long knife, a fire lit in the traditional way by rubbing two pieces of wood, meat carved off and roasted on fire then distributed.

Wedding Feast

After the feast, the mood becomes sombre. My wife and I are seated with the Chief.

I am given an intricately decorated leather flask to hold with my right hand. The village gathers around us in a circle. The Chief stands up and gives a speech, towards the end of which he asks a question for all to answer. The villagers respond with a happy "yes" and clapping.

At this point, the Chief's elder brother, who is the priest / holy man / shaman / medicine man of the village, takes over. My wife and I are asked to sip from the flask. We do so, learning the flask contains fresh goat milk. A little of the milk is then poured on our heads - enough to trickle over our noses. After this the flask is passed around and sips of the milk taken by everyone along with pouring of some of it on heads. It is then that I start to realize what is happening. We are being inducted into the family.

The elder brother then proceeds with the ceremony. Objects are touched at our heads, necks and feed. My wife gets additional attention in the rituals perhaps because she is a new bride in the family. Grass leaves are placed around our feet. We are blessed by elders and blessings for all is sought from the powers above. All in all, this is among the most memorable, joyous and humbling experiences in our lives. We go through an unforgettable life event right there that day.

We eventually leave our new brothers and sisters for the day to head to the Serengeti (more about our Serengeti camping and wildlife experience). Late in the evening at the Serengeti campsite, we are informed that the Chief's sisters would like us to stop by the next day. So we did, and the sisters bestowed us with wedding gifts. I was given a sculpted wooden staff with a round head that looks like a microphone. It is a symbol of power. In any discussion among the village elder, I can lift my staff up and say things that others are now required to listen to. My wife has a beautiful white neck ornament that brings with it good luck for a long happy married life.

Our sisters and brother Chief Ndutu

Our Maasai village and Chief Ndutu is located at 3°03'00.6"S, 35°22'15.0"E. Please stop by and say hello to our brothers and sisters!