19th Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Travel
Maasai bull slaughtering
The image shows Maasai seniors knocking down the bull before slaughtering it. The event takes place in the middle of dry sandy savannah in East Africa. The bull slaughtering is part of a ceremony, which is an age transition event when a junior elder member of the tribe (who is also a chief of the village) is blessed by the community to become a senior elder. Among Maasai this ceremony is called ‘Orkiteng Larbaa’, which literally means ‘the bull has become an old man’. This is the fourth ceremonial feast for a Maasai man to undergo and the last one in life to perform. The other ceremonial feast are: birthday, initiation, becoming junior elder and finally becoming a senior elder. This is a very rare event.
Photo Detail
Date Taken: | 07.2021 |
Date Uploaded: | 07.2021 |
Photo Location: | Arusha region, Tanzania |
Camera: | Canon EOS 5D Mark III |
Copyright: | © Antonina Zharko |