A Rendille warrior prepares for his Herr Heroon Bull Ceremony – an age-grade ceremony of warriors which unites all nine Rendille Clans across the desert.Top: Camels return from grazing for the ceremonies. These animals are considered second to God and must be present for all important rituals. Lower Left: The Soriiyo is a family blessing ceremony that occurs twice a year. Each family selects a goat or sheep without blemish to besacrificed outside the family’s homestead. Lower Right: The boys paint blood onto the humps of their camels tobring good fortune, rain, honor the ancestors and strengthen the young generation of warriors.At left: Marriages take place during the ceremonial season when the clans gather together. A shelter, called a Khod, is constructed of branches and hides and placed atop a camel to carry the bride to her husband’s home. At right: A bride wears an Irtiti Orr necklace made of doum palm fibers and glass beads, given to her by her mother at the time of marriage.Aerial view of a Rendille Gob, the encampment for extended families at Galgulumé.At left: A young woman attends the ceremony in her full beaded finery. At right: Women gather in front of their dome-shaped homes to prepare for the upcoming ceremony.The Rendille warrior generation arrives at the Herr Heroon Bull Ceremony, charging forward with ritual Gumo staffs.Many warriors fall into intense states of emotion, and have to be restrained by their peers. Their bodies grow rigid, and sometimes they foam at the mouth so intense is the gathering of the warrior generation.Throughout the ceremony, warriors gather in small groups to perform leaping dances, expressing their unity as a generation. When two warriors leap together their dance is called Woyee.Details of a warrior’s jewelry, featuring buttons, chains, metal sequins, and a bow tie pendant made of brightly colored beads meticulously stitched onto a camelhide backing.At the climax of the Herr Heroon ceremony, the warriors thrust their long wooden Gumo staffs into the entrance of a hut to be slathered with butter fat by the women inside, as a blessing.Groups of warriors perform leaping dances using their Gumo staffs to propel themselves high into the air.The warriors are given camel milk from ceremonial wooden bowls to increase their strength and vigor.The warriors adorn their faces and hair with red ocher, a color which symbolises blod and life force.The piece de resistance of a warriors coiffure is a silk rose topped with an ostrich feather.Portrait of the young warrior, Dagati David Adiyakhiche, at the close of his Herr Heroon ceremony.
