THE VEILED BOYS

Pokot Coming of Age

Africa
Kenya

Photos

Veiled Initiate
A boy wears an ochered sisal veil throughout his
initiation which he may only discard when his training is complete.
The Way of the Hunter
The boys emerge in long lines from their ritual hut where they learn many skills including hunting.
Bows and Arrows
Young boys learn to make bows and arrows as part of their initiate training into the crafts of the hunter.
Teachers and Guardians
Another lesson of the initiation is how to make a fire to prepare their own food. Occupying a state between two stages in life, the boys are cared for and fed milk from a calabash by their ritual guardians.
The Sacred Forest
The veiled boys are in state of limbo in their transition to manhood. During this period, they travel through the forest in long lines undergoing various rites of passage.
Songs of Presence
The initiates sing songs to the sound of their shakers made of bottle tops and string to announce their presence as they travel through the sacred forest.
Pounding the Bull
The boys are given a sacrificial bull that they must pound to death with their fists in a rite of passage which unites them as a generation.
Blessed with Chyme
At twenty years of age, a Pokot youth undergoes Sapana, the final stage of his initiation into manhood. In the sacred forest the elders read the intestines of a sacrificial bull to determine the initiates’ future (left). As a blessing, the initiates’ naked bodies are smeared with chyme collected from the stomach of the sacrificial bull (right).
Milk, Honey Beer and Blood
The elders prepare a long trough of milk mixed with honey beer and cow’s blood. Each boy must drink some of the mixture, affirming his place in the age set. The calabashes used to transport the milk are laid over the slaughtered bull.
Brandishing the Spear
The most recently initiated generation of men arrive with a show of warlike attitude, blowing whistles and brandishing their spears
Killing an Enemy
If a warrior kills an enemy while cattle raiding, he must undergo a purification ritual before he is allowed back into society. He must spear a pure white goat, whose hide will be cut into strips and tied around his body and weapon. His naked body is then cleansed with millet, honey, goat dung, and lastly milk. Traditionally, Pokot men used spears, bows, and arrows for cattle raiding, but today these have been replaced with firearms.
Clay Hair Buns
A clay hair bun is fashioned onto the head of each new initiate and painted with blue dye. Ostrich feathers are inserted into macramé knots attached to the clay cap.
Feathers of Status
As a Pokot man grows older he enhances his status by adding longer ostrich feathers.
Pokot Style
A series of details of clay hair buns and Pokot male adornments.
Father's Pride
A Pokot elder who has been through all the rituals himself is now able to host his son’s Sapana ceremony.
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