Editing Maasai people (section)

==== Genital cutting ====
[[File:Young Maasai Warrior.jpg|thumb|right|Young Maasai warrior (a junior ''Moran'') with headdress and markings]]
Traditionally, the Maasai conduct elaborate [[rite of passage]] rituals which include surgical [[genital mutilation]] to initiate children into adulthood. The Maa word for [[circumcision]], "emorata," is applied to this ritual for both males and females.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~dlpayne/Maa%20Lexicon/index-english/main.htm |title=English - Maa |publisher=Darkwing.uoregon.edu |access-date=2012-02-28 |archive-date=2017-09-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170901172726/http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~dlpayne/Maa%20Lexicon/index-english/main.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> This ritual is typically performed by the elders, who use a sharpened knife and makeshift cattle hide bandages for the procedure.{{Sfn|Amin|Willetts|Eames|1987|pp=55, 94}}

The male ceremony refers to the excision of the prepuce (foreskin). In the male ceremony, the boy is expected to endure the operation in silence. Expressions of pain bring dishonor upon him, albeit only temporarily. Importantly, any exclamations or unexpected movements on the part of the boy can cause the elder to make a mistake in the delicate and tedious process, which can result in severe lifelong scarring, dysfunction, and pain.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.maasai-association.org/ceremonies.html |title=Maasai Association |publisher=Maasai Association |access-date=2012-02-28 |archive-date=2019-10-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191027143838/http://maasai-association.org/ceremonies.html |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfn|Amin|Willetts|Eames|1987|pp=83, 100–103}}<ref>''Northern Tanzania - The Bradt Safari Guide'' by Phillip Briggs (2006). British Library. {{ISBN|1-84162-146-3}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://maasai-association.org/ceremonies.html |title=Maasai Association |publisher=Maasai Association |access-date=2012-02-28 |archive-date=2019-10-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191027143838/http://maasai-association.org/ceremonies.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Young women also undergo [[female genital mutilation]] as part of an elaborate [[rite of passage]] ritual called "Emuatare," the ceremony that initiates young Maasai girls into adulthood through ritual mutilation and then into early arranged marriages.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.orato.com/world-affairs/maasai-ritual-of-female-circumcision |title=Maasai Ritual of Female Circumcision: Genital Cutting Practiced throughout Africa and Middle East |publisher=Orato.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807211153/http://www.orato.com/world-affairs/maasai-ritual-of-female-circumcision |archive-date=2011-08-07 |access-date=2012-05-05}}</ref> The Maasai believe that female genital mutilation is necessary and Maasai men may reject any woman who has not undergone it as either not marriageable or worthy of a much-reduced bride price. In Eastern Africa, uncircumcised women, even highly educated members of parliament like [[Linah Kilimo]], can be accused of not being mature enough to be taken seriously.<ref name="irinnews.org">{{Cite web |url=http://www.irinnews.org/IndepthMain.aspx?IndepthId=15&ReportId=62462 |title=In-depth: Razor's Edge - The Controversy of Female Genital Mutilation |date=March 2005 |publisher=IRIN Humanitarian News and Analysis, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs |access-date=2012-05-05 |archive-date=2012-04-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120418212459/http://www.irinnews.org/IndepthMain.aspx?IndepthId=15&ReportId=62462 |url-status=live }}</ref> The Maasai activist [[Agnes Pareyio]] campaigns against the practice. The female rite of passage ritual has recently seen excision replaced in rare instances with a "cutting with words" ceremony involving singing and dancing in its place. However, despite changes to the law and education drives, the practice remains deeply ingrained, highly valued, and nearly universally practised by members of the culture.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Shell-Duncan |first1=Bettina |last2=Hernlund |first2=Ylva |last3=Wander |first3=Katherine |last4=Moreau |first4=Amadou |date=2013-12-01 |title=Legislating Change? Responses to Criminalizing Female Genital Cutting in Senegal |journal=Law & Society Review |volume=47 |issue=4 |pages=803–835 |doi=10.1111/lasr.12044 |issn=0023-9216 |pmc=3997264 |pmid=24771947}}</ref>{{sfn|Amin|Willetts|Eames|1987|pp=168–173}}