Masai Mara (8): Maasai Dances (Women)

It is interesting to note that with the women’s dancing, there is much more gentleness and fluidity, so once more those preconceptions sneak in and apparently are part of every culture. The women line up and begin singing soft, sort of squeaky tunes (no one the same, I gather) and the cacophony is pretty amazing. But it’s not loud, and it all seems to come together.

And of course this is nothing special for the little ones, and if they feel like walking across the field to join their mamas, why not?

The so-called “story” of this dance is something to do with a maiden in a nearby community who has been taken (or will be taken) in marriage with one of the men of the manyatta, and the performance we see here is a welcoming ceremony of sorts to the young woman, to bring her into the community of women who already live in the manyatta. Again, it’s very fluid, as I hope you can see from the photographs in Mr. Guy’s Masai Mara (8) Album, and as the women’s dresses float in the breeze as they move, it is a lovely thing to watch.