For something like a month of probation he wears these, then
undergoes the rite. For ten days thereafter he and his companions, their
heads daubed with clay and ashes, clad in long black robes, live out in
the brush. They have no provision, but are privileged to steal what they
need. At the end of the ten days they return to the manyattas. A
three-day n'goma, or dance, now completes their transformation to the
El-morani class. It finishes by an obscene night dance, in the course of
which the new warriors select their partners.
For ten or twelve years these young men are El-morani. They dwell in a
separate manyatta. With them dwell promiscuously all the young unmarried
women of the tribe. There is no permanent pairing off, no individual
property, no marriage. Nor does this constitute flagrant immorality,
difficult as it may be for us to see that fact. The institution, like
all national institutions, must have had its origin in a very real need
and a very practical expediency. The fighting strength of the tribe must
be kept up, and by the young and vigorous stock. On the other hand,
every man of military age must be foot free to serve in the constant
wars and forays. This institution is the means. And, mind you,
unchastity in the form of illicit intercourse outside the manyatta of
the El-morani, whether with her own or another tribe, subjects the women
to instant death.
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