For years, the Maasai have coexisted peacefully with lions and other wild animals as they traverse the East African landscape with their domestic animals. The Maasai tribe in Kenya leads a nomadic pastoralist lifestyle. This admirable healthy respect between man and beast stays as long as the lions leave the Maasai and their cattle alone. Otherwise, the Maasai Morans take their spears to hunt the offending beast.

Isaiah Ole Kutatoi telling lion stories

The lion hunting expedition is usually a big event that brings together up to 50 Maasai Morans. Each of these young men is primarily armed with an iron spear that weighs an average of 2 kg. The lion is usually herded out from the bush and into the open by throwing stones at it. The Morans will immediately surround it to make sure that it has no escape route. To prepare itself for the inevitable confrontation, the lion throws up all the contents from its stomach to make itself as light as possible.

The lion is a huge beast that weighs at least 200kg. Each Maasai Moran understands the gravity of the hunt and does not underestimate the task ahead. A single lion often injures many men before it dies. One swipe from the lion’s gigantic paw with its long razor sharp nails can deeply shred a man’s flesh from head to toe, causing fatal injuries or a prolong period of agony during the slow healing process.

The lion hunt is carried out systematically. The first step is to calm down the agitated beast at the centre of the circle. The Maasai Morans always adorn bright red sheets wrapped around their middle and spot elaborate hairdos that are decorated using red ochre. In order to pacify the lion, they sing and dance traditional Maasai songs. The Maasai Moran dance involves heaving the body up and down rhythmically by bending and unbending the knees without moving the feet from position. During the dance, the ever-present spear is moved from front to side while being held perpendicular to the ground. The dancing accompanies guttural vocals that are punctuated by the eerie sound that comes from the blowing of a suitable animal horn. It takes about 2 hours for the lion to get into the groove. By then, it usually has a happy look on its face and nods its head up and down following the movement of the warriors. However, the warriors will not stop dancing until the stupefied lion starts tapping one of its huge paws on the ground and moving its tail with the music. That is when the first spear is thrown.

To throw this all-important spear, a single Maasai Moran will break the circle formation by taking a few steps forward and throwing his javelin with all his might, aiming at the neck of the lion. This step takes great courage because a lion is known to move at lightening speed hence, not many pioneer spear throwers go unscathed. The throwing of the first spear is a sign to all the other Maasai Morans to throw their spears. They aim at the lion’s neck and chest and have to be careful not to spear each other in the process. The first volley of spears serves more or less to anger the lion than anything else. It furiously pulls out the embedded spears one after the other from its body and throws them away in contempt. In the meantime, the warriors cautiously pick the discarded spears and prepare for the second round of coordinated spear throwing.

While all this is going on, the lion would have looked around for an escape route. It easily identifies that path by noticing the most scared Maasai Moran in the circle. How does it do that? According to Isaiah, it looks into every man’s eyes, cheekbones and knees. A terrified look in the eyes is a sure way of conveying weakness to the lion. So are trembling cheekbones and shaking knees. The most scared Maasai Moran is as vulnerable to lion attack as it escapes just as much as the bravest when he throws the first spear. If the lion escapes, the warriors will follow it and circle it again for more bouts of choreographed spear attacks until it finally gives in. The lion surrenders by keeling forward on its knees with a dying groan. During a showdown with the Maasai Morans, a lion never goes down on its side.

As soon as the lion is dead, the man who threw the first spear rushes towards the carcass and cuts off the tail at the base. Then together with his peers, he triumphantly moves from house to house proudly displaying his priced possession to thankful old men and women, admiring children and impressed young ladies. According to Maasai culture, he has just become a real man.