Did you know that the Maasai do not use the drum as one of their musical instruments? Their most conspicuous instrument is a huge antelope horn that is blown intermittently during the singing. Women might also have rattles attached to their feet to make colorful sounds that accompany body movements during the dancing. The Maasai have different songs, dance procedures, and gender and age group interactions for different occasions like marriage, sacrifice to deity, and circumcision. The Maasai body movements are standard for specific songs and ceremonies. I suppose that makes the dances a bit predictable, but no less exciting for the participants or spectacular for the viewers.

One of the most outstanding features in a Maasai Moran (warrior) dance is the competitive jumping that the young men engage in. During the Moran dance, a circle is formed and usually two men will enter the centre and start jumping as the others sing for them. This is referred to as ‘adumu’ or ‘aigis’, meaning ‘to jump’. The tricky part of the jump is that, as the men spring higher and higher into the air, the heels should never touch the ground. The singers encourage the jumpers by raising the pitch of their voices to correspond with the height of the jump. Even in his late 40s, Isaiah Ole Kutatoi my storyteller can jump higher than half a meter in an impromptu demonstration without breaking a sweat. Apparently, he was an expert jumper in his younger days.

Courtesy http://www.neystadt.org

Neck movements are a very prominent feature in Maasai dances. The neck movements are calibrated against the breathing of the singer during an intonation. The head is tilted backwards when the singer breathes in and pushed forward when breathing out. The neck movement causes the head to bob up and down and forward and backwards in tune with the music. When the neck movements are coupled with heaving of the body up and down rhythmically by bending and unbending the knees without moving the feet from position, the dance moves become well defined.

Maasai dances are popular attractions in many tourists’ hotels in Kenya.

Justin, Mahesh and Joseph watching a Maasai dance at a hotel in the town of Nakuru.