Being Maasai Today. Part 1, Womanhood and circumcision : Three Maasai women have their say (Extended Version, 2014)

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Summary

This thought-provoking and much-acclaimed documentary sensitively explores the cultural context of female genital-cutting practices among the Maasai. The film was re-edited with extensive new mater...

This thought-provoking and much-acclaimed documentary sensitively explores the cultural context of female genital-cutting practices among the Maasai. The film was re-edited with extensive new material and an additional half-hour of extra commentary in 2014. It will stimulate discussion and reflection in a wide variety of courses in cultural anthropology, women's and gender studies, African studies, and development studies. A mother and her two daughters discuss their feelings about circumcision (excision) and its meaning in their lives. The three women discuss their experiences from the perspective of three different stages of the life cycle: Alice, a young woman (enkitok), looks back eleven years to the time when she became a woman. Sikaine, a shy, giggly 14-year-old girl (entito), enjoys the attention of her family and community as she anticipates undergoing the procedure, which she has seen performed on other girls. Tipaya, the mother, is a post-menopausal woman (entasat); she remembers her surgery from several decades back.The film follows Sikaine through all aspects of the process except the surgery itself. She is shaven in preparation for the surgery; neighborhood girls crowd around the window of the room where Sikaine's operation is going on; immediately after the surgery, Sikaine stands and walks to the bed where she smiles proudly as she lies down to rest while the elders sing in her honor. Both Alice and Tipaya offer interesting comparisons of the pain of circumcision and that of childbirth. These engaging women make their perspective on excision comprehensible to western audiences, who are seldom exposed to positive commentary on this practice. The film provides viewers with a new respect for the women who bravely endure this painful surgery. This re-edited version of the film is 50% longer than the original version released in 2002 and it now is authored for DVD by the filmmaker. This version provides a new post-excision interview with Sikaine, deeper discussions of childbirth by both Alice and Tipaya, new translations of the parents' blessing ceremony, and 29 minutes of additional new DVD 'extras' including Alice discussing relations between warriors and girls, rules of respect, women's work, wives and their husband's agemates, giving birth, animal ownership, and the changes in Maasai culture she foresaw.

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