Maasai olmurrani warrior in conversation with young woman, Olengaitoli village, Kenya

"At about the age of 7 Maasai (Masai) girls and boys diverge sharply in the wearing of ornaments. By the age of twelve, girls, who have been learning to make their own ornaments, begin to accumulate their wedding trousseau either by making the ornaments from scratch, recycling the ornaments of older sisters or by receiving hand me downs. Girls ears are pierced on top at about the age of four. The lobes of girls are stretched out at about ten to the time when breasts starts to appear, age twelve, and wooden earplugs are inserted to prepare the ears for beaded wrappings and also inkonito onkiyiaa (ear flaps), the leather ear flap that can only be worn after marriage. Girls pass boys in life development because they marry earlier, so the relative timing of boys' and girls' ear modification may vary. Boys have the uppers done at about 6. Their lower ears are stretched when they ask for it between ages 10 and 14. Girls by about twelve may make ornaments for their brothers or other male relatives but not their fathers." [Klumpp D., 1987: Maasai Art and Society:Age and Sex, Time and Space, Cash and Cattle. U.M.I Dissertation Service]. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon was on assignment for Life magazine and traveled to Africa from August 18, 1959 to December 20, 1959.