<P> Eunoto, the coming of age ceremony of the warrior, can involve ten or more days of singing, dancing and ritual . The warriors of the Il - Oodokilani perform a kind of march - past as well as the adumu, or aigus, sometimes referred as "the jumping dance" by non-Maasai . (Both adumu and aigus are Maa verbs meaning "to jump" with adumu meaning "To jump up and down in a dance".) Warriors are well known for, and often photographed during, this competitive jumping . A circle is formed by the warriors, and one or two at a time will enter the center to begin jumping while maintaining a narrow posture, never letting their heels touch the ground . Members of the group may raise the pitch of their voices based on the height of the jump . </P> <P> The girlfriends of the moran (intoyie) parade themselves in their most spectacular costumes as part of the eunoto . The mothers of the moran sing and dance in tribute to the courage and daring of their sons . </P> <P> The piercing and stretching of earlobes is common among the Maasai as with other tribes . Various materials have been used to both pierce and stretch the lobes, including thorns for piercing, twigs, bundles of twigs, stones, the cross section of elephant tusks and empty film canisters . Fewer and fewer Maasai, particularly boys, follow this custom . Women wear various forms of beaded ornaments in both the ear lobe, and smaller piercings at the top of the ear . Amongst Maasai males, Circumcision is practiced as a ritual of transition from boyhood to manhood . Women are also circumcised (as described above). </P> <P> The removal of deciduous canine tooth buds in early childhood is a practice that has been documented in the Maasai of Kenya and Tanzania . There exists a strong belief among the Maasai that diarrheoa, vomiting and other febrile illnesses of early childhood are caused by the gingival swelling over the canine region, which is thought to contain' worms' or' nylon' teeth . This belief and practice is not unique to the Maasai . In rural Kenya a group of 95 children aged between six months and two years were examined in 1991 / 92 . 87% were found to have undergone the removal of one or more deciduous canine tooth buds . In an older age group (3--7 years of age), 72% of the 111 children examined exhibited missing mandibular or maxillary deciduous canines . </P>

Pastoral populations depended on which of the following for their survival