It was pomp and colour as thousands of Kenyans turned up at Narok Stadium to celebrate the 56th Madaraka Day yesterday.
The day is celebrated annually to mark the historic day in 1963 when Kenya gained internal self-rule from the British colonial powers.
Residents started streaming into the stadium as early as 5:30am and took strategic positions. Narok county government put up 12 new stands to accommodate the public for the event that cost the State Sh300 million.
Men, women and children thronged the stadium donned in shuka the Maasai ceremonial attire. They braved the chilly morning and drizzle that started moments after President Uhuru Kenyatta arrived at the packed stadium. Host Governor Samuel Tunai and his wife Sarah ditched designer outfits for Maasai regalia.
The governor was in full Maasai ceremonial regalia making him the centre of attraction at the event.
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Red is the most important colour to the Maasai, it represents blood, symbolises protection against wild animals, courage, strength and unity.
Outside the stadium, there were queues at all the ten entrances forcing the security personnel to temporarily close the gates until after the military parade.
The stadium erupted in a thunderous applause when President Kenyatta arrived, a few minutes past 11am.
The occasion was marked with songs, prayers, dance and military parade.
After the parade mounted by the Kenya Defence Forces, the gates were opened and hundreds of people who were following the event on a giant screen outside the stadium, poured into the football pitch.
The air display by the Kenya Air force was a spectacle for the residents and dignitaries.
In virtually all the 20 terraces in the newly refurbished 30,000-capacity stadium the Maasai’s rich culture was on display. The community showcased its rich culture through clothing, songs and dance.
Maasai cultural dancers from the county dressed in traditional attire were at hand to entertain guests.
Traditionally, the Maasai music comprises rhythms rendered by a chorus of vocalists singing harmonies, all the while the olaranyani (song leader) sings the melody.
Trekked for a kilometer
The Maasai morans impressed with their jump dance. One elision to the vocal creation of Maasai music was the function of the horn of the Greater Kudu to summon morans (initiates) for the eunotoceremony (a coming of age).
The event lived up to Governor Tunai’s promise to Kenyans of a memorable event filled with Maasai culture.
Apart from the shukas, the Maasai morans with their hair dyed with the red ochre locally known as ereko armed with clubs, spears and swords were not left behind in the display of culture.
Some of the locals who spoke to Sunday Standard at the event could not hide their excitement of being part of the historic fete.
“I woke up at around 3am and put on my shuka and trekked for almost a kilometre and managed to enter at around 5am when the gates were opened. It’s my first time to attend such an event. I am so happy,” said John ole Kuraru.
Besides the Maasai cultural dancers, artists Emmy Koskei, Osogo Winyo, Shiro Wa GP, LJ Maasai and Naiboi thrilled the guests with their popular numbers.
