Ariaal women and warriors dance at a traditional wedding in the Marsabit District of Kenya.
Before weddings, warriors and beaded girls prepare by applying makeup of red ocher and sheep fat. During the festivities, a newly circumcized bride spends much of the celebration in her mother's hut in the company of her best friend.
(Text adapted from and photograph shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Vanishing Cultures," August 1999, National Geographic magazine)
