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A Bukusu youth stands covered in mud in preparation for a circumcision ritual in Kenya's western region of Bungoma August 9, 2014. Circumcision rituals, which take place in August, are celebrated amongst some Kenyan tribes as an annual rite of passage into adulthood. The Bukusu group, a sub-tribe of the Luhya tribe which is one of the largest in Kenya, is one community to continue the tradition. The day before the ceremony, the boy's uncle slaughters a cow and dresses him in a chunk of the meat as a personal gift and as permission for him to proceed with the circumcision. The boys, aged 16 and under, bathe in the river to numb their bodies before the ritual, which they must undergo without flinching. Similar circumcision rituals and rites of passage are celebrated in many parts of Africa. (Photo by Noor Khamis/Reuters)
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