Anointment Trials

Is there a particular reason that there have to be five trials? Maybe just go with the three?

Well, the British East African Company was the major colonising power in Kenya at that time, so the indigenous peoples would have been fairly preoccupied with that rather than hunting lions or elephant. Are you talking about KiSwahili peoples, Maasai, Kikuyu, Embu, Kalenjin, Luo, Samburu or any of the other inland groups? Many different initiation rituals, and presumably the MC would have learned several of the local languages because there would be no interpreters around. The Maafa (Catastrophe) would be a key structuring element in any warrior ritual because of the long history of Arab and Portuguese slave traders (Fort Jesus, the fortress standing in Mombasa, was a symbol of slave abductions, for example).

There are more than a few pitfalls in writing a Boy's Own adventure story set in colonial Africa but I'm sure you know that.

Theres an old joke about a captured explorer and three huts containing the keg of whisky he brought a lion with a sore tooth and the chiefs daughter.

Anyway sexual prowess is a realistic if tricky option ( its hard not to make jokes )

Climb a mountain another way you could test stamina

A riddle?

A test of morals/wisdom?

M Louise said:

Fort Jesus, the fortress standing in Mombasa, was a symbol of slave abductions, for example.

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Hypocritical much?

M Louise said:

There are more than a few pitfalls in writing a Boy's Own adventure story set in colonial Africa but I'm sure you know that.

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Maybe to avoid the Mighty Whitey trope, your MC could actually *fail* at one or more of the trials, but he impresses some of the warriors with his courage and persistence? Then the locals work out a decision among themselves while the hero recovers from his wounds, etc.

What were the actual initiation rituals of the specific group your "local natives" belong to? 1890s Kenya is actually pretty well documented in terms of who was living there and what practices were customary for the different groups -- this doesn't strike me as something you would need to invent out of whole cloth, just do the research and plausible answers will present themselves. (I'm afraid I can't help with any research sources, but if you don't already have a bunch handy I'm sure any reference librarian can point you to some good ones.)

Hi CWatts, I'm hoping I get what you mean by hypocritical? Fort Jesus is not that different from all the monasteries or castle dungeons used in Europe during the Inquisition and now beloved historical sights. The fort in Mombasa is a monumental piece of Portuguese architecture built in the 16th century to defend the ports of East Africa from attack and to provide a holding place for slaves awaiting transportation. Christian Europe at that time had no problem with slavery any more than they had a problem with burning 'heretics' at the stake. Fort Jesus includes a museum that displays various artifacts in the era where Mombasa served like a transit point for the slave trade and commodities, and which enjoyed regular visits by seafarers and so on. Its interior comprises of torture rooms and prison cells where slaves were held in captivity before being traded. Those enslaved abductees are the East African villagers the OP talks about.

Probably one of the most disturbing places I've visited but not unlike certain lovely parados in Spain with grim cellars and forgotten histories.

I do think that to write about this era the approach could be reframed -- perhaps 20 or 30 years ago, one could write about a fantasy of historical Africa for an American readership who had never been to Africa. Now you're writing in a milieu of global literature and historical verisimilitude is important.

Timbrian said:

1.Trial of Strength = MC had to whip the villager's toughest native in a fair fight.

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Is there a reason he's only fit to fight alongside them if he is literally a better fighter than any of them? This sounds (if you plan for him to pass the test) like you're setting up the Mighty Whitey trope, which you might not want to do, and it also sounds a bit odd from their point of view. If I were them, I would welcome him if he was, say, above average, and if my main concern was answered--whether I could trust him.