One of Africa’s oldest tribes is witnessing a Christian revival. The Masai people, who were once fierce African warriors, are now abandoning some of their old religious practices and dangerous traditions to experience a touch from God.

Tanzania is famous for one of Africa’s crown jewels, the majestic Mount Kilimanjaro. Rising some 19,000 feet, Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain on the African continent.

But here, at the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro, something more majestic is rising — the sound of ancient tribal voices praising the Lord.

Tanzania is the home to thousands of people from the Masai tribe. Tall, slender and athletic, these colorful pastoral people have roamed the vast open spaces along Africa’s east coast for centuries.

They live much the way their ancestors did, many, many years ago. Their cattle are their way of life. The sword and ploughshare are essential tools for survival.

Time here is governed by the rising and setting of the sun. And in recent years, Masai villages have also been governed by the hand of God.

Masai leader Paulina Lysa said, “We have accepted Jesus as our Savior, and more and more people are turning towards God.”

Once resistant to the Christian gospel, the Masai are experiencing something of a revival.

“I am saved, I am born again! The chains of bondage have been removed!” Michael Lomayani, a Masai herdsman, said.

For centuries, those chains trapped the Masai in various African religious practices and dangerous traditions: polygamy, promiscuity, adultery, witchcraft, and male and female circumcision — all have been part of Masai life.

But as many in the Masai community embraced Jesus Christ, many of their old traditions have been abandoned.

“I used to have three wives,” Masai elder Luka Lykela said. “Now I only have one. Having Jesus in my life meant I had to put an end to those practices.”

Mary Engala, the wife of the Masai chief, explained, “We worship a lot of gods in the Masai culture. But because of Christ, we now stop worshipping those gods.”

But the Masai are still reaping the effects of some of their traditional practices. AIDS has cut short the life of many Masai. One of the primary causes of the virus spreading was the Esoto dance.

The Masai often performed this dance celebrating adulthood and fertility. However, the Esoto led to the sharing of wives, and eventually the spread of the deadly virus among the community.

“We have a lot of people dying, mostly young people,” a Masai girl lamented.