A Rites of Passage Movement · Boys Ages 7 to 16
Raising free men.
The circle is unbroken.
Boys Rites of Passage guides African American and African diasporic boys into manhood through self knowledge, brotherhood, character, and service, carrying the courage of those who freed themselves and built new worlds.
Why this matters
Every culture marks the journey to manhood.
Boys Rites of Passage restores that circle for our sons: a deliberate, joyful, community led passage that tells every boy, you are seen, you are ours, and we will walk you into manhood.
The Young Maroons
Founded by Bro. J. Bandele
Our flagship program. Boys join a kikosi, a small unit that learns, adventures, and grows together, and walk the Maroon Way: a lifelong path of self development. Along the way they earn their stars, take the Oath at a Marooning ceremony, and discover the greatness that flows in their blood.
It takes a village
Every boy deserves a village to make him a man.
Who were the Maroons?
The free ones.
From the 1500s to the 1800s, enslaved Africans who freed themselves built self governing societies in forests, swamps, mountains, and islands across the Americas. They were called cimarrones, the free. A Young Maroon carries that same freedom: master of his fear, his learning, his habits, and his becoming.
The Maroon Way
Four ways a boy becomes a man.
Knowledge of Self
Man, know thyself. Identity, family, and honoring the ancestors.
Character & Wisdom
Patience, humility, honesty. Resolving conflict and knowing your worth.
Strength & Nature
Fitness, camping, tracking, and the outdoors, the Bush.
Heritage & Service
Pan Africanism, drumming, and serving the community. For blood and soil.
In the field
The Star System in action.
Real skills, real adventure, real brotherhood. The way boys have always become men.
The Young Maroons · Featured Field Manual
The Young Maroons Field Manual
A field manual for every boy walking the Maroon Way, and every elder who walks beside him. Inside: the Oath and the Code, how to form a kikosi, the ceremonies that mark the journey, and the Star System of challenges that grow boys into capable, grounded young men.
- The Oath, Pledge, Code, and the Marooning ceremony
- How to form and run a kikosi
- The full Star System of activities
Join the waitlist to be first to receive the manual when it lands.
Train the Trainer · Live Classes
Come as you are. We will walk with you.
Our live classes prepare fathers, uncles, teachers, coaches, and mentors, the kikosi fari, to run a rite of passage in their own community. The village model in practice: we raise the men who raise the boys.
- Multi week live online cohorts, plus an optional in person intensive
- Facilitation, ceremony, safeguarding, and family engagement
- Manual, ceremony templates, and an ongoing community
Watch & Learn
Wisdom from those who have walked it.
Learning resources from elders, scholars, fathers, and practitioners on manhood, heritage, healing, and fatherhood. Start with these videos that shape the movement.
Kupigana Ngumi
A learning resource on African martial movement, rhythm, and warrior discipline.
Maasai Warriors Rites of Passage
A learning resource on initiation, elder guidance, and the journey from boy to warrior.
The Legacy of Afrikan Centered Rites of Passage
A learning resource on the history, purpose, and practice of African-centered rites of passage.
The Young Maroons Oath
"I am one from many and of many. We make me and I make us. The circle is unbroken. May the circle remain unbroken. I am the circle. I am a Young Maroon."
What we stand on
The Maroon Code
Truth with yourself and others is the ground all character stands on.
Our ancestors survived on hope. We carry it forward.
A Maroon builds. We leave things better than we found them.
Grounded in the Seven Principles · Nguzo Saba
Resources
What is on the way.
Start a Kikosi Kit
A step by step checklist to form your first unit and hold your first meeting.
Coming soonCeremony Templates
Guides for the Marooning and star ceremonies that mark each boy's journey.
Coming soonReading List
Foundational works on African centered rites of passage and manhood.
Coming soonStay close to the movement.
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