In the weeks leading up to their circumcision, Samburu boys gather frequently to sing the lebarta, a circumcision song with a slow, haunting melody whose words are ad-libbed to suit the occasion. The song is held to be a particularly potent form of collective inducement and is said to give the boys encouragement to withstand pain. At this time, boys must wear charcoal-blackened cloaks, which are made from three goatskins by their mothers. They also style their hair in a tuft.