Traditional circumcision prepares the youth for adulthood; more specifically for marriage and reproduction.
By Madibeng Kgwete: published on 20 July 2010
Why am I not surprised that Percy Mabandu describes the traditional African passage from boyhood to manhood as merely going through “the hand of a blade-wielding old man in the bush”?
In his article, “A cut above the rest” (City Press, 19 July 2010), Mabandu, who claims to be living a “post-tribal and neo-ethnic” life, writes provocatively that circumcision is part of “mobile hybridities of earlier identities.”
He should tell that to the young men from my village in Sekhukhune, Limpopo, who just returned from the mountain on the Saturday of 17 July, 2010.
In my village – and I’m sure the same applies to other villages still practicing traditional circumcision – mashoboro (Pedi for men who’ve not been to the mountain) are not allowed to even talk about traditional circumcision.
The offence is comparable to a depiction of the prophet Muhammad.
So, why is one not surprised that Mabandu sneers at the tradition the way he does?
Well, by his own admission, he didn’t feel like more of a man after his return from the surgery. That, precisely, is because the surgery is not the place to turn boys into men.
People in urban areas and in other places where the institution of traditional leadership is weak or non-existent may never fully appreciate what a mountain school is and what it is meant to achieve.
A traditional circumcision school can only be run by a legitimate chief or someone designated by a legitimate chief, and its purpose is not merely to circumcise boys. It goes further than that.
Traditional circumcision (known in Sepedi as koma) is a preparatory school for the ultimate integration of the youth into adulthood; more specifically to prepare one for marriage and reproduction.
A proper and legitimate circumcision school has the blessings of ancestors and is conducted by experienced traditional surgeons, most of whom are recognised traditional doctors. Deaths of initiates at legitimate mountain schools are rare occurrences.
The mountain school teaches you various lessons, including that of man as head of family and the responsibilities that come with that role. Other lessons would be hard to comprehend (and impossible to live by) for dudes in the townships and suburbs.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
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