In the Xhosa culture, there is a more complicated and well-defined process. Somewhere between 16 and 21, usually 19, "young men" have to go through a ceremony called "initiation" where they officially become men - and let me tell you now that it's not fun and games at all.
In Western Cape, initiation schools are set-up in the bushes of Khayelitsha. Here they are found in little huts covered by black garbage bags. When boys head to the camps, they are stripped of their clothing. The main part of the ceremony was circumcision. The boys are lined up and cut one by one down the row with the same knife...what better way to spread aids/HIV? As part of them is cut off, they shout ">>>>>>" which means "I am a man!". Then they must take the foreskin and bury it at a secret place.
The circumcision isn't the end of the initiation however, the boys have to spend the next few weeks/months learning how to be a man. Throughout this time, they wore nothing more than a blanket and were given little to eat and drink. Because initiation takes place during the winter months, lack of warmth, food, and water makes living condition harsh. Although the government tried to enforce better conditions in the initiation schools while keeping the traditions, many illegal schools operate outside of the radar. Nevertheless, thousands of boys ended up in the hospital, hundreds die each year during the initiation season.
For a long time, different groups have been urging the government to disallow initiation schools. In many ways it is a murder camp where many lives were lost in the name of culture. As for learning the ways of men, one out of three Xhosa men have raped a woman. The initiation also did not lower the rate of unplanned pregnancy. Despite all the logic used against initiation camps, the counter argument always come up from the Xhosa population: "This is our culture".
So, my dear friends and readers...what do you think?
No comments:
Post a Comment