7 February 2014

Becoming a Man

Becoming a man, in most societies generally is considered a maturing process in which a boy begins to take responsibility for his actions, words, deeds, and what is becoming. He decides his course in life and begins to determine the path he will follow. Our peers may have, and often do have, differing opinions of what  we should or shouldn’t do, but eventually each individual, if they are to become an entity of their own, must become their own – all of which is within the realm of “becoming a man.”

In Africa, at least here in South Africa, becoming a man is considered by many to be more of a point in time in which a series of predetermined steps established by their culture are performed. Becoming a man for them is an initiation which takes place in the “Bush.” The “Bush” is any informal place that is removed from their normal place of “civilization.”. The period in time designated to become a man is between the ages of 15 to 18 although, to my knowledge there are no restrictions on either end. An African writer described the initiation process as the following:

"Going to the Bush is a Xhosa ritual where boys in South Africa are initiated into manhood.    During the winter break from school a group of initiates go into the bush accompanied by an older man.  Once there they must build a hut and kill a lamb.  There they are circumcised and must eat or bury their foreskin.  Wounds are covered by bandages made from the leaves of some wild plants.   After being circumcised, each must go to the river and cover himself with a white clay.  The young men spend the balance of their time either naked or wearing very little.

They live on maize during their stay.  A tribal elder teaches them Xhosa etiquette and the proper way of paying respect to the spirits of their ancestors.  During this period each young man learns Xhosa chants and songs.  At the end of the isolation they return to the river to wash off the clay.  However, some continue to wear it on the face for weeks as they consider it a badge of honor.  They want everyone to know they have "been to bush" and that now they are men.  Many buy their sons new clothes discarding the old.

Before they return home they are anointed with the fat of animals from the top of the head, down their body and across their shoulders.  They are wrapped in a new blanket and in line with heads covered, they are marched back to their homes. However, no longer will they live with their family.  Now that they are men they move into a lean-to or shack behind their family home.

Initiates are then honoured with a huge party and another animal is slaughtered. Friends and relatives come to congratulate them.  Everyone eats, sings, and dances until they drop.  A celebration can go on for many days.  It's a huge expense for each family.”

There are some young men that simply refuse to go.  Others go because of peer pressure or because an uncle or a tribal elder demands it of them.  Those who undergo the initiation ritual, do so not without risk. I have extracted portions of a article from “The Times” newspaper wherein a doctor tells of initiation horrors, ( Monday, July 29, 2013.)

 “This is a grim time of year for Eastern Cape’s Holy Cross Hospital, at which mattresses are laid on floors to cope with the stream of young men severely injured in circumcision rituals.  The tradition, which goes back centuries, is meant to usher youths into manhood, inculcating them with the ability to take on the responsibilities of an adult who is a valued member of his community.  

But at least 60 boys have died since the start of the initiation season in May, 30 of them in Eastern Cape in the past six weeks.  About 300 have been admitted to hospitals.

Dingeman Rijken, a doctor at the Holy Cross Hospital, has treated so many cases that he is campaigning for more proficiency at the ceremonies and has circulated a training manual that calls for adequate medical precautions.  The manual contains graphic images of circumcision and illustrates the best way of performing the procedure. . .

 Rijken said the worst of the injuries were caused by botched circumcisions by inexperienced traditional “nurses”, who used one spear blade on many initiates without disinfection then covered wounds with tightly wrapped bandaging that cut off the blood supply.  

"After about 10 hours, the genitals could become gangrenous and, in some cases, permanently damaged."  But many initiates did not seek hospital treatment for another five to 10 days, Rijken said.  "By this time very little could be done.  Doctors could not perform surgery because initiates suffered from sleep deprivation and dehydration and were not in a condition to give consent."

"Initiates rarely complained about pain because they feared being beaten by nurses and ridiculed by peers for not properly observing a tradition that encourages them to develop a tough demeanor," Rijken said.

 

     On the day of initiation, the boys begin the erection of skeleton framework.

                                         The completed framework.

                            

The women take over and begin thatching the framework.

 

  The newly thatched hut, SUTU, which will become their home for 3 months.

 

                           Each initiate has his head completely shaved.

                                Sheep are slaughtered for the initiates.

 

  The initiates, with head shaved, have their last meal in the sheep kraal before the operation.

                                           Going to their huts for the operation.

                      The witch doctor ready with spear before operation.

 

      Operation complete, faces are smeared with white mud (not white paint).

 The way the initiate must eat for the first 7 days, never touching food or drink with hands.

 The 8th day. emerging for "Jisa" (the day of the roasting). A sheep is roasted and fed to the initiates, the first bite of which cannot be swallowed but rather spit out.

Last day of three month ceremony, in the river, white Ingceke paint is completely removed.

    The thatched hut is burned to obliterate everything concerning their youth.








The ceremony ends. As the new men in black turbans and red faces emerge from the hut, they are met by a double line of women waving mealie sticks and bidding them farewell. The rigorous ceremony is completed. 

 

We personally have spoken to a couple of these newly transformed “men” who claim that their ceremony was much less elaborate than that documented above. They claim that they:

1. Were given 5 sticks for which to make a hut frame.
2. Brush available in the area was used to cover the frame.
3. The circumcision took place on the second day during which they could display no pain (no groaning, wincing, crying etc) or they were deemed unworthy to become a man. They could however, try again; how is still unclear to me.
4. They received a pinch of corn meal and a very small amount of water for 8 days.
5. Following the eighth day they painted themselves with white mud and remained so for the next 2 weeks.
6. At the end of the 3-week period they painted their faces red and are suddenly a “man”. How long they stay painted red is unclear.

The following picture is one we took of a few “hopefuls” waiting for their initiation period to end. We were told that they were not being faithful to the ritual rights as they were not to do any socializing during that period.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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