Posted on October 16, 2009
Culture, A Blanket of Thorns
Every circumcision season, both in the middle of winter and summer, boys of age prepare themselves to enter into manhood. This is done through circumcising their foreskins and training the boys in the ways of manhood. They spend several weeks in seclusion huts at the mountain where they come out as matured, responsible members of society. On their return, feasts are organised by families to celebrate their successful crossing into adulthood. But not all these boys return, and if they do, some don't become the men they're supposed to be.
Reports about the death of abakhwetha populate the front pages of our newspapers. The un-circumcising groups may enquire about the authenticity of such stories from their circumcising counterparts, but none will be forthcoming. Especially if these are women, and they could be mothers of a deceased initiate. The question -what went wrong? -is never answered. You simply get told it's none of your business, or that culture does not allow such discussions. The business remains that of circumcising men. Period!
Apart from the headline grabbing stories and this is not to undermine the loss of lives that we read about daily during circumcision seasons, there is even more peculiar trends that common citizens do not know about, hence they are not hounded by these circumcision blunders as much as they perhaps should. And I opine that as a free society we ought to be haunted equally by the failures of our practices in their current form, that is if we are to change things around.
In the circumcising groups, an initiate who abandons his hut to seek medical help has violated his culture. The merits of his decision are immaterial, though infections and septic complications are omnipresent. He rather had died in the mountain than seeking help elsewhere. The penalty for this is ostracism from society. Such a man cannot mingle with other circumcised men and is referred to in derogatory terms. Not only is that person a failed man, but he can never be recognised as one irrespective of his being circumcised. In fact, he is hardly recognised as human to begin with. No man shall give him the hand of his daughter, no man shall want to be his friend, for he is a shame to manhood. Anyone who willingly associates themselves with this person stands a chance to have their manhood seriously questioned, and no one wants to attract such attention. So our failed men disappear mysteriously into society with a baggage of psychological trauma that can never be healed, so long they live; because there is no atonement for violating the culture.
All of this is cushioned in the metaphoric language of being an African man who can endure difficulties. To begin with, there's no evidence that men who circumcise are any tougher than their un-circumcising counterparts; nor any wiser. These are mere perceptions perpetuated by simple folklore.
Yet the custodians of traditional circumcision speak of it as a sacred cultural practice. They insist that it must be guarded against all odds, but there is evidence that within the practice itself there is no longer a strict monitoring to ensure that this debauchery does not occur. People die and get banished regardless of the tough talk. In that instance culture supersedes human dignity.
This takes place in the presence of a constitution that upholds human rights for individuals. Correctly, the constitution also upholds the right to practice culture so long this does not prejudice these human rights. And here lies the rub. What our circumcising men seem to be oblivious of is the fact that when an initiate dies, or is mutilated, or is simply denied access to healthcare, or even discriminated for his choice to seek such medical care, this constitutes a violation of human rights enshrined in our constitution. And this is more serious than a breach of a certain cultural practice.
Acts of parliament have been enacted to curb some of these problems, but there's no evidence of declining incidence. Instead these acts have been met with resistance by the authorities of the circumcising groups, in defence of their culture. There have even been instances where initiates who seek legal absolution are failed by the courts. The case in point being one reported in the Daily Dispatch on 09 December 2008, where an initiate whose father and several other men abducted and forced him to circumcise. Upon his return, he filed a charge and the sitting magistrate scraped the case off and ruled that the matter be resolved by the family. Prince Zolile Burns-Ncamashe, amaXhosa royal spokesperson remarked, '[The boy] must be ostracised by his community for not wanting to undergo the ritual.' How much worse can it get?
We often talk proudly about preserving our African culture. Sometimes we even accuse others of wanting to erode our traditions. But therein, in those cultural practices, lies rot that's even more dangerous than the invasion we are so afraid of. However, to point out the decay in these cultural practices you are accused of being uncultured or selling out something that's not for sale. You are reminded of how the people have suffered indignity over decades, in particular their cultural practices seen as barbarism by then conquers. And that's how you are silenced.
The subjects, those who were lucky to escape death, cannot speak for themselves because of fear to further contravene the boundaries of culture. This fear is transmitted into their families and community. Culture must be respected, not feared. It must be a comfort, not torture. At present though, it is more like a blanket of thorns. We need men and women of character who will speak for the silent, even if this means ostracism.
Thando Mgqolozana authored the novel A Man Who is Not A Man published by University of KwaZulu Natal Press.