Pretoria - Once again our rite of passage, initiation, a cultural practice that dates back hundreds if not thousands of years, has been plagued by catastrophe. News reports suggest that 27 young boys have lost their lives while undergoing this ritual in Mpumalanga over the past two weeks.
It must be said from the outset that many of these deaths are avoidable.
As leaders and residents in traditional communities across the country, I am sure we are all saddened by the deaths of the boys.
To prevent further tragedies and to deal decisively with issues that lead to them, as traditional leaders we ought first to send deep condolences and tender an unequivocal apology to the families of the dead, especially their mothers.
Second, we need to set up a hybrid tribal government commission to investigate this matter and come up with findings as well as sound recommendations.
Third, we need to build a better working relationship between the traditional initiation institution, parents, the male child and the government in order to find a lasting solution to this matter.
In some areas there have been interventions which have lowered and brought an end to some of these tragic eventualities in the course of the highly regarded period of initiation.
Those who are critical about this matter must do so with extreme caution and consideration of the pain engulfing the affected families.
Many have started debate about this matter for one reason or another.
Ideally, there should be no deaths at initiation schools because the boys who go for initiation are not sick.
In fact, the reason they are allowed to go is because they are healthy.
During the initiation process there is an operation that takes place (circumcision) and most of the problems including what is reported to have happened in Mpumalanga always arise from the care and nursing.
This is why it is critical that the primary responsibility of the parent be exercised fully.
By the “parent” I am referring to the broader body of elders of the community because in our culture a man is not by himself, hence the saying “you are because we are”.
The community is responsible for ensuring that an appropriate traditional nurse, (ikhankatha) is chosen.
These must be people who are sober, highly responsible and experienced to care for initiates.
The ikhankatha has a big role to play in turning around the life of the young boy from boyhood to manhood.
The ikhankatha conducts all the necessary training about manhood during the conclusion period, over and above nursing the operation of the boy.
The critical importance of the role of ikhankatha is also shown by the fact that, in the Xhosa culture for example, he is expected to stay with the initiates around the clock for the first eight days.
He becomes one of them.
He teaches them how to care for themselves, how to speak the language of the initiates, how to walk, how to discipline themselves with food and liquids, how to sing and many other things.
The men from the village, on the other hand, have a huge responsibility of managing the functioning of ikhankatha.
The men must ensure that the ikhankatha discharges his responsibilities according to acceptable traditional standards and that the boys are well looked after.
The men of the village are like a board of directors. They should supervise and give direction.
They are the ones who are supposed to spot the problem before it explodes into a catastrophe like the one witnessed in Mpumalanga.
If the men fail to play their critical role, the ikhankatha becomes a chief executive who operates at will and is bound to derail.
I have heard some calling for the Mpumalanga Health MEC to resign.
Anyone who underwent initiation would find it difficult to shift the responsibility to the MEC, away from the community where the tragedy happened.
The MEC has nothing to do with things like “dehydration and excessive bleeding” of initiates – if the news reports are anything to go by.
The MEC can, however, together with the traditional leaders, ensure that important things like a full health check are done by a medical doctor before the boy goes for initiation and that a medical certificate is issued as a prerequisite for the traditional surgery.
This is where the custodian of culture, the chief, can intervene because before the boys are sent to the initiation school, the application for the site where the initiation hut is built, according to custom, is sent to the chief, inkosi, kgosi or hosi.
While it is regrettable to speak openly about the graphic details of what happens inside the initiation hut, the explicit nature of news reports and what is in the public domain compel us to offer some responses.
The Eastern Cape was also troubled by deaths of initiates recently.
One of the reasons most splashed in the news reports is the combination of “excessive bleeding and dehydration”.
Sadly, this combination is not supposed to exist at all.
There are measures to ensure that no bleeding happens and there is no total ban on water or liquids – if anyone enforces a ban on water, that person is committing a wrongdoing.
The ikhankatha is supposed to monitor the intake of liquids by the initiates, particularly in the first eight days.
My grandfather, father and I, all underwent initiation but we never experienced the death of an initiate as a result of the reasons cited in the news reports in Mpumalanga or other cases in the northern part of the Eastern Cape.
* Jongisilo Pokwana ka Menziwa is chief executive of Vusizwe Foundation for Oral Historical Research. He is also regional chairman of Contralesa in Joburg. He writes in his personal capacity.
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