Picture: Herbert Matimba.
Taken from @The New Age website
As we concluded June and have started a new month, Musina FM would like to talk about an age-old tradition. It’s a mystical, secretive ritual that occurs far away from the eyes of the public, which in recent years has reported a disturbing death toll from what the newspapers call botched circumcisions. As a result, there is pressure from some quarters to ban the custom altogether. And, as winter has approached and a new crop of abakwetha or what you call it in your language are preparing to ‘go to the mountain’ to earn the right to call themselves men, the controversy is bound to resurface. It estimated that it is more than R10, 000 is required to perform the ritual. Have a listen to Phale from Musina Legal Advice Centre speak on the difference between Initiation and circumcision and why this is an important ritual.
