Female traditional leaders in the Eastern Cape are doing better than their male counterparts in fighting initiation casualties.
This was revealed by Eastern Cape House of Traditional Leaders (ECHTL) chairman Nkosi Ngangomhlaba Matanzima at a community dialogue on safe initiation in Mount Ayliff on Thursday.
“We have to work together in removing the rot that dents the custom of ulwaluko .
“Women have proved they are more willing to play their role.
“In fact, women traditional leaders have fewer initiation deaths, injuries and illegal initiation schools in their areas of jurisdiction.
“They appoint respected, committed and disciplined men to lead the custom on their behalf.
“We need that zeal and commitment from us as male traditional leaders,” said Matanzima.
He came down hard on traditional leaders who were custodians of custom but took a back seat when it came to initiation.
He and several other speakers said there ought not to be a single death associated with the rite.
Luxolo Nobanda, secretary for regional traditional initiations, said young boys were kidnapped and sent to unscrupulous initiation schools.
“We see trucks full of young boys where each tout gets R100 per boy from the bosses of initiation schools, who have turned the rite into quick-buck schemes,” said Nobanda.
Matanzima called for the full participation and commitment of parents, saying they should also be at the forefront of ensuring their sons came back from the bush alive.
Other speakers also painted a dark picture of traditional initiation practices in Mpondoland.
“In Mbizana, there are young men fighting over the traditional initiation practices of AmaXhosa and AmaHlubi.
“These boys need to understand that they are neither AmaHlubi nor AmaXhosa but AmaMpondo and they should practise in line with their tribe,” said Matanzima.
Alfred Nzo deputy mayor Sixolile Mehlomakhulu complained that at initiation graduation days, there were youths calling their uncircumcised fathers “boys”.
“You cannot call your father a ‘boy’, whether he underwent the rite or not. It is not secret that some fathers and traditional leaders of AmaMpondo have never undergone the rite, but they should not be called boys by their own sons,” said Mehlomakhulu.
Alfred Nzo municipal manager Sandile Sello said his municipality upheld the traditional rite and not medical initiation.
“We support the preservation and promotion of culture.
“We cannot support medical circumcision because it is not part of our African cultural practice.
“But we must all strive to make the rite safe and successful and must not dilute it,” said Sello.
The dialogue was part of a campaign to prepare for the summer initiation season.
In the recent winter season, two initiates died in the district and seven died last summer.
Alfred Nzo mayor, Eunice Dike, called for strict enforcement of age restrictions.
“There are initiates who are only 13 years old, and there cannot be a man as young as that,” she said.
Fewer initiates die under female care
This was revealed by Eastern Cape House of Traditional Leaders (ECHTL) chairman Nkosi Ngangomhlaba Matanzima at a community dialogue on safe initiation in Mount Ayliff on Thursday.
“We have to work together in removing the rot that dents the custom of ulwaluko .
“Women have proved they are more willing to play their role.
“In fact, women traditional leaders have fewer initiation deaths, injuries and illegal initiation schools in their areas of jurisdiction.
“They appoint respected, committed and disciplined men to lead the custom on their behalf.
“We need that zeal and commitment from us as male traditional leaders,” said Matanzima.
He came down hard on traditional leaders who were custodians of custom but took a back seat when it came to initiation.
He and several other speakers said there ought not to be a single death associated with the rite.
Luxolo Nobanda, secretary for regional traditional initiations, said young boys were kidnapped and sent to unscrupulous initiation schools.
“We see trucks full of young boys where each tout gets R100 per boy from the bosses of initiation schools, who have turned the rite into quick-buck schemes,” said Nobanda.
Matanzima called for the full participation and commitment of parents, saying they should also be at the forefront of ensuring their sons came back from the bush alive.
Other speakers also painted a dark picture of traditional initiation practices in Mpondoland.
“In Mbizana, there are young men fighting over the traditional initiation practices of AmaXhosa and AmaHlubi.
“These boys need to understand that they are neither AmaHlubi nor AmaXhosa but AmaMpondo and they should practise in line with their tribe,” said Matanzima.
Alfred Nzo deputy mayor Sixolile Mehlomakhulu complained that at initiation graduation days, there were youths calling their uncircumcised fathers “boys”.
“You cannot call your father a ‘boy’, whether he underwent the rite or not. It is not secret that some fathers and traditional leaders of AmaMpondo have never undergone the rite, but they should not be called boys by their own sons,” said Mehlomakhulu.
Alfred Nzo municipal manager Sandile Sello said his municipality upheld the traditional rite and not medical initiation.
“We support the preservation and promotion of culture.
“We cannot support medical circumcision because it is not part of our African cultural practice.
“But we must all strive to make the rite safe and successful and must not dilute it,” said Sello.
The dialogue was part of a campaign to prepare for the summer initiation season.
In the recent winter season, two initiates died in the district and seven died last summer.
Alfred Nzo mayor, Eunice Dike, called for strict enforcement of age restrictions.
“There are initiates who are only 13 years old, and there cannot be a man as young as that,” she said.
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