No death is the clarion call as winter initiation season begins
LET us join hands to ensure that none of the tens of thousands of boys who go to the mountain for the custom of ulwaluka – traditional initiation – will die or be injured this season.
And let us also be sure that no boy under the age of 18 undergoes this circumcision rite.
This was the plea made by AbaThembu acting King Azenathi Dalindyebo, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Deputy Minister Obed Bapela, Cogta MEC Fikile Xasa as well as National House of Traditional Leaders chairman Nkosi Sipho Mahlangau and his provincial counterpart Nkosi Mwelo Nonkonyana at Bumbane Great Place near Mthatha yesterday during the launch of 2018 Winter Traditional Initiation season
More than 20 000 boys in the Eastern Cape alone are expected to undergo the rite this season which begins this weekend as some pupils have already finished writing their mid-year academic examinations.
“We want them back home healthy and strong and eventually this custom must achieve its objective of nurturing good citizenry and men of high morals and goodstanding in society,” Xasa said.
“Ulwaluko is a societal matter that requires all stakeholders to pull together for the safety of the initiates and the credibility of the rite.
“However, parents should take the lead and traditional leaders should act as custodians of the custom to ensure nothing goes wrong. The government does not own the custom, it only intervenes where there are deaths and elements of criminality,” said Xasa.
The provincial government yesterday handed over 42 vehicles, 35 from the health department and seven from Cogta, and designated more than 30 department of health medical officers to assist traditional initiation monitoring teams who will be criss-crossing the province visiting initiation schools.
Police provincial coordinator of traditional initiation Brigadier Malibongwe Ntsabo said that this season, in each of the 191 police stations in the Eastern Cape, there was a traditional initiation coordinator deployed to a monitoring team.
Yesterday’s launch also included a roll-out awareness campaign of the Eastern Cape Male Cultural Initiation Practice Act 2016 , Act no 5 of 2016 and also focus on raising awareness of the nutrition requirements of initiates as well as their safety.
Bapela said that the message of government was that of “zero deaths” this season.
“Any death of a child whether at a legal or illegal school is a negative reflection on this important cultural practice, as we say ‘one death is one too many’,” said Bapela.
He said some of the problems that had been identified in the past included:
● Poor accessibility and construction of the bomas in which the initiates were housed;
● Poor circumcision wound can lead to complications;
● Restriction of water intake leading to dehydration;
● Delays in seeking medical attention when complications occured;
● Lack of guardianship leading to physical violence including torture; and
● Insufficient participation of traditional leaders, parents, and the community, which led to inadequate supervision.
He said the Eastern Cape government, together with traditional leaders, should be commended for working to pass the law which prohibits children under 18 from undergoing initiation.
Bapela said the parliamentary processes were also under way to conclude the Customary Initiation Bill, which seeks to further regulate customary initiation practices. He said the law was not intended to control the practice of culture as its core purpose was to “save the lives of initiates”.
“We extend our gratitude for the role that traditional leaders have played over the years in preserving our culture, our heritage, our customary practice.
“It is us again who have the responsibility to ensure that we protect our identity by ensuring that no life is lost during the coming initiation season,” said Bapela. —