New business making life easier for initiates
Three times a day over 31 days they will deliver meals from home to the initiation schools
When older boys undergo the old-age rite of passage to manhood, almost every member of the community is expected to play a role to ensure the process goes smoothly.
While men are entrusted with monitoring the initiation process from start to finish, it is the role of women to make sure that, among other things, the initiation hut is properly constructed.
This means going out to cut grass to be interwoven into an initiates’ hut.
Even young boys are not exempted from responsibility.
For decades, amanqalathi (young boys) have always had to bear the burden of delivering food rations meant for initiates to their initiation schools in many SA nations that practise the old-age rite of ulwaluko.
Sometimes they walk up to 10km because of the remoteness of the schools, or sometimes due to bad terrain.
But, while the custom has seen many innovations over the years, a group of young Eastern Cape men, trading as Kasi Delivery, have come up with a novel idea to ensure initiates get their food on time and that amanqalathi are not exposed to robberies and human trafficking.
Three times a day over 31 days and for as little as R1,200 for the month, using their new Tuk-tuk vehicles, they will deliver meals from home to the initiation schools.
The initiative has already started in Gqeberha, but the owners have plans to spread it across the province and all the way to the Western Cape.
The initiative will soon move to East London, Makhanda and other areas in the Eastern Cape.
Theo Gora, one of the directors of Kasi Delivery, said this initiative would help amanqalathi and the initiates themselves.
“These young boys travel long distances on foot and in the cruel times we are living in it can be dangerous for the boys as there are now things like human trafficking and killing of children. Sometimes these boys cross dangerous areas and highways. So our service will also assist in preventing such crime.
“We know things are not like the good old days. Crime is rife now and even sacred institutions and cultures are not immune to criminals. We all know that even churches and graves are robbed.”
He said the service was not only looking at preventing the criminality and risks that amanqalathi were exposed to, “but will also assist in ensuring some cultural aspects are retained, observed and preserved”.
“We all know that those delivering food for initiates must go straight to the initiation. But, some of amanqalathi travel on different taxis before they reach the initiation camps and when they arrive, their food has come into contact with many people in the taxis and this is culturally frowned upon.”
He said because of the long distances, sometimes when it arrived at initiation camp, the meals were cold. Also, some families did not have children to deliver meals.
Gora said their initiative had been warmly welcomed in Gqeberha.
“The people of Gqeberha know exactly the problems faced with the delivery to initiation school where boys have to make three trips — for breakfast, lunch and supper — each day and initiation camps are far from homes of the initiates.”
He said the attitude of people in rural areas compared with those in urban and semiurban areas could be different about the innovation.
“But even in villages amapharha can rob or injure the boys.
“There are many reported cases of amapharha high on drugs intercepting amanqalathi, robbing or stealing, eating the meals of initiates, and these are incidents happening both in rural areas and in townships in the Eastern Cape.”
He said that they had employed and trained 14 people who had licences to drive Tuktuk and scooters for delivery since 2019 during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“While our main focus is ensuring that the custom is not compromised as far as food delivery of meals for initiation is concerned, all those who are dealing with this are trained in the cultural aspects of handling the issue.”
The 25-year-old Gora said they had come with the idea after their own experiences as initiates.