Name: Lesego Molemogi
Class: General Sociology
Teacher:
MALE INITIATION PRACTICE
When young boys reached puberty they were sent to an initiation school for boys that marked the passage from boyhood to manhood. For one to be regarded as a man, earn respect and the privileges in the affairs of the society he had to go for this infamous rite. Youngman are taught life skills and how to respect other people, but there is still more to it though, traditional circumcision. I remember back in the days during my social studies class when my teacher took us through the history of this infamous activity, about how passionate people were with this activity. This is an initiation rite that started back in 1902 and was later abandoned until the 1970s till the last were performed in 1990. It was back again in 2009 early May. This transition of reviving this initiation rite was caused by the current social problems and challenges brought by globalization. This activity was done only by one of the most popular tribe in Botswana, and when you talk about that group this initiation rite click really quick into your head. The Bakgatla as they are known respects this event and the whole village will come together to witness this cultural activity. People from all corners of the Botswana are free to attend and witness. Last year it really attracted so many people that it was even aired on television. The traditional paramount chief would gather his people at the kgotla (community council or traditional law court).

I was among the multitude of people who thronged the Bakgatla main Kgotla to witness the procession of male initiation which was abandoned 20 years ago. I got at the place at around 8am because I had to drive all the way from the capital city Gaborone and the place was already fully packed with people who came to grace the event. Some people said they had journeyed to the Kgotla as early as 4am to occupy prime spectator spots. Two giant screens were erected to allow those who couldn’t access the venue to watch the proceedings. I was so surprised when I even saw white people and a couple of Chinese too. That really showed how important the event was. Different tribes, young and old were there to watch one of the greatest cultural events in Botswana if not in Southern Africa. Misconduct is not tolerated whatsoever so there were people who were put in certain places to monitor the situation. Policeman and soldiers were present to provide cover whenever it gets ugly.
The venue was fully packed with thousands of women who, according to Bakgatla tradition must welcome the graduating males with songs and ululations. These were the young women who had successfully graduated from their initiation earlier.
The moment everybody was waiting for came at around 10am, when the largest group of Bakgatla initiates emerged from a sacred place called Molapo, in the hills adjacent to the village’s hospital. All these young men emerged with cultural coats made from wild animal skins and each one of them had a traditional whip. The traditional whip is only carried by people who had gone for the initiation school and it shows that indeed you have been transformed from a boy into being a man. I was shocked when I even saw one of the initiates looking like he was 12 years old and indeed he was. The paramount chief of the Bakgatla led the procession on horseback. Everyone’s attention was caught by the majestic tricks performed by the horse during the one hour procession.
The chief was dressed in pure brown leather pants and traditionally made sandals. He had on his back a cheetah skin, it was so beautiful. The initiates wore shorts and put on shoes without socks. Gun shots were fired as the initiates reached the kgotla. In dramatic fashion, three men who played the role of ‘enemies’ threw themselves down as the guns were fired, symbolizing that the initiate had graduated into full age regiment to defeat Bakgatla foes. Ululations got louder and louder as the initiates got closer to the Kgotla.
The media world was busy too as photographers were busy taking pictures, this was one of the events that you couldn’t afford to miss by the lens. Fortunately I was one of the people who had their camera phones.
Then it was time for everybody to take their respective places as the initiates had finally arrived at the Kgotla. The Kgotla as it is called refers to a public meeting, community council or traditional law court. It is made up of dry wood erected together to make an arc, inside of this arc you will find traditional wooden chair specially designed for the chief, and other few chairs for the chief’s advisors and the senior elders in the village. Whenever there are meetings at the Kgotla everyone is entitled to his or her opinion but no one may interrupt while someone is having their say. There has always been a saying that the highest form of war is dialogue and because of this tradition Botswana has become one of the world’s oldest democracies.
One of the highlights of the historic initiation ceremony was the appearance of the South African leader. He was one of the initiates although he was very busy in the morning conducting the affairs of the tribe. He took part in leading the procession, ensuring that the route taken by Kgafela and his initiates had no stumbling blocks. It was said that he was part of the group that underwent initiation in the bush in the last six weeks. His wife had taken part in the female initiation earlier in the year.
We came in to witness young man who had gone through rigorous activities like traditional circumcision. This activity is done in the wilderness were anybody can’t see these men get transformed. I was told that when they left to go for the initiation their cell phones were taken from them and switched off so that they are not tempted to use the latest technology and transmit bogwera information to outsiders. This circumcision has always raised eyebrows in the past and people had mixed emotions about it, some felt it was not healthy because knives and scissors used are not usually sterilized and they will normally use one knife on more than two people. There had been a couple of casualties reported for this act in the past. For people who are passionate about their culture they have found nothing wrong with it because they felt they were honoring their ancestors and doing what is right as far as their culture is concerned.
With the rate at which HIV/AIDS is affecting our nation, people believe that circumcision should be done to young man but how it is done leaves a lot to be desired.
Personally I feel the way it is done is not good for health but as a strong believer in African culture I think it’s a good thing to do as we keep up with our roots and it makes us be proud of who we are. I did my circumcision like three years back at a private hospital and I was so amazed at how it was done, because a friend of mine who had gone to a traditional one told me how he got his foreskin removed, and when comparing the two you will find that you will be better off at the private hospital than in the wilderness.
It was time now for the paramount chief to let loose of the young man and pronounce them real man. Family and friends of all those young man were there to welcome their loved ones. It was an emotional welcome from some of the families because in the past one will not be really sure whether one of their own will come back in one piece, this concern was caused by the fact that people died in the past after being circumcised
Three thousand young- man attended this initiation but only one thousand five hundred and seventy one graduated. These figures shows that it was not just about going to have your foreskin removed, you had to go through a lot of things and you were taught about life skills and how to conduct yourself in public and take care of your family in the future.
The event was finally over and the master of ceremonies had to say his last words and people were free to go to their respective places and the media people had to interview people and find out their reaction on the just ended big activity in the history of the Bakgatla. One will now have to ask him/her self when will the next initiation be, because with what had happened in the past when this practice was abandoned people don’t really know if they will have the chance to witness the great culture of the Bakgatla again.
Personally I feel this kind of circumcision should be abolished totally because it is not really good for mankind. Firstly it’s not healthy and secondly it can lead to too much bleeding thus could cause death or end up leaving people with the inability of having to produce children.
Looking at how Bakgatla are passionate about their culture and as an African child, I feel they should just continue this practice but would encourage them to adopt some safety precautions when performing the circumcision surgery. They should involve the health department so that they avoid further deaths and injuries in the near future.
The first president of Botswana once said a society without its culture is just lost.
This was one of the most diversified events I have ever seen and it really interested me because for the first time ever people from other tribes thronged the Bakgatla village to witness the way they do things and how passionate they are.