coming of age rituals in africa

Many different languages, religions and types of economic activities developed on this continent. Twa girls go through a rite of passage called 'Elima.' During the winter break from school a group of initiates go into the bush accompanied by an older man. Here, the traditional puberty rites for females is known as Nugbeto. “The older generation sees this as a serious issue, not being able to deliver what society needs in an effective format.”, Even as many cultural aspects of initiation have fallen away, circumcision has not, and the age at which the procedure is performed has been decreasing throughout Africa. A number of health risks are associated with FGC, particularly for the more severe forms of the procedure. Circumcision is claimed to be symbolic of the cutting of the umbilical cord when the child is born to demonstrate a separation from childhood and … According to WHO, “Immediate potential side effects include severe pain, hemorrhage, injury to the adjacent tissues and organs, shock, infection, urinary retention and tetanus….Long-term effects may include cysts and abscesses, urinary incontinence, psychological and sexual problems, and difficulty with childbirth.” For women who have been infibulated, severe labor complications can occur if the genitalia are not deinfibulated (opened) during delivery. This has since been criminalized in many countries. The societal pressures on young girls can be intense. In their book African Ceremonies (2002), Carol Beckwith and Angela Fisher note that the Maasai “believe that the male or female youngster who undergoes the agony of such an ordeal with courage will be able to endure the challenges of life and uphold the proud reputation of the Maasai people.”. In the Barabaig Culture of East Africa, boys get their faces scarred. In Eastern Cape, South Africa, young Xhosa men take part in a coming of age initiation called Ulwaluko. WHO classifies FGC into three different types according to severity: clitoridectomy (removal of the clitoral hood with or without removal of the clitoris), excision (removal of the clitoris as well as all or part of the labia minora) and infibulation (removal of part or all of the external genitalia, including the clitoris, labia minora and labia majora, followed by the stitching of the vaginal opening to leave only a small hole for urine and menstrual flow). The planning for this ceremony itself takes two months. The Senufo of Ivory Coast initiate girls into the secret women’s society of Poro through a process that lasts for a period of seven or eight years. The whole community then partakes in the rest of the Elima festivities. Though some people have advocated safer, more sanitary “circumcisions” for girls as well as boys, anti-FGC activists argue that medicalization would counteract efforts to abolish the procedure. The Koran specifies that men must be circumcised; for women, the connection to official Islamic doctrine is less clear, but according to Johnson’s research, most Mandinka women see the practice of female genital cutting in a similar way. After exploring the three brutal rites boys go through to become men in Africa, we are taking a look at the following interesting coming-of-age rituals for young girls: Twa people, also called Batwa, are scattered across equatorial Africa. Non-religiously, there are secular transitions such as graduations, but they are not as celebratory as the traditions of the African people. Other articles where Coming-of-age rite is discussed: feast: Crucial stages of life: Puberty, the transition into adulthood, has been celebrated since ancient times by various rituals and festivals. Male circumcision is getting safer and safer. In South Africa, where FGC is not practiced, serious issues related to male initiations have prompted the government to introduce legislation requiring initiation schools to be licensed and regulating the conditions under which circumcisions may be performed. Boys must endure the operation without flinching or crying out, while girls are allowed to show pain but cannot marry or bear legitimate children within Maasai society if they refuse to undergo the procedure. In parts of the continent, these traditions remain strong, while in others, changing social, economic and political conditions have had a profound influence on the extent to which these ceremonies are performed and the forms the rituals take. “When you come through the initiation process, you are officially a man or woman,” says John Frazier, assistant professor of humanities at the College of DuPage. They don’t have time to bring in all those different values, those ideas for society,” says Frazier. In the secular sphere, it is celebrated in democratic countries by the granting of the right to vote to persons upon the attainment of a certain age. You really don’t have to look far in Japan to locate … The prevalence varies from country to country and between ethic groups and geographic regions within countries. Once there they must build a hut and kill a lamb. The traditional length of seclusion varies from a period of days or weeks to several years. The rite concludes with a coming-out ceremony in which the girls are presented to the entire community as mature adults. “They’ve told me that for an uncircumcised woman, God doesn’t hear her prayers.”, Hernlund adds, “There are a lot of people who will say that male and efmale circumcision is Islamic, but other aspects of the rituals are not Islamic. In South Africa, many ceremonies and celebrations are also ai… Their descendants moved to present day South Afri… These are just two examples of the elaborate coming-of-age rituals with which traditional societies throughout Africa have marked the passage from childhood to adulthood. Young women also have coming-of-age ceremonies 'umemulo'. Initiation Rites and Rituals in African Cosmology Prof. Paul Kyalo School of Humanities and Social Sciences Mount Kenya University P.O Box 342-01000, Thika Kenya Abstract This essay is an analysis of the rituals in African cosmology. In 2004, a young Xhosa man was beaten to death during a circumcision ritual, and two years later, another boy died from malnutrition after being isolated with his age mates in the mountains without food. After completion of the isolation period, the initiates return to the community as fully fledged adults and are reintegrated through a public ceremony and celebration. Here are six of the world’s coolest coming of age traditions that mark the wonderful passage from childhood into adulthood. Female initiation rituals are, in general, thought of as being smaller and less dramatic than males' and tied more closely to the individual's onset of puberty. Depending on the ethnic group, these trials may involve physical marking such as circumcision or other body scarification without the use of anesthesia. For some groups, this change is so dramatic that the newly initiated aduly is given a new name and presented to the community as a different person. The Krobo of easten Ghana do not practice FGC; instead, they mark the back of an initiate’s hand with a tattoo of fine blue marks to symbolize her maturity and the completion of her ritual training. This rite of passage is one of the most important Masai festivals - it marks the coming of age of Masai boys who are 12-25 years old. During a ritual period of seclusion, the girls are education on such topics as sex, HIV/AIDS, interpersonal skills, problem solving, religion, FGC, peer pressure and legal rights. Coronavirus - Sierra Leone: COVID-19 update (15 January 2021), Key battles in Liverpool's Man Utd showdown, Coronavirus - Gambia: COVID-19 update (15 January 2021), 76-yr-old Yoweri Museveni re-elected as Ugandan President for 6th term. As they enter the adult world during their teenage years, African youngsters undergo a variety of initation rituals. Fun fact - This ceremony is still being held in certain parts of Nigeria. The planning for this ceremony itself takes two months. At the ceremony, all of the men and women participating are brought to a government building and listen to many speakers, similar to a graduation ceremony. After the festival, the newly initiated women are showered with gifts like cash, jewelry, clothes and cooking utensils. “Suffering is part of the development of personhood,” says Michelle Johnson, assistant professor of anthropology at Bucknell University, who has spent a decade conducting research on initiation rituals among the Mandinka people of Guinea-Bissau. “Westerners have stomped in and demanded that Africans be for or against it,” says Hernlund, adding that most Gambians she has worked with are “profoundly ambivalent. The emphasis placed on specific aspects of initiation varies greatly, with some ethnic groups placing greater importance on the physical tests of bravery and toughness, others emphasizing spiritual aspects, and still others focusing on practical education. While many traditions promote social cohesion and unity, others wear down the physical and psychological health and integrity of individuals, especially women and girls. These new 'women' are adorned with very beautiful beads as they are shown off to single young men who select their prospective wives. COMING OF AGE. The Arabs crossed into North Africa in the 7th century AD. “In 1997, women in Guinea-Bissau held the largest traditional circumcision in 20 years, as a backlash against government condemnation of the practice,” says Johnson, who has found in her research that women are usually the ones keeping the practice alive, often against the wishes of men. The Anlo-Ewe people are a subgroup of the Ewe people who live in southern Togo, southern Benin, southwest Nigeria, and south-eastern parts of the Volta Region of Ghana. Since 1994, when the African National Congress came to power, attempts have been made to transform this ceremony into a multi-cultural event, but these have not been entirely successful. Similarly, the male foreskin is seen as a female remnant that must be removed to make a true man. 12 Captivating Coming of Age Ceremonies From Around the World See how young women in Indonesia, Ghana, the Philippines, and more countries get inducted into adulthood. These complex cultural underpinnings have created a situation in which even women who say they are against the practice often perpetuate it. Though coming of age traditions vary drastically from culture to culture, nearly every society designates specific rituals, ceremonies, and traditions as a way to symbolize and celebrate the transition from child to adult. African coming-of-age rituals have traditionally been seen as consisting of three main phases: separation from the community, a period of transition or liminality and reincorporation into society. Once the girls are done learning, they come out dancing, eligible for marriage. Fertility. Sierra Leonean-American anthropologist Fuambai Ahmadu, who underwent excision as part of her initiation into Bundu, the secret women’s society of the Kono people, has criticized the tendency of Western observers to view FGC as a reflection of women’s oppression by patriarchal societies. Botched circumcisions by traditional surgeons have led to highly publicized deaths and injuries. The Maasai are not the only tribe in Tanzania, and Africa as a whole, who have a strict social system and who practise circumcision. It is usually done to young girls between 14 and 16 to prepare them for marriage. To greet, eat, Hand over, or … Fertility their meaning or meanings, stage... 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