THE CUSTOM OF CIRCUMCISION IN SOUTH AFRICA: STATUTORY REGULATION AND HUMAN RIGHTS IMPLICATIONS

Abstract

The African custom of traditional circumcision is a sacred and very important ritual among most African tribes. Before a boy can be regarded as a man he must undergo the circumcision ritual. This is his passage to manhood. Traditionally this must be done in order for him to attain the right to “marry, have property rights and attend and speak at gatherings of men”. Mönnig describes it in this way: among the Pedi “it is the means of investing the initiate with the status of citizenship of the tribal community, and of according the potential of full participation in the social, political and jural activities of the tribe”. Today most South African tribes still send boys to initiation or circumcision schools in order for them to be circumcised and prepared for manhood. In both rural and urban South Africa this tradition is observed and respected by many. The Zulus do not practise traditional circumcision. However, in certain tribes an adult male who has not undergone the ritual is not regarded as a man. For instance, the Xhosa go to the extent of referring to such a male as “ukwedini” meaning a “boy”; or “inqambi” - “an unclean thing”. This custom is thus regarded as an important stage in the life of a boy child, his parents and the community at large. The initiation rites normally take place during winter. This is supposed to be an exciting time for the boys concerned as well as their families who are left at home. The young men spend several weeks in isolation in the woods and their homecoming is a celebration involving the entire community. The relevance of initiation schools lies in the fact that apart from being circumcised, the boys are taught about their history as a tribe, their tribal laws, and they also receive formal sex education. This in turn “prepares the boy as a potential adult for the social, political, jural and economic roles that will be expected of him as a man”.