CIRCUMCISION

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 15:54:34 +0100

MUKANDA FOR THE LUVALE

Majority of male circumcision in North-western Province are performed traditionally at puberty during mukanda. Mukanda is the name of the circumcision ceremony or the male puberty ritual which is one of the principal symbolic expressions of the Lunda, Ndembu, Luvale, Chokwe, Mbunda, Luchazi, and Kaonde ethnic groups. Mukanda involves, among other aspects, the organization of the circumcision lodge. It is organised by the male parents who have the male children usually around the school going ages. The children are taken to the hospital for a surgical circumcision (Morden practice) or an experienced traditional circumciser, called chikeji in Luvale, is engaged who circumcises the boys in the bush where the lodge, Mukanda, is established. The circumcised children are then expected to stay at the lodge, Mukanda, for the period of two or more months until their circumcision wounds have completely healed. Whilst at the lodge, Mukanda, the children are taken care of by the counsellors, called vilombola. The counsellors’ role is to teach the children various skills like how to build a house, make home crafts like fishing equipment e.g. baskets, called mayanga, micho, etc. The boys are also taught the skills of managing a home when they marry like how to make a wife happy. They are also told historical traditions, myths, medicines and practices necessary for the male puberty ritual like not entering their mothers’ bedrooms lest they become impotent. In some Mukanda there are the Makishi (Masks) used to entertain the children at the lodge and the ladies at home at night by drumming and dancing. Other types of Makishi are used to gather resources used at Mukanda from the villages where they go round during the day begging using their threatening skills. Some of the resources collected include cassava, millet, maize, groundnuts, money, etc which are used in sustaining the children and other people staying at Mukanda.

On the last day of Mukanda is usually a big feast or ceremony. The cerebration is about the graduation of the boys to adulthood. The cerebration is usually held overnight, the night before the children are released to the general public. One of the advices given to the boys is to have unprotected sex immediately after Mukanda to avoid becoming imbecile. Those who cannot easily find a girl are told to have sexual intercourse with a banana plant. This is by making a small hole in the banana plant then imagining it is the female organ for sexual intercourse. This practice is only a last resort to the boys who cannot find a girl. Mukanda has remained a key cultural identity among these tribes of north-western Zambia. Through this practice North-western Province has reported the highest male circumcision rate (71%) in Zambia (National HIV/AIDS/STI/TB Council, 2009).

circumcision-ceremony

CIRCUMCISION