PHUTHADITZABA, South Africa (AP) — Lamkelo Mtiho, 22, had no known health problems when he joined his companions, wrapped in blankets and smeared in mud, for the most important ritual of his young life: the highly secretive process of traditional circumcision. in their family South Africa It was expected that he would return victorious, full of cultural knowledge and an authoritative figure.
Three weeks later, they learned that he was dead.
He was one of at least 48 boys and young men who died during the latest round of initiation ceremonies in South Africa.
It is rare to hear the story of the death of an initiate.
Due to participants' silence about the ritual, families and authorities have struggled to understand and monitor a deeply traditional but often abused practice. At least a half-dozen former initiates did not speak to The Associated Press. Meanwhile, hundreds of illegal initiation schools attract people who cannot afford registered schools.
Police and government officials usually announce deaths only when there are large numbers of deaths. There are some court cases or autopsies.
Traditional circumcision can have fatal risks including poorly trained practitioners and unhygienic or cutting instruments used more than once. Dehydration and badly managed septic wounds are among the main causes of death, and remote settings mean that help is usually very far away.
“Imagine these numbers: 476 young people died over a five-year period and yet they were well before initiation. These deaths are unacceptable and should never have happened,” former health minister Zwelini Mkhize told parliament last year.
But these are risks thousands of South Africans are prepared to take.
The next season will start in June. These happen twice a year.
'He began to lose his strength and fell down'
Mtiho attended a registered initiation school outside the village of Ngkeleni in the Eastern Cape province, with the blessing of his parents. Most schools are in mud huts or huts shared by dozens of youth, away from the public glare.
His grandmother, Nzinzile, described what happened next. A relative working as a guard at the school arrived with the news.
“They were going to the river to take a bath and on the way he started losing strength and fell down. That's what we were told,” he said. “It was said that it was an emergency, others ran to get water and tried to revive him. By the time others reached there to help, it was too late.”
She spoke between long pauses. She was sitting outside the hut where Matyo helped with tasks like carrying wood. He refused to blame anyone, and no attempt was made to verify the cause of death.
Initiation is not an easy thing, he said, but the thought of dying had never entered his mind. Mtiho was his eldest grandson. He planned to find a job in the city so he could be “the man of the house.”
Whereas announcement of Welenkosini Hlabisa, South Africa's minister of traditional affairs, said that regarding the latest early deaths in December, some of the unproven advice often given to participants was to avoid drinking water to recover faster.
Initiatives are a source of community pride
For families in South Africa, a successful start ends with the participants' return. They present themselves to the community with traditional hymns and recitation of their clan names. Villagers join in with songs, chants and dance.
A boy or young man who completes initiation gains higher status for marriage and the right to participate in certain cultural activities, an important consideration for many ethnic groups in South Africa.
They could be medically circumcised at an early age, but cultural pressure means many prefer the traditional method.
“Initiation is a culture left to us by our elders. We grew up practicing it, because it teaches a youth to respect everyone, including those who are not initiated into society,” said Morena Mpembe, a traditional leader who oversees a registered school in Phuthaditjhaba, Free State province.
proliferation of illegal schools
High unemployment and economic inequality in South Africa means that the fees of government-regulated initiation schools can be out of reach. This is where illegal schools come in.
Some boys, in their eagerness to “become men”, attend illegal schools long before the age of 16, which is the age now required by South African law.
“It is very difficult for the government to monitor initiation schools that are not registered. They go undetected until some kind of tragedy occurs,” said Muleki Ngomane, an official at the Gauteng provincial body that oversees schools there.
A visit to the Eastern Cape by MPs in 2022 found more illegal schools than legal schools, from 68 to 66 in the OR Tambo municipality alone.
Government and independent investigations over the years have found abuse of participants, violence among initiators, drug and alcohol abuse in illegal schools – even the kidnapping of boys for participation.
“We are seeing an increase in gangs because they want to grow their initiation schools, and we see this as a wrong way to practice initiation,” said Motlepule Mantsha, leader of an initiation school in Phuthaditjhaba.
“This is damaging the image of Diksha.”
Dozens of arrests have been made
From 2021 South African law requires initiation schools to meet strict health and safety standards to be registered, and admit boys aged 16 and over with parental consent. More than 5,000 such schools exist.
Requirements for schools include being registered three months before the start of each initiation session, having sufficient surgical equipment so that they cannot be used for more than one circumcision and training in hygiene, infection prevention, wound care and HIV awareness for traditional “surgeons” and “nurses”.
In January and February, at least 46 people were arrested for having ties to illegal schools. They included 16 traditional surgeons, 28 traditional nurses and two parents who were accused of colluding with the surgeons and nurses to fudge the ages of the young boys.
Separately in February, following a rare conviction, a 26-year-old man was sentenced to two years in prison for unlawfully circumcising two boys aged 17 and 18 last year.
An investigation by the Commission for Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Rights, a public watchdog that reports to Parliament, said in 2017 that “due to the principles of sanctity and confidentiality of this practice, as well as the inaccessibility of rural locations,” schools are difficult to monitor, and there was “apparent confusion” about what role local authorities should play.
By the time circumcision complications arise, it is too late to seek medical treatment, the report said. It said other deaths were caused by pre-existing diseases of the initiates, and suggested that boys and young men should undergo medical checkups first.
Makhanya Wangile, a mother of two initiates, said she considers initiation an important part of culture that should be protected, but she is concerned by reports of what happens in illegal schools.
“Here, we have our chief's guardsmen who go and check how the boys are being fed, what are their living conditions and security,” he said. “They are able to stop things like boys bringing harmful things like alcohol, knives and guns instead of the traditional sticks.”
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Magom reported from Johannesburg.
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