LAST week in this article I looked at how the young BaTonga and Nambya initiates are circumcised and how they heal their wounds as well as the time they spend in the Imboma.
This week I continue to look at how they are received at their homesteads after this age-old ritual.
When it is time to leave the Imboma, parents and siblings of the initiates cut palm leaves that they bend into small crowns for the initiates as a symbol that their homecoming is near.
Their heads are freshly shaved, and the overseer instructs the boys to shave the head of one of the young boys who would have assisted in the collection of firewood.
It is an honour for him, as he will serve as a mascot over the homecoming of the boys.
He will lead the procession back to the village and participate as if he were circumcised as well.
On their final day in the bush, the initiates and the mascot work hard chopping a huge stockpile of wood.
Men build a bonfire outside the Imboma and play traditional initiation games through the night.
The game is played with short and long sticks concealed in each hand and it’s accompanied by what seems to be impersonations of animals, spirits with strange clicks and squeals.
In the firelight, the wild gesticulations, explosive laughter and warmth between the men of all ages is magical.
Understanding the taboos is a minefield, and perhaps that is the idea to keep the initiates on their toes.
At this stage their mood is high and they count the days towards the end of their initiation.
At dawn, the overseer leads the initiates to the river.
Before entering the water, they pay homage to the ancestors by daubing river clay on their foreheads, and then they stand knee-deep and carefully wash all remnants of white and brown clay from their bodies.
In the cold morning light, they head back to camp naked.
The initiates cover their bodies in fat.
The fat varies, it can either be from lion, elephant or any other powerful animal.
They cover themsevelves in coloured blankets leaving them just a tiny peephole through which they hold their black sticks.
Forming a single line behind the young mascot, they shuffle away from the Imboma, where the men break into song and set the dome hut alight.
Within minutes it is fireball; all the trappings of the last month incinerated.
The initiates do not look back as they walk on followed by dozens of men young and old.
As they move through the village, women ululate, and small children join the group.
When they reach the homestead, the women beat sticks onto an array of ngoma buntimbe drums.
When they arrive, there is a huge gathering at the family homestead.
The initiates are stripped naked and ushered inside the family kraal, traditionally a collection of huts within an enclosed space.
They sit on the bare ground where they are draped in grey blankets while a cow and goat are slaughtered.
There is a lot of bukande traditional beer consumed by those in attendance, especially the old men who sit looking on from a semi-circle of chairs.
Axes and knives flash in the winter sun as the animals are butchered, cooked in big pots, then rapidly consumed by all.
All the while, in the swirl of dust, blood and noise, the initiates sit quietly with heads bowed in submission while attending men explain what is to come, and what is expected of them.
Their heads and pubic hair are shaved.
They are offered choice cuts of goat and cow meat, and encouraged to fill up.
At dusk all the men rise and encircle the initiates singing an immensely powerful song.
They slowly shuffle and dance along the road while the entire village ululates and shouts.
The energy in the group feels edgy and somewhat dangerous.
The men carry an assortment of sticks, and small scuffles break out as they near the edge of the village.
Suddenly the initiates drop their blankets and run for their lives as the men tear after them shouting and wielding their sticks.
It must have their teenage hearts beating out of their chests.
Having escaped one terror, they find the surgeon waiting for them in the bush with spear in hand.
The boys sit outside the kraal, the little mascot at one end and an older man at the other representing the generations.
Seated around the boys are more than a dozen old men.
Each of them stands to impart words of wisdom to the initiates.
At the conclusion of each speech, a symbolic offering of a knife or knobkerrie is made, representing the first step on a much larger journey.
After the speeches the initiates are moved inside where they are surrounded by friends and siblings.
Two girls enter and transform the boys by painting their faces with red ochre and wrapping their heads with black and red cloth.
From being initiates they have become men.
Finally they begin to relax their stoic demeanour.
Back among their community after a month, the initiates’ faces are painted in dark red ochre.
As a thank you to the overseer and the people of the village, the family slaughters a goat for their guests and mark the occasion with more bukande beer.
While family members sit in the morning sun, men butcher the goat and cook it on the open fire.
The new men sit in the grass and brothers see their siblings for the first time in a month.
The oldest man embraces them and warmly slaps them on the back.
There are some brief speeches and ceremonial brandy shots and it is finally over.
They walk out of the hut and take their first steps on the long journey of life as men.
After all is done, each initiate washes himself and bathes his whole body while standing in a large enamel dish.
He finally reappears in brand new Western clothes.
Their face is then smeared with a brownish paste to mark the final stage of the transition.
The entire group then travels back to their respective villages.
While the verbal transfer of knowledge seems secondary to the symbolism, the seclusion, suffering and pain represent the trials of life; it is the process that matters, not what is said.
It is a test of personal character and fortitude.
It’s hard to be a man.
You cannot buy it, or be given, you have to be it.
You have to endure pain, hunger and hardship.
When times get tough in your life, you know you got through your initiation, so you can get through whatever challenge you are faced with.
That is the BaTonga way of life.
Today because of the voluntary Government programme of male circumcision, the initiates take a backseat, but deep inside traditional structures, this age-old tradition continues to churn out disciplined men.