Male circumcision has lost meaning: From transition rite to a cash cow ritual

Male circumcision has lost meaning; from transition rite to a cash cow ritual writes Musyoka Ngui

My holiday straddled mid month of August and September. It was a one-month break. That gave me a perfect opportunity to witness the rich initiation ceremonies at home. Not that there is anything new. In fact, with years the glamour and allure of male circumcision has paled. I took out my family photo album and admired the photos that froze the moment the knife met the flesh. It has been 14 years since.

In the past, boys of the same age group were circumcised in a mass ceremony. The circumcision was symbolic that once you braved the pain of the surgeon you crossed the line from childhood to adulthood. The initiates were secluded for some time under the stewardship of their uncles to be taught about reproductive health, family planning and other responsibilities. Soon after graduating from the informal class the boys were separated from men and got the nod and blessings from the wazees to marry. On the other hand, girls too were circumcised. They were taught about womanhood by their aunts.

The circumcision coincided with the puberty of the initiates. The adolescents were restless and hot blooded. Circumcision applied breaks on their adrenalin rush. Once the young adults healed they could experiment with sex for a “test drive”. Fathers felt proud when they saw their sons strike a rapport with village girl from the other ridge. The mothers knew the zizi will be full and their status in the village will soar.

Not anymore. Today the female circumcision infamously christened Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is outlawed and illegal. Times have changed. Girls are no longer regarded as a source of wealth once married off.

Today circumcision is done purely on medical purposes. Male circumcision reduces the spread of STIs since the foreskin is removed from the penis thus making the contact surface area less as well as easy to clean.

When one is circumcised they are given presents. In Kamba community boys are given money, goats, chicken, sheep, cows and assorted foodstuffs. The initiates are not supposed to eat salty food until they recover. However, the most popular event is the time of dancing and eating. You know on the eve of circumcision the villagers collect tins, sticks and rods. These act as drums to signify the party has began when played. The villagers dance round the huts of the initiates to scare them witless. The chiding is a bet that whoever shall bear the pain of the knife without crying gets more gifts than those who yell during the act.

When the initiate’s turn to take to the theatre comes, he is accompanied by the person he is named after or by an uncle if the person is not available. I remember the night before I was circumcised vividly. My cousin was assigned the task of bathing my brothers and me who were my fellow candidates. We showered without much drama until my cousin pulled a surprise. He whispered “You know what guys, there is a needle that you are injected with to numb the pain before the cut and the eventual stitching. But the doctor must inject you at the hole of the penis.” (could not put it more politely in his own words). I was frightened.

I shook like a leaf in the windstorm. I dressed up but not before taking a mental note of the dreaded prick. I was later to ask the doctor whether he would inject me “in the middle”. He said no. When my cousin learned that indeed I asked the doctor such a naive question he condemned me as a coward. All this time the parents are away from their kids. I guess mothers would cry sentimentally at the sight of their sons bleeding in the name of circumcision.

In a highly patriarchal society as mine nothing is as traumatizing as newly circumcised men walking around in lesos. For two weeks they neither touch their trousers nor do they wear briefs. They go commando. They only wear a kanga and a shirt or even a kanga alone.

The younger you are the faster you heal. Younger initiates are the ones who return to normal life earlier than their seniors.

During the dancing the participants are supposed to pair up in such a way that they are not near someone like their mother or an in-law. They normally end up with the opposite gender friends to grind with. The swing is energetic. There is the moment of kwikya musung’u(to tease the other dancers by daring them to come on). If you are teased you gladly welcome the challenge. This draws attention to the pair and the other dancers stop dancing to watch the free auditions.

The winner gets more local brew fondly called mawa( ground millet that is fermented). If you do not drink mawa you can ask for usuu wa mwee (porridge made from millet) which is deliciously sour and tantalizing to the taste buds.

Today due to urbanization and modernity there is less fanfare. I was baffled by parents who use the status of their children as a cash cow. One told me: “My son was circumcised and you never came to see him. Anyway he is well but you can still buy him soda to congratulate him. Or you give me money I take to him”. Another one offered: Daddy is playing with the other kids kwa plot” but buy him chips to remember he has a mentor. I bought him the chips and tipped the mother to take the money to the little boy. When I inquired from the master whether he got my tip he said, “mom alisema ataniwekea”. I felt robbed without violence and mourned the abuse of the little boy’s status by his very own mother. I gave him a pound and he ran away to buy “Cinderella”. He came back smiling happily chewing the “Cinderella” as the stickers which moments ago wrapped the candy were pasted on his face.

The writer studies Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication and Media at Chuka University. He blogs at musyokangui.blogspot.com