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In the western
provinces of Zambia circumcision is considered a rite of
passage into manhood and a central institution of male
identity. It is also widely used as an indicator of ethnic
distance, between the Lovale related peoples (Chokwe, Lunda,
Luchazi, Lwena, and Mbunda) who practice circumcision and
tribes that do not -especially the Lozi. Often an
uncircumcised male will be called "smelly" and
people will pinch their nostrils closed when they come
across one, citing that his "waza" or male penis
mucus as the source of the stench. The uncircumcised male
when living among the tribes who are circumcised will often
be ridiculed and always be considered an outsider. Mitumwa
is of Lozi origin
and married to a Lovale woman. To be accepted by the village
community
and out of respect for his stepson he chose to have himself
circumcised. After the initial shock of seeing the
circumcision, I was happy to have experienced it. I felt a
kinship with him, both of us "outsiders" who
underwent our own rituals to become one of the group. It
also gave me a very clear image of what the young boys in
the Mukanda camp had experienced the night they were led
away from their mothers to the "place of dying". |
