Modern revolution on traditional circumcision practices

Bukusu circumcision: Young initiate undergoes circumcision rite at Kamasielo village, Mt. Elgon in Bungoma County on August 1, 2016. [photo/BENJAMIN SAKWA]

African communities have always given circumcision a lot of significance. However, in the past three decades the rite has seen numerous changes that have given it a different meaning.

According to the national chairman of the Kikuyu Council of Elders Ndun’gu Gaithuma, formal education, religion, community integration and government policies are among factors that have revolutionised the rite.

Worlds apart

“So much has been lost in the way communities handle the circumcision rite. Today’s generation and that of the past are worlds apart. Only a section of communities uphold traditions,” said Gaithuma.

For the Kikuyu community for instance, the decision as to who and when circumcision was to be done was determined by the elders. It was also based on prevailing factors such as weather and peace.

Circumcision could not be conducted during a famine or when there were tribal wars and disease outbreaks. This is no longer the case as the decision has since been confined to the family set up.

“Today, most youth determine when they will be circumcised. Many boys are circumcised once they sit the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education their (KCPE) exams,” Gaithuma said.

In the past, circumcision was done every three to five years and a name given to the group, which was referred to as an age set. The circumcised youth, who in some cases included girls were secluded for at least a month to allow healing.

Due to economic hardships and increase in population, the period has been reduced to about eight days and seclusion is done within homes. Urbanisation has also contributed to the change in the way the practice is conducted.

“The burden of feeding the initiates was previously borne by the community but today it is everyone for themselves,” Gaithuma said.

Back in the day, during seclusion, elders would take initiates through a code of conduct they were to adhere to since they were now being ushered into adulthood.

Depending on the community, they learnt how to interact with the opposite sex, learnt community secrets about marriage, war and rituals.

With political leaders and the church taking over some of these roles, some of the values are slowly fading away.

This year, several politicians sponsored hundreds of boys to undergo the rite of passage. The Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA) has also been at the forefront in offering an alternative rite of passage to youth, both male and female.

PCEA Nakuru West Parish in November conducted the rite of passage for 160 boys and 150 girls who sat their KCPE. The event was coordinated by an elder, Macharia Muchemi.

“We have not replaced traditional systems but rather done away with a few insignificant practices. We have filled up some gaps that traditions had overlooked,” Muchemi said.

During the event, the youth were educated on Christian values, career, sex, radicalisation, drug and substance abuse.

Social media

“Ours is a holistic approach where we are modelling youth to be respectable and responsible adults. We have also incorporated sessions on responsible use of social media,” said a trainer, Moses Wambugu.

Fear of contracting HIV and Aids has also made enlightened parents and guardians cautious, as they want to protect their children against contracting the disease. Traditionally, the cut was done by elders who often used the same knife on several initiates.

“Modern society views circumcision as a surgical operation. The procedure is conducted at the camp or in a hospital. This has helped curb the spread of the disease,” Wambugu said.

He added that the church has also opted to fill the gap left by absentee parents whose negligence has led to erosion of societal moral fabric.

Most communities had their adolescent girls go through female genital mutilation (FGM), which according to those who supported the practice was meant to control them from engaging in premarital sex as well as make them ‘complete’ women.

The practice has however been met with opposition from all over the world because of its negative impact on health of the victims such as excessive bleeding, cyst infections, childbirth complications and infertility.

It has been outlawed in most countries, and communities still practicing this do it in secret.

While in the olden days only adolescents were subjected to the cut, today the practice is also being performed on married women and even children.

In the alternative rite of passage, girls are given the same theoretical learning as the boys but excluded from FGM.

The United Nations General Assembly last year adopted a resolution urging member states to develop and implement strategies for the prevention of FGM, with human rights activists claiming the practice violates the rights of women and girls.

This includes training of medical personnel and social workers as well as community and religious leaders to ensure they provide competent, supportive services and care for women and girls who are at risk of undergoing FGM or have undergone FGM.

The United Nations Population Fund estimates that 140 million girls and women have undergone some form of FGM.

It also estimates that if not controlled, 86 million additional girls worldwide will be subjected to the practice by 2030.