South African initiation season ends, 32 boys dead, over 150 hospitalized

A group of boys preparing for the initiation

The annual traditional rite-of-passage in South Africa has ended, leaving 32 boys dead and over 150 hospitalised. This initiation is carried out yearly, lasting for about six weeks which coincides with the peak of winter in the country. The rite-of-passage into adulthood entails a lot of activities that tests the boy’s physical endurance and topmost is the botched circumcision, which are not done by qualified medical personnel. Often times, instruments used are not sterilised and this coupled with other factors such as beatings, dehydration or exposure to unhygienic conditions leads to the death or mutilation of teenage boys.

Part of the process is a 'test of endurance'

According to a report, a commission found out that last year, over 400 boys died and half a million were hospitalized after attending the winter initiation schools between 2008 and 2013, with the major cause being complications such as infection after circumcision. Despite this alarming statistics, the initiation schools have been known among the black tribes in South Africa for many years and have become accepted by many tribes as a way of turning their boys into men.

The deaths have been widely condemned by government and cultural rights bodies, even while some defend the traditional initiations.
'It is really regrettable and unfortunate,' Zolani Mkiva, spokesman of the Xhosa king Zwelonke Sigcawu, said earlier this month.
'This is one of the most important rituals within our society. As much as it is important, we cannot afford to lose lives over this ritual. The importance of life is greater than the importance of the ritual.'