Elias (66) joins initiation rites

BEING isolated and pressured by other men for not being circumcised prompted 66-year-old Elias Machete to undergo the traditional Tsonga rite of passage into manhood in the bush at Mpepule village near Giyani recently.

Machete, who has six children and four grandchildren, joined 811 initiates in the bush. He said he didn’t tell anyone that he was going to be circumcised.

“I was embarrassed at being the oldest initiate at the school where the youngest person was seven years old. The arrival of Elvis Selowa, who is 64-years-old, made me feel more at ease,” he told CV.

Head of the bush school, chief Norman Tshwale, said his school catered for 811 initiates this year and there were no deaths or illnesses.

Tshwale said the initiates had fresh food and clean water. “In 2009 we circumcised 703 boys and the oldest person was 75 years old. That year’s bush school was my first since I became chief in 2007.

“This year I hired men to cater for the boys in the bush. Because there was no water in the area, I used a borehole, installed pipelines and pumped water with generators to the school.

“My camp was electrified by generators,” Tshwale said.

In 2012 I circumcised 947 boys. Circumcision goes hand in hand with pleasing the ancestors. The purpose of the bush school and circumcisions is not to enrich myself,” he said.

He said he expected good behaviour from the boys who returned to school after attending his bush school.

“They must respect people, especially women and children,” Tshwale said.

Limpopo’s traditional affairs department approved 275 permits for initiation schools and rejected 36 applications. Malesela Dikgale, chairperson of the provincial task team on initiation schools, said the initiation period started on June 20 and ended on July 18. He said all bush schools should be closed now.

“People want to send their boys to initiation school and we have seen an increase over the past years. In 2012, we saw a record number of 43 000 initiates,” he said.