394 boys return home as men
The initiates from six villages around the Hlanganani area received their certificates and were warmly welcomed back home with song and dance by excited family and friends at Chavani on Saturday.
LIMPOPO – The graduates are from Mbhokota, Chavani, Nwaxinyamane, Mashamba, Bungeni and Mashau and returned home after the initiation school was officially closed last Friday to allow school-going initiates to return home and be ready for the reopening of schools.
Families of the initiates brought fruit, vegetables and other foodstuffs as gifts to welcome them home and congratulate them on moving from boyhood to manhood. All initiates seemed to be healthy and were ready to return to school.
The surgeon traditional doctor of the initiation school, Mberegeni Muthavhine, said he began the initiation school long ago and has vast experience with circumcision. He added he has been operating the initiation school as per instruction from the ancestors.
Since he started to run the initiation school, none of the initiates has been reported missing or has died. Muthavhine also thanked the Department of Health for intervening to ensure the schools’ activities do not get out of hand.
“This really shows us the government is supporting us as traditional doctors who are natural gifted by our ancestors. I plead with the government representatives, however, to dignify our traditional schools by visiting them,” said Muthavhine.
One of the initiatives, Thikho Silahe (12) of Ha-Mashau Bodwe, said he asked his parents to give him permission to attend the initiation school because he wanted to go through the transition from boyhood to manhood.
“I am happy I went there and graduated. I would not feel like a man if I did not go there, but now I am proud to have gone through the same rite of passage my father and forefathers had gone through,” he said.
Chief Thomas Mkhari explained a good working relationship between initiation school owners, traditional leaders and government is the key for success and added he is elated that no one was reported missing or killed.
