LIMPOPO – More than 1 500 boys from Mashamba and surrounds, including Zimbabwean nationals, returned to their villages on Saturday after having spent three weeks at initiation schools during the winter school holiday.

They received a heroes’ welcome by their families, and Traditional Affairs MEC Basikopo Makamu and chief Thovhele Vho-Ndweleni Mashamba at their local sport grounds over the weekend.

The school, under the supervision of one of the country’s leading circumcision surgeons, former Thulamela Mayor and currently Vhembe councillor, Avhashoni Tshifhango, closed on the Friday evening prior.

This year marked the second initiation in two years after the Covid-19 pandemic. The school had over 1500 initiates and all of them returned home safely.

Parents attended the ceremony, celebrating their sons’ homecoming in their numbers, many wearing traditional attire.

Speaking at the occasion to officially hand over the boys to their parents, Mashamba who had been with the boys in the bush for the duration of their stay, thanked the parents for entrusting their children to the school. He praised Tshifhango for a well-run and incident-free school.

You might also want to read: Confusion as local initiates return home ahead of prescribed time

Makamu said they stopped at nothing to ensure a successful initiation season.

“We had more than 500 schools with a large number of initiates in the Vhembe, Capricorn and Sekhukhune areas. No incidents were reported, and that is because it is controlled. The effort this year was made possible through the cooperation from various stakeholders.”

He found it encouraging that there were Zimbabwean nationals among the boys, he said.

He mentioned that there is room for improvement too.

“We are happy as Provincial Government, but as the same time there is discussion needed in terms of certain things. How do you teach a two-year-old how, and how do you teach a five-year-old? Let us not commercialise these initiation schools by bringing in younger and younger boys.”

Tshifhango said the boys are all ready to face life’s challenges. “We are very excited that there were incidents and that all the boys came back alive and healthy. We should continue to uphold our culture if we still want to see good citizenry in our communities.”

Zimbabwean citizen Monyaraza Vengesa (30) urged other foreign nationals to attend the initiation schools and learn of the South African culture and traditions. “We are all Africans and we must treat each other with love. We must unite.”

Joyce Manganyi, whose three sons came back healthy, said she was very excited. “No matter how well-educated people are, they should not forget their culture as it is the only yardstick of measuring the future.”