Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2004. / Full text to be digitised and attached to bibliographic record. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Morbidity and mortality are national problems that affect a vast number of children and young adults each year in Circumcision Schools. The number of children who either get sick or die of traditional circumcision school is probably high. "In one study of penile mutilation practice (in 1990) of the Xhosa tribe of Southern Africa, 9 % of mutilated boys died: 52 % lost all or most of their penile shaft skin: 14 % developed severe infectious lesions: 10% lost their glans penis; and 5 % lost their entire penis. This represents only those boys who made it to the hospital," (Denniston and Milos, 1997: v). The problem is still the same and this could mean that the true complication statistics is likely to be much higher if the entire South Africa is taken into consideration. Although traditional circumcision was well intended, the recent spate of death puts it under threat. Besides, there are many other controversial acts that are taking place within the school itself. There are many illegal schools instituted by inexperienced traditional surgeons. The plight is further worsened by the commercialisation of the traditional institution. It is painful to note that the camps which were normally held in winter for children to heal faster are now also held in summer. The outmoded system of administration in this institution and the health hazards experienced, confronts parents, children and the entire community with a dilemma - a dilemma that warrants ethical reflection. The dilemma poses a serious challenge to the cultures that practice the traditional ritual of circumcision. Many of the advisers of this thesis agree (the likes of Prof. C.S. van der Waal, Prof G. Tangwa, Chief T.l Ramovha, Traditional healer Mashudu Dima and Dr D. Sidler) that we don't have to do away with the school as such, but that there is a need to either change and improve certain things in this school. Social change and medical awareness seem very important in this regard. The hurdle created by this dilemma, though daunting, can be overcome. We need education, cooperation, dialogue, rationality and true reflection on our culture to work this problem out. Until our children are safe from the threat of morbidity and mortality, no one is safe. I therefore think that many human errors could paint an unfavourable picture on the traditional Circumcision School, whereby creating ethical dilemmas. The ethical dilemma could be a starting point for critical reflection on culture and tradition with the hope for change and future progress. It is such a challenge that Circumcision Schools should face and which they urgently need. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Ernstige beserings en 'n hoë dodetal in besnyding-skool is 'n nasionale probleem wat elke jaar talle kinders en jong volwassenes affekteer. Die getal kinders waarvan die gesondheid aangetas word of wat selfs sterf in dié tradisionele besnyding-skole is waarskynlik haag. "In one study of penile mutilation practice (in J 990) of the Xhosa tribe of Southern Africa, 9% of mutilated boys died: 52% lost all or most of their penile shaft skin: J4% died developed serious infectious lesions: J0% lost their glans penis; and 5% lost their entire penis. This represents only the boys who made it to hospital" (Denniston and Milos, 1997:v). Dié probleem bestaan voort, en dit mag beteken dat die ware ongevalle syfer veel hoër mag wees, sou die hele Suid Afrika in berekening gebring word. Alhoewel besnyding tradisioneel welbedoeld is, word dié praktyk nou bedreig deur die onlangse vlaag van sterftes. Daarbenewens is daar vele ander kontroversïele praktyke wat in dié skole self bedryf word. 'n Groot aantal van die skole is onwettig en word deur onervare tradisionele sjirurge bedryf. Dié problem word verder vererger deur die kommersialisering van dié tradisionele institusie. Dit is ook kommerwekkend om daarop te let dat waar dit gebruiklik was om dié kampe in die winter te hou - vir die sneller herstel van die kinders - hulle nou ook in die somer beslag neem. Die verouderde sisteem waarmee dié institusie se administrasie bedryf word, sowel as die gesondheids-gevare wat daarmee gepaard gaan, stelouers, kinders en die gemeenskap as geheel voor 'n dilemma - 'n dilemma wat etiese nadenke verg. Dié dilemma bied 'n ernstige uitdaging tot die kulture wat steeds die instelling van besnyding huldig. Soveel as sekere van die bydraes binne die vervolgende verhandeling (bv. Dié van Proff. c.S. De Waal, G. Tangwa, Hoofman T.J. Ramovha, Tradisionele heler Mashudu Dima en Dr. D. Sidler) saamstem dat daar nie ingeheel van die skole afgesien hoef te word nie, is daar wel 'n nood om sekere aspekte daarvan te hersien en verbeter. Sosiale verandering en 'n mediese perspektief is van groot belang hiertoe. Die struikelblok wat deur hierdie dilemma veroorsaak word - hoewel intimiderend - kán weloorkom word. Daar is 'n nood vir opvoeding, samewerking, dialoog, redelikheid en 'n ware nadenke oor ons kultuur om hierdie probleem die hoof te bied. Tot tyd en wylons kinders veilig staan van die dubbele gevare van besering en dood, is niemand veilig nie. Ek dink dus dat, terwyl verskeie etiese dilemma's ongunstige beeld skep van menslike foute, hulle ook vra om insigte rondom die menslike kultuur, en om hoop vir toekomstige vooruitgang. Dit is wat tradisionele besnyding-skole benodig.

Thesis (MPhil (Sociology and Social Anthropology))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / The purpose of this thesis is to attempt to understand the concept of manhood in the context of Xhosa-speaking people; and to investigate why it is significant for them to use traditional circumcision in the male initiation ritual. In the context of the research problem, the aim is to understand: i) why traditional circumcision is important in executing this ritual, ii) people’s beliefs about the concept of manhood, iii) how the initiation ritual is practised in the present day, iv) the controversy and debate around the initiation ritual in the Eastern Cape, and v) the role of the government’s policies in regulating this rite. In terms of research design and methodology, I used qualitative research. The sampling method includes non-probability sampling – that is purposive or judgmental sampling. In the research process I utilized individual interviews, focus group interviews, participant observation, and any literature that was relevant to this study. The field research was conducted in Mchubakazi Township in Butterworth, Eastern Cape. As regards the research findings, the following data came out: firstly, manhood refers to belonging to a group of men who live in a certain village. These men are characterised by having undergone the initiation ritual, especially using traditional circumcision. A man who has undergone hospital circumcision is more likely to experience humiliation and disrespect from the orthodox Xhosa-speakers. Their argument in support of this statement is that he is only half a man. Secondly, traditional circumcision is perceived as being significant in this ritual; it is a necessary adventure a male must go through in order to become a man. It is basically an act of courage. It is not necessarily compulsory in the process of transforming a boy into a man, but it is important for his image in the eyes of the community. Thirdly, the initiation ritual of Xhosa-speakers consists of four phases, namely: the ‘entering phase’ (umgeno), the phase of being an initiate (ubukhwetha), the ‘coming out phase’ (umphumo) and the phase of being a graduate (ubukrwala).

Chez les Kabyè du Togo, le cycle de l'initiation masculine occupe une place centrale dans la construction du rapport au territoire. Échelonnée sur dix années et composée de quatre grades, l'initiation est la voie d'accès au statut d'homme adulte. Les rites d'entrée dans les différents grades procèdent conjointement à l'inscription de tous dans le territoire villageois, et à l'identification progressive des jeunes hommes à des créatures de brousse. Le dispositif rituel construit des jeunes gens aptes à pénétrer en brousse ― chaque grade le faisant selon ses propres modalités ― pour pouvoir finalement faire face aux menaces qu'elle recèle. L'articulation de l'initiation au cycle annuel des rites agraires et cynégétiques, et au cycle quinquennal des rites de régénération du territoire est étudiée. Elle permet de mettre en évidence que le lien des initiants à la brousse est réinvesti par le système rituel, de telle sorte que les initiants sont d'importants intervenants dans les rites permettant le maintien des conditions d'existence au village. Leurs actes complètent ceux des responsables du culte aux divinités du territoire : des grands prêtres aux accents de rois sacrés. La façon dont les initiants prennent part aux rites liés à la pluie, au vent et à la terre, et les interdits auxquels ils sont soumis, appuient l'hypothèse qu'ils partagent avec les grands prêtres un pouvoir immédiat sur les éléments naturels. L'initiation masculine peut être comprise comme une initiation à la royauté sacrée qui, pour la majorité des jeunes hommes, n'ira pas jusqu'à son terme. Dans la phase ultime de l'initiation, certains pourront être intronisés grands prêtres. / Among the Kabye of Togo, the male initiation cycle is central to building the relationship to the territory. Completed over a period of ten years and divided into four grades, the initiation cycle is the route to the adult male status. The rites of access to the different grades jointly proceed to the inclusion of all in the village territory, and to the progressive identification of young men to bush creatures. The ritual system makes sure young people are able to penetrate the bush — each grade according to its own terms — and cope with the threats it holds. The link between the initiation and the annual cycle of the agricultural and hunting rites, as well as the quinquennial cycle of regeneration of the territory, is studied hereafter. This highlights that the link between the initiates and the bush is reinvested by the ritual system, in such a way that the initiates are important contributors to the rites, allowing the conditions of existence in the village to be maintained. Their actions complete those of the people in charge of worshipping the territory divinities: great priests resembling sacred kings. The way the initiates take part in rituals linked to rain, wind and earth, in addition to the taboos they face, support the hypothesis that they share with the great priests an immediate power on natural elements. The male initiation cycle can be understood as an initiation to sacred kingship which, for the majority of young men, will not be fully completed. In the ultimate phase of the initiation cycle, some will be enthroned as great priests.

My dissertation explores postcolonial implications of performances in Brian Friel's plays. While showing Friel's theatre is performative with its alienation effect and artistic activities of music, songs, dances, and recitations, I demonstrate that Irish self, culture, and history in Friel's plays are performative as well, because they are shown to be socially constructed rather than inherently possessed, constantly contested rather than comfortably settled, in dynamic process of remaking rather than fixed as finished products. Examining performances in Friel's theatre, characters' daily lives, historical narratives, and cultural ceremonies, I argue that those performances also shed light on the (post)colonial situation in Ireland¡ªa split island with mongrel arts, interstitial characters, disparate histories, and mythologized or relegated cultures. Showing that Irish self, history, and culture are not homogenous, linear, or monolithic entities but hybrid, contested constructs, Friel's plays subvert the binaries embedded in British colonialism, Irish nationalism, and developmental historicism. However, as Friel's characters fail to negotiate the symbiotic yet opposing forces such as the north and the south, English and Irish, official history and personal story, national myth and folk culture, tradition and modernity, my dissertation concludes that in Friel's plays to be Irish is to suffer a hybrid yet split and liminal existence, to be framed by official discourses and cultural myths, and to contend for alternative expressions of history and culture. Friel's concern with performance thus culminates in his performative conception of Irish identity¡ªas a heterogeneous composite with ongoing contestation between different selves, historical narratives, and cultural practices, it cannot but remain open to different expressions and constant (re)definitions.

This thesis discusses aspects of how the Late Neolithic society in southern Sweden changed through the use of metal. Particular focus is on how the different categories of the material culture were utilized in this process – the Late Neolithic flint daggers and objects of stone imitating objects of metal. The presence of metal in the Late Neolithic society is discussed and explicated by the correlation of metal objects to objects imitating metal. Imitations are not perceived as passive copies, but as a continuing dialogue between artefacts. These imitations are viewed as filling a function wherein they help to prepare society to express social and political processes in a different material, as a way to meet and relate to the new world-view that the metal objects implied through their existence. The difference between resharpened and non-resharpened flint daggers is explored through a variety of quantitative and qualitative analyses. There appears to have been two differing rules of deposition of the two types of flint daggers in the Late Neolithic society. Resharpened and non-resharpened flint daggers thus seem to relate to different societal spheres of significance in society. It is suggested that the flint daggers were used in varying forms of ritual body modification practices, as tools for alteration of bodily appearance. These rituals can be termed passage rituals – rituals connected to the individual’s journey through her life-cycle. The resharpening of the dagger blade is then to be understood as a ceremonial resharpening, a ritual remaking of the dagger. During the Late Neolithic, gallery graves, mortuary houses and votive offerings were used to express a connection to an older, ancestral ideology, based on communal rituals. At the same time a new ideology was expressed through the use of individual earth graves and ritual body modification practices. The human body, previously attributed an ancestral role, was now used as a medium of classification, signification and individual expression. The ritual practice works both as a societal regulator and as a way for individuals to express themselves in relation to others. The ritual body modification practices, manifested in different rituals of passage, may have been a way for individuals to relate to the changes in society during the course of the Late Neolithic.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Michigan, 1992. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 488-497).

This study examines the custom of circumcision in the context of culture, law and the Constitution. In Chapter 1 the writer considers the pervasive role of culture in the context of the current debate in relation to equality versus culture. In Chapter 2 the writer considers the origin, development and the legal significance of the custom of circumcision in the Eastern Cape. In Chapter 3 the writer traces the circumstances leading to the enactment of the Provincial statute governing circumcision of children. In this chapter the writer also poses the question whether an aspect of morality can effectively be regulated by law. Chapter 4 looks at the question of cultural rights in terms of the Constitution and the possible effect of the promulgation of the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities Act 19 of 2000 on the approach of the courts in respect of constitutional challenges directed at some aspects of customary law. Chapter 5 looks at the custom of circumcision and the need for the protection of children. The writer raises the issue of the role of traditional leaders in the eradication of abuses associated with circumcision. The last Chapter comments on the reasons for the failure of the new Act governing circumcision in the Province.

MPH / Department of Public Health / Male circumcision is being promoted in University of Venda presently due to the South African recent awareness that it is a method of preventing the transmission of the Human Immunodeficiency virus. However, for effective implementation, it is necessary that the students believe in the procedure and have a positive attitude towards the procedure. Purpose of study The objective of the study was to assess the University of Venda male student knowledge and perception regarding male circumcision. Methodology Method to achieve this was a cross sectional quantitative study using anonymous questionnaire among the male students in university of Venda after obtaining their consent. Data was captured and analyzed using SPSS. Result A total of 285 male students participated in the study. Most of them (77.2%) were undergraduate below 30years of age (91.2%) while others were post graduate (22.8%). Majority of them are Christians (97.9%), singles (85.9%) and married (12.6%).Result obtained showed that most of the respondent (87.9%) are circumcised, only a minority few (12.1%) are not circumcised. As regards the meaning of male circumcision (75.2%) said that male circumcision is the complete removal of theforeskin. Majority of the respondents (86.6%) responded that circumcision is better than uncircumcision, showing a relatively good knowledge of benefits of male circumcision, one-third of the respondent (39.9% ,37.8%) showed a good knowledge regarding the merits of male circumcision as per reducing the rate of STIs and the risk of HIV/AIDS. Conclusion Conclusively,most of the University of Venda students have a good knowledge of male circumcision, only a few are not knowledgeable about male circumcision. Also a positive attitude was shownon male circumcision with only a few students showing a negative attitude.While majority of the respondents practice male circumcision.They also encourage their siblings to do so. Recommendations The study made a number of recommendations that were intended to improve knowledge, attitude and practice of male circumcision, it calls for long campaign to reach more uncircumcised Univen students in order to scale up male circumcision and train more personnel to administer the ritual safely and under more hygienic conditions.

La partie « création » de ce mémoire intitulée Velours Façonné consiste en un recueil de sept contes, incluant un récit-cadre (La ronde des vieillards), racontés par des voix multiples appartenant aux membres d’une Résidence pour personnes âgées visitée par un conteur, Monsieur Doré. Ces contes ont pour thématique un rite de passage de la vie humaine tels que définis par l’ethnologue et folkloriste Arnold van Gennep dans Rites de passage paru en 1909 : l’épreuve de la peur chez l’enfant (Chapeau d’paille, Agathe), le rite initiatique pubertaire (Le Carnet), l’initiation par le voyage (En dormant comme un loir), l’entrée dans la vieillesse (Tarabiscotés) et le deuil (Les voix éclatées). Ces deux fils conducteurs – la figure traditionnelle du conteur et les rites initiatiques – organisent donc les différents types de contes de ce recueil en fonction de temporalités et de personnages diversifiés. Ces récits sont unis par un ton nostalgique et par le désir de donner une voix aux objets et à la nature, soit par un travail sur l’animisme et la miniaturisation. À la manière de George Sand, pour qui le merveilleux et la fiction remettent à l’endroit un monde chaotique et dont l’écriture déclenche « un rite de passage du monde urbain de 1848, déchiré par la violence politique, au monde des campagnes où règne la solidarité » (Lagrave, 2012 : 130), je veux faciliter l’entrée dans un monde imaginaire et penser mes contes comme des récits initiatiques et des rites pour le lecteur. C’est ainsi que j’explore le conte comme rite de passage en soi grâce au narrateur qui fera office, en quelque sorte, de la figure du conteur chez Sand, le Chanvreur. Bien que La Petite Fadette (1849) soit un roman, il est possible d’y retrouver, du point de vue formel et structurel, des emprunts au conte merveilleux. La fin heureuse, digne d’un conte classique, n’exclut qu’un seul des protagonistes : Sylvinet, l’aîné des jumeaux de la famille Barbeau, dont la partie « recherche » de ce mémoire tentera de retracer la trajectoire malheureuse. Les craintes superstitieuses de leurs parents ainsi que les avertissements de la sage-femme du village qui seront ignorés sont autant d’intersignes annonciateurs de la destinée de Sylvinet, de son malheur comme du bonheur de son frère. Proposant « une lecture interprétative de la littérature qui travaille à articuler poétique du texte et ethnologie du symbolique » (Scarpa, 2013), l’ethnocritique me permettra d’envisager les logiques culturelles du texte à partir des rites initiatiques des garçons, qui, pour accéder au monde naturel et social, empruntent la voie des oiseaux (Fabre, 1986). Victime du sort, Sylvinet est également un « personnage liminaire » (Scarpa, 2009; Ménard, 2017), héros négatif et « raté » puisqu’il ne réussira pas son rite de passage vers l’âge adulte et son intégration dans son groupe social. / The “creative writing” portion of this thesis, entitled Velours Façonné consists of a collection of seven tales, including a frame story (La ronde des vieillards), narrated by multiple voices, belonging to the residents of an elderly people home who are visited by a storyteller, Monsieur Doré. These tales share a common theme, that of the rite of passage in a human life, such as it is defined by the ethnologue and folklorist Arnold Van Gennep in his Rites de passage, published in 1909: the test of fear for a child (Chapeau d’paille, Agathe), the initiatory puberty rite (Le Carnet), the initiation through travel (En dormant comme un loir), entering old age (Tarabiscotés) and grief (Les voix éclatées). These two guiding principles – the traditional figure of the storyteller and the initiatory rites – structure the different types of tales of this collection in function of the temporalities of the diversified characters. These stories are united by a nostalgic tone and by the desire to give a voice to objects and to nature, which is attempted by a work of miniaturisation and animism. In George Sand’s style, for whom the marvelous and the fictive turn the chaotic world right side up and whose writing triggers “a rite of passage from the urban world of 1848, torn apart by political violence, to the world of the countryside where solidarity reigns1” (Lagrave, 2012 : 130), I want to facilitate the entry in an imaginary world and think my stories as initiatory in and of themselves and as rites for the reader. That is how I explore the tale as a rite of passage in itself, thanks to a narrator who will act, in a way, as the figure of the storyteller of Sand, the Chanvreur. Although La Petite Fadette (1849) is a novel, it is possible to find in it, from a structural and formal point of view, borrowings for the fairy tale. The happy ending, which would be typical in a fairy tale, excludes only one of the protagonists: Sylvinet, the elder of the twins of the Barbeau family. It is for this character that the “research” portion of this thesis attempts to retrace unfortunate trajectory. The superstitious fears of their parents, as well as the warnings of the village’s midwife, which will be ignored, are premonitory signs (intersigns) announcing both Sylvinet’s destiny and his misfortunes, as well as and his brother’s future happiness and fortunes. Ethnocritisism will allow me to envision the cultural logics of the text from the initiation rites of boys, who, in order to gain access to the natural and social world, take the path of the birds (Fabre, 1986). Victim of fate, Sylvinet is also a “liminary character” (Scarpa, 2009; Ménard, 2017), negative hero and “failed” because his rite of passage is failed and he therefore will not reach adulthood, nor will he integrate with his social group.

Xhosa people practise the circumcision ritual. The exciting period is during the pre- circumcision. It is also the time when Xhosa teenage boys experience various problems associated with the ritual. The main purpose of the study was to explore and describe Xhosa teenage boys' experiences of the period prior to the circumcision ritual in East London in the Eastern Cape Province. A descriptive, exploratory and descriptive qualitative research design was followed and 28 participants volunteered to participate. In-depth phenomenological focus group interviews were conducted. Data analysis revealed two themes: social pressure on teenage Xhosa boys associated with the ritual, and depression associated with the treatment of teenage Xhosa boys by their communities. The study recommends that all stakeholders be involved in the performance of the ritual. A limitation of the study was failure to include stakeholders. The researcher recommends further research to involve all stakeholders of the ritual. / Health Studies / M.A. (Public Health)