This study investigates the distinguishing characteristics and the modifications to the traditional male initiation ritual as practised in KwaBhaca in the Eastern Cape. The concerns surrounding the incidence of death and maiming from related traditions is also investigated. The study reveals that • the male initiation ritual is still highly regarded in KwaBhaca; • the male initiation ritual itself is still performed strictly traditionally in KwaBhaca; • the male initiation ritual as practised in KwaBhaca has been successfully performed with minimal negative incident attributable to the performance of traditional circumcision; • where there is incidence of a negative reaction, this is usually attributable to a prior health condition of the initiate, and in these circumstances, the initiate is referred to a medical doctor, on condition that the medical doctor is himself an initiate, and that the consultation will be conducted in a place deemed to be safe from spiritual contamination • incidences of maiming and death can be attributed to a number of causes, associated with poor practice and unacceptable conduct; • boys who do not undergo circumcision in the traditional fashion are not regarded as men and remain boys in the eyes of the community. This means that they have to forego participation in important socio-spiritual ceremonies; • there is a necessity to share the experience of the successful traditional circumcision process to avoid further misadventure, maiming and death; • it is not the mechanics of the process of traditional circumcision that endangers lives, but the poor practice of the iingcibi (traditional surgeons) and other significant role-players including the initiates; • The traditional teaching that accompanies the ritual of circumcision is as important, if not more important, than the ritual itself. The study concludes with a series of recommendations aimed at rehabilitating and supporting the continuation of this important and venerated tradition. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2000.

Contact between the Western culture and African indigenous cultures, during the Colonial era, resulted in directional cultural changes in these cultural systems. One of the Gikuyu customs most affected by this change was the rite of passage from childhood into adulthood. This study, which was carried out through the standard anthropological technique of participant - observation and focused interviews, examined the form of change that this rite underwent and the effect of this change on the Gikuyu society. Through the cross-sectional method I traced this change in three generations based upon descent from a living Gikuyu elder.The study shows that the age-grading system, the ceremonies and functions associated with the traditional rite of passage into adulthood has virtually vanished. Female clitoridectomy has been replaced by the onset of menarche as the rite of passage into adulthood. Male circumcision has lost its significance as a rite of passage from childhood to adulthood, and is mainly practised as a rite of passage from primary school to secondary school due to peer-pressure. The disappearance of the functions associated with the traditional rite of passage into adulthood has resulted in an inadequate preparation for the adult roles. The consequence has been a high rate of social problems and a widespread dissatisfaction with the current social life among the Aa-Gikuyu. / Department of Anthropology

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / The study is about the rock engravings on the wonderstone hills just outside Ottosdal, North West province, about 70km northwest of Klerksdorp. Wonderstone is remarkable rock that is smooth, shiny and very easy to mark. The wonderstone occurs only on two adjacent farms, Gestoptefontein and Driekuil, and thus the rock art on the wonderstone outcrops is referred to as the Gestoptefontein- Driekuil complex (GDC). This rock art is now the only remaining trace of what must once have been a much larger complex of engravings. Sadly, much of the rock art has been destroyed in the course of mining activities, with very few records. The largest remaining outcrop is still threatened by potential mining activities. The study attempts to bring this disastrous and unacceptable situation to the attention of the public and the heritage authorities, who have so far failed to respond to applications to grant the sites protection. It therefore has two main aims: to locate and record as much of the rock art as possible and to understand the significance of the outcrops in the lives of the people who made them. Based on the rock art itself, as well as what little historical evidence is available, it is argued that the rock art was made by Khoe-San people during the performance of important ceremonies and other activities. The rock art has two main components: engravings of referential motifs and a gestural, or performative, element. The referential motifs depict a range of things: anthropomorphs and zoomorphs, decorative designs, items of clothing, as well as ornaments and decorations. The gestural markings were made by rubbing, cutting and hammering the soft wonderstone, probably in the course of a range of activities that people carried out on the outcrops. One of the main findings of the study is that the GDC was a place that was of particular significance to women. This is suggested by the large number of engravings of items that are closely associated with Khoe-San women – depictions of aprons, ornaments, and decorations. These play a prominent role in the initiation practices of many Khoe-San groups. Initiates emerging from ritual isolation after their first menstruation are given new clothes; they are also loaned ornaments and jewellery. This reincorporation into society as a ‘new person’ has been described by some Khoe-San women as one of the high points of their lives. Oral traditions from the area indicate that the wonderstone outcrops were believed to have special properties; the study incorporates these traditions to argue that the wonderstone outcrops were associated with the presence of a great water snake that lay on the rocks and also lived in the pools of water in the nearby Driekuil Spruit. People therefore came to the outcrops to perform rites of reincorporation. One of these ceremonies may have been performing rites of association with the great snake; such practices may have included the use of rock dust as an ingredient for body paint. / South Africa

Thesis (doctoral)--University, Nijmegen, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 335-348).