902:, which has advisory authority over traditional initiations in South Africa, believes that it would be better able to control initiation rites if it was empowered powered to make laws. The traditional leaders of the national house rejected a proposal by the government suggesting that boys be circumcised in hospitals instead of "the bush". The House argued that the attendance of an initiation school is not only about the physical removal of the foreskin, but also about the promotion of cultural activities, although they acknowledge that beating the initiates is not a cultural activity.
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attend the initiation school during the holiday break between primary school and high school. Changes to the age of initiates are influenced by migration patterns of adult males leaving their homestead to work in cities or mines and South
African laws that require children to attend school. Generally speaking, an initiation school is open to young pubescent males, but in some cases, adults can also attend such a school in cases where the particular individual could not attend such a school while still young.
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prove to be a responsible male adult, respect other people, have self-respect and self-discipline, be independent, and abide by laws. However, the responsibilities of an initiate have changed throughout time to meet modern societal needs to include not abusing alcohol, avoiding imprisonment or criminal activities, avoiding multiple sexual partners, avoiding contracting
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obeying the laws. Basotho chiefs such as Kgama, Sebele, Lentswe, and
Bathoeng were praised for having been loyal to the laws of the colonial government's administrative High Commissioner on initiation. Chief Lentswe had been successfully practicing male initiation since his reign began in 1874, and was able to name eight
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According to the
Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious, and Linguistic Communities in South Africa, approximately 251 male youths died between 2014 and 2016 while attending initiation schools throughout South Africa. During a period of 36 weeks between 2014
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believe that the practice produces good moral values in boys and men, and contributes to society by creating responsible law-abiding citizens. The newly initiated, who are seen as men by the larger traditional society, are still seen as boys by the formal education system which means that the status
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The incorporation stage occurs when the newly initiated
Basotho men are incorporated into society. They are given new names, which are selected for each individual and confirms the "man's existence", as well as blankets to wear as proof that they have reached manhood. Sometimes the names given after
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The initiates rise early each day to perform a variety of tasks and undergo a harsh physical regimen. Skills, such as warfare and cattle-raiding are taught and improved. Initiates are also taught to compose praises and songs to their chiefs and to themselves, the proper expression or articulation of
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has little effect on the actions and behaviour of the initiated boys and men. Many formal school teachers struggle to deal with boys returning from initiation schools due to deviant behaviour such as a refusal to participate in class, acting with disdain towards female teachers and uninitiated male
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as they had passed adolescence and were ready to uphold their family social responsibilities according to customs and traditions. Currently, most initiates from the Free State and
Lesotho attend initiation between the ages of 12 and 15 with only a few initiated above the age of 15. The boys usually
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In 1902, Lentswe authorized an initiation school after being persuaded from his people. The
Basotho initiation ritual did not reoccur until 1975 when other chiefs took over and reintroduced the practice. Before 1975, parents who took their children to the "bush school" were excommunicated from the
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With
Basotho societies being colonised by settlers in the 1800s, the new colonial government set laws to regulate and restrict the time and location of the practice. The government also dispatched officers to different Basotho chiefs from 1944 and 1945 to determine if the Basotho communities were
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The traditional responsibilities after initiation include taking care of their fathers' homesteads, working hard to support themselves and their families, upholding their clan name, and being present at all family and ritual ceremony gatherings. Additionally the initiate is expected to be brave,
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Many traditional leaders accept that initiation schools should not run concurrently with academic schools. The Free State
Initiation Schools Health Act of 2004 was promulgated with the specific purpose to provide for adherence to health standards in traditional initiation schools as well as to
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Ntsofa
Clasper Monyela.THE EXPERIENCES OF NEWLY INITIATED BASOTHO MEN IN SELECTED BOTSHABELO HIGH SCHOOLS, FREE-STATE PROVINCE. full-dissertation for Master's degree. African Studies in the Centre for Africa Studies, Faculty of Humanities at the University of the Free
696:(red ochre) and covered in traditional Basotho blankets while surrounded by men and elders, where they are given a new set of clothes. A large feast commences shortly thereafter and each new initiate is given an opportunity to verbalise his own self-composed praise.
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with females and males who have not been to initiation school. Men who are working, married, and initiated see those that are uncircumcised as inferior. The uninitiated are often ridiculed for not practicing their cultures, and are sometimes seen as "weak" men.
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church community along with their children. In order to be accepted back into the community, they had to undergo church rituals of repentance and cleansing. Currently, not all community members practice initiation, but some certain families uphold the practice.
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Traditional
Basotho initiation schools are conducted over a period of time (varying from a few weeks to six months) in secluded areas away from settlements, which are often referred to as "the bush" or "the mountain". Traditional initiation teachers, known as
979:
Sello M. B. Mohlaloka, Lynette Jacobs & Corene de Wet (2016) The Influence of Traditional Male Initiation (Lebollo) on School Discipline: Educators' Perspectives, Deviant Behavior, 37:6, 709-721, DOI: 10.1080/01639625.2015.1071132 Accessed 8 April
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Mohlaloka, S.M.B. 2014. Towards policy implementation: Exploring behaviour of male learners who underwent traditional initiation schooling. Unpublished Masters of Education dissertation. Bloemfontein: University of the Free State. Accessed 8 April
866:/AIDS, and attaining an education in order to become a financial provider. Privileges after initiation include receiving respect from women and those who have not yet attended initiation schools, sitting and eating with initiated men during
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in a particular area and owns the particular initiation school. They are sometimes given a position in informal education school governing bodies in order to assist and advise schools on the behaviors and needs of the new initiates.
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Mohlaloka, Sello Martin Blase; Jacobs, Lynette; de Wet, Nita Corene (2016-10-25). "Insights from traditional initiation teachers (Basuwe) on the influence of male traditional initiation (lebollo) on the behaviour of schoolboys".
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Mohlaloka, Sello Martin Blase; Jacobs, Lynette; de Wet, Nita Corene (2016-10-25). "Insights from traditional initiation teachers (Basuwe) on the influence of male traditional initiation (lebollo) on the behaviour of schoolboys".
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provide for the granting of permission for the performance of circumcision operations. The act also makes provisions for the approval process by which initiation schools are to be established.
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and 2016, about ten deaths occurred due to complications during traditional circumcision. There was a total of 22 documented deaths related to circumcision between June 2012 to January 2017.
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Malisha, Lutendo; Maharaj, Pranitha; Rogan, Michael (2008). "Rites of passage to adulthood: traditional initiation schools in the context of HIV/AIDS in the Limpopo Province, South Africa".
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N.K. Momoti, Law, and culture in the new constitutional dispensation with reference to the custom of circumcision as practiced in the Eastern Cape (MA Thesis, Rhodes University, 2004), p.33
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when circumcised. Many government-based organizations provide clinical circumcision, but many Basotho still opt for circumcision at traditional initiation schools due to cultural beliefs.
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The age of initiation has changed as school learners in the past or any child under the age of 24 years were not initiated. Males who were over the age of 24 were referred to as
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South Africa. This is argued to be due to the resurgence of young men's respect for traditional authority as well as the government support of research reporting reduced risk of
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There are varying opinions on whether traditional initiation schools make a positive or negative contribution to the behaviour of initiated Basotho boys and men. Proponents of
1111:
Chitja Twala. THE AFRICAN TRADITION OF INITIATION AND CIRCUMCISION: A CURSE OR CURE IN SOUTH AFRICA? Department of History, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, 9300
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During the separation stage, boys are separated from all social activities and kept in a secluded place where their transition from adolescence into adulthood takes place.
689:) refer to a wide range of phenomena, including historical occurrences where former Basotho chiefs featured, and significant experiences in the life of the initiates.
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in the 19th century. It was the chief who periodically called upon all boys of a certain age (usually between 16 and 20 years of age) to undergo the ritual.
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Complications arise in the traditional initiation schools when the traditional surgeons use blunt and unsterilized instruments, which cause infection and
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Initiates are then allowed to participate in social and economic activities. It is considered taboo for newly initiated men to share details of
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398:. Although he declared that there would be no initiation practice by his people, they continued to prepare themselves for initiation anyway.
394:). Eighteen years later, Lentswe converted to Western Christianity, which prohibited him from supporting traditional Sotho practices such as
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S.P Smith. Rite of Passage Denied. ENCA. www.enca.com/south-Africa/rite-of-passage-denied Published 18 January 2017. Accessed 20 March 2018
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The initiate practice can be classified into three stages: the separation stage, the transitional stage, and the incorporation stage. The
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In the transitional stage, the initiates are educated on the social concepts of their identities. For about eight days after the
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in Sesotho, are commonly elderly men with substantial economic, political, and social standing within Basotho communities. The
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https://citizen.co.za/news/south-africa/1450289/crl-commission-reveals-shocking-initiation-death-toll/
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provides a basic tool of analysis to examine the phases of initiation for the Basotho boys.
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https://www.scribd.com/document/317854456/Free-State-Initiation-School-Health-Act-1-of-20
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This small house is used by the boys to sleep in during their time in initiation school.
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After completing their training, The initiates arrive at their villages smeared with
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Initiation rites among the South Sotho became central to both the homestead and the
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V.Abraham. CRL Commission reveals 'shocking' initiation death toll. The Citizen.
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A Sotho man wearing a blanket showing proof that he has reached the manhood stage
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perform rituals and teach the initiates about cultural and health issues. A
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is a cultural and traditional practice that transitions boys in the
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which constitutes the important adult (male) quality of eloquence,
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initiation become more popular than the names given at birth.
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teachers, as well as involvement in gangster activities.
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833:Learn how and when to remove this message
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202:Despite much criticism directed towards
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16:Traditional practice of male initiation
900:National House of Traditional Leaders
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