EDITORIAL: Ondonga male initiation a welcome move
As society evolves, we must all be careful not to let our cultural practices – especially less harmful ones – slip through the cracks.
The initiation of Ndonga boys and men last weekend has sent tongues wagging, some negatively. But the organisers said initiation would help raise model men. In our modern culture, this is a dying breed.
There are rites that, if looked from a snowflake perspective, may sound too harsh when the endurance of novices is tested to determine their readiness for the model men society seeks. In many African tribes, initiation of men involves circumcision. Aandonga skipped that part last weekend, leaving it to trained medical professionals. That’s commendable.
In their transition to adulthood, young men cannot be left to their own devices. The process must be managed, as long as participants do so voluntarily. There’s generally nothing wrong with ‘toughening’ a boy by sending him on a hunting trip, or instilling within him tribal indoctrinations relevant to his being.
We must prevent Western modernisation from undermining African traditional customs. Where absolutely necessary, we may weave into our cultures fragments of imported practices, but only to better our own. We all agree, for instance, that human rights must reign supreme in these practices at all material times. The Ndongas did this by scrapping circumcision, which was traditionally conducted by a local person without formal medical training.
The initiation of Ndonga boys and men last weekend has sent tongues wagging, some negatively. But the organisers said initiation would help raise model men. In our modern culture, this is a dying breed.
There are rites that, if looked from a snowflake perspective, may sound too harsh when the endurance of novices is tested to determine their readiness for the model men society seeks. In many African tribes, initiation of men involves circumcision. Aandonga skipped that part last weekend, leaving it to trained medical professionals. That’s commendable.
In their transition to adulthood, young men cannot be left to their own devices. The process must be managed, as long as participants do so voluntarily. There’s generally nothing wrong with ‘toughening’ a boy by sending him on a hunting trip, or instilling within him tribal indoctrinations relevant to his being.
We must prevent Western modernisation from undermining African traditional customs. Where absolutely necessary, we may weave into our cultures fragments of imported practices, but only to better our own. We all agree, for instance, that human rights must reign supreme in these practices at all material times. The Ndongas did this by scrapping circumcision, which was traditionally conducted by a local person without formal medical training.
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