Xhosa
South Africa
Under
Xhosa tradition this rite of passage is more elaborate.
While the circumcision man was sharpening the knife with a rock, the boy sat on
a coconut under a guava tree whose leaves he chewed – to disinfect the wound. “Are you ready?” Before the boy could
answer, he lifted the foreskin, inserted the knife and in rapid succession
hammered it with a stick! “Spit on the
cut.” He did. And the pain, the hotness, and raw feeling it felt gave way
to a scream that has woken the entire neighborhood! That was my rite of passage. I was a man!
