Initiation Cycles of Traditional South African Cultures (Essay Sample)

Traditional African culture
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Initiation cycles of traditional South African cultures
South Africa is one of the states that have continually embraced the traditional rites and ceremonies. It has been recognized that the most common rituals commence at birth then to puberty and later at death. According to an article by Nel, he has stipulated that the customary healers or ancestors play a very crucial role in these ceremonies as they as they are still a fundamental part of any traditional African life. For example, during the first pregnancy in a woman’s life it has been stipulated that she has to follow numerous taboos and rules. In specific tribes, the pregnant woman is relieved off her duties at a certain time and put in her secluded hut. At this point, she will be taken care of by her mother and other women in the society who have reached menopause until her delivery. During labor, special allures are applied for security and sacrifices made to the ancestors in order to mollify them. After the baby is delivered, it is taken away by older women where he is given watery porridge in order to toughen him. Ultimately, the mother and the newborn are ceremonially washed with herbs to imply the entrance of the new state.
When it comes to rites of passage, the South Africa has ways of initiating both the males and females. Both male and female rituals play an imperative as they symbolize the end of childhood and puberty and start of manhood or woman. The boys are taken to the field where they endure extreme discomfort and hardships that prepare them for manhood. On the other hand, the girls are isolated in a hut near chief’s kraal and tarnished with white or ochre clay. It has been established that strict rules and guidelines are imposed on them with merciless punishments in violation. In order for the girls to symbolize their adulthood status, they are given new clothes by their mother and shaved their hair. The last stage in a human’s life is death. This is the point that one becomes an initiate of the ancestors. An intricate funeral is conducted in order to start the process of initiation to the spirit world. At the funeral singing, the praises of the deceased are sung asking him to remember those that have been left behind.
Coming-of-Age Rituals in Africa
African coming-of-age can be described as the rituals that are performed to mark the end of childhood life and mark the beginning of adulthood. The article establishes that these traditional practices are prevalent in some societies whereas they are diminishing in the rest. The main reason for their diminishing is due to the drastic vicissitudes in economic, political, and social conditions. In western cultures, the boundary between childhood and adulthood is not distinctive as it is in the African traditional ...