Circumcision for young men aged 16 to 26 goes awry, leads to death of 39 in South Africa

This year’s circumcision ceremony where men between the ages of 16 and 26 undergo agonising ritual ceremony has ended in South Africa, with 39 deaths recorded and dozens others had their male organs mutilated.

Among the Xhosa people of South Africa, the circumcision ceremony, known as Uwaluko, marks the transition from boyhood to manhood when the men undergo three-month seasons of initiation which always end with the circumcision.

However, according to the Daily Mail of UK, this year’s version did not go as expected as 39 young men who took part in the ceremony died due to the excruciating pains they passed through.

The circumcision for the young men is said to be compulsory among the Xhosa people. Reports said without undergoing the ceremony, they are not allowed to sit at community meetings neither are they allowed to take part in some social activities or even get married.

During the circumcision, unskilled traditional ‘surgeons’ used old spears and razor blades to perform the eye-watering rituals under the supervision of tribal leaders, causing some to suffer from gangrene, sepsis and dehydration. This ultimately led to the death of the 39 young men. Those who died as a result of dehydration were said to have been instructed not to drink water in order to prevent urination after circumcision.

According to Daily Mail, although there are calls to ban the dangerous practice, some have argued that it is an important part of Xhosa culture and every year, hundreds of young men undergo what was described as “the sacred ceremony” which dates back to generations.

Although the men in the community have a choice whether to undertake the circumcision or not, there is however huge peer pressure and those who refuse to undergo the ritual are referred to as ‘boys,’ a form of harsh insult on their manhood.

One of those who survived the harrowing exercise, Scotty Dawka, aged 19, recounted his experience to the Daily Mail.

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“I was of course very scared of going. In my community, many young men went through the initiation before me and I wanted to be the same as them. I wanted to be looked up to as a man in my village by the elders. It was very painful to go through and I fell ill, but I was treated and I survived,” he said.