After four weeks of undergoing the rite of passage to manhood, 18 young men from Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality were welcomed back home at a celebratory and jubilant homecoming event on Sunday, January 14, in Motherwell.
The 18 young men all come from disadvantaged backgrounds, and although it took the councillors’ time and many talks with the municipality, they patiently waited for their turn to participate in this past initiation season.
Nelson Mandela Bay’s Ward 59 councillor, Bulelani Mathenjwa, said that even though they faced many funding challenges, it was important for them to make sure that the young men took part.
“The selection process is always the most difficult part, because there are so many children in need, but we chose those who, if we did not do anything, would not undergo the rite of passage,” he said.
“After many negotiations with the municipality, we finally received R6 000 for each child.
“This took care of ingcibi (the surgeon), all the new clothing the new initiate wears after returning from the mountain, and the food they eat in the month they are in the bush. It was not enough, as one can imagine, but thankfully many supermarkets, councillors, members of the community and other donors lent a helping hand,” added Mathenjwa.
What usually happens after a boy returns home from the bush as a man is umgidi, which is a celebration where, depending on each family’s customs and beliefs, lots of food is prepared, traditional beer, alcohol and other beverages are served to family, friends, and the community at large.
This is all to celebrate the safe return of the young man, as many initiates don’t come back.
However, because of the lack of funds, the councillors were not able to put together such an event.
“Umgidi is a costly celebratory event, and most families plan for it way in advance. What we did was to just have a small gathering with the families of the initiates, where we returned them to their families who then celebrated their children in their own ways. We started at 06:00 in the bush, preparing them for their departure back into the community, then at 08:00, we held a prayer session for them, and a few elderly men spoke to them, guiding them into the manhood journey,” explained Mathenjwa.
The families of the 18 initiates were overjoyed and filled with gratitude, because for them this was a kind gesture that many key players collaborated in to make possible.
“Most of these families are led by single women, and what usually happens is that mothers are not informed about how their sons are doing in the bush, but we constantly held meetings with them, informing them of the progress, and I think that really reassured them,” said Mathenjwa.
For the 2024 initiation season, Mathenjwa hopes the councillors and the municipality will be able to help more families, and get all the preparations done in time.
“We’re planning on engaging the municipality earlier, so that by mid-year we have all the necessities in place, and do more fund-raising projects,” he concluded.
