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Initiation and Adulthood in the Caprivi

“Mupato” is a traditional initiation ceremony for adolescents in Caprivi and Zambia. When young boys reach puberty they are isolated from the entire village and taken to a designated area where they are kept for at least a month. During this period the young males have their foreskins removed (circumcised) by cutting them with very sharp knives. No anesthetics are used during this process and the adolescents have to endure severe pain throughout the process. The operation is conducted in the absence of professionals surgeon and away from clinics. After the foreskin is removed a concoction of herbs is applied to the wound to serve as antiseptic and to help stop the bleeding. Despite being subjected to excessive pain the adolescents are not allowed to cry as this would portray a sign of weakness in spirit and cowardice.

As the wounds are healing, the young men are also compelled to participate in initiation games such as duels with sticks against each other, chopping down trees to determine who finishes first and also training draft animals. Learning how to build a dwelling unit is a pre-requisite for everything. These are some of the activities that help to teach the young males to become adult young males and prepare them to become eligible husbands. During this period these youthful men are not allowed to see women as such action could jeopardize the faster healing of the wounds.

After the initiation period the initiated young men return to the village and carry on with their daily chores and are free to start looking for their eligible future wives.

“Sikenge”

Sikenge is a Lozi term used as the feminine word for Mupato. This is the initiation ceremony for young women. When the young girls reach puberty they also isolated from the village for a period of time from the entire village. They are taken to a place a few kilometers away from the village where this ceremony takes place. No men are allowed to visit this area during the initiation period as they are not supposed to see the secrets of things that take place there. While at the initiation camps the young virgins are taught facts of life about what it takes to be a housewife, a mother and a family lady. They are taught never to talk back when their husbands speak to them and never let their husbands sleep on an empty stomach. They are also taught other creative activities like plastering mud-houses, weaving baskets and making clay pots. The duration for this activity is only up to 3 weeks and then the women are allowed to return back to the village.

While back at the village they are not allowed to indulge with any man until they get married. Unfortunately this age old tradition has completely been outcast or is slowly dying out. It is no longer the case with many tribes in the Caprivi. Cultures have become too modernized and our grandchildren might never know as no one practices this cultural heritage anymore…