Therefore, it is quite clear that initiation schools are not matters of heathenism or paganism. They have spiritual and cultural aspects. All that we have to deal with are the abuses that take place there to prevent the death and injury of our beloved children. [Applause.]
The socioeconomic challenges and resulting poverty, dysfunctionality of families, single mothers, child-headed families, incidences of HIV/Aids, opportunistic diseases, moral decay and cultural confusion in some traditional communities require a social dialogue on these challenges and their impact on initiation schools. Such a dialogue would educate the public and aid the transformation of the initiation schools.
It is also important to say something about how the schools were established, because what is happening today is that any person from the street can establish these schools, which is partly why we are where we are today.
In general, a father would decide that the time had come to circumcise his son and would typically arrange with other homesteads with sons of about the same age to establish an initiation lodge or school and engage a specialist circumciser to perform the operation. Permission to establish a lodge or school had to be obtained from the king or chief first.
The initiator was termed the "father of the lodge". It was he who acted as master of ceremonies throughout the initiation period. When sons of chiefs were initiated, their fathers fulfilled this role and it was a great honour for a boy to be a member of a lodge at which a royal child was initiated. On the day of the commencement of the rites, the boys gathered at the home of the lodge, where a sacrifice was made of an uncastrated bull or ram to inform the gods and ancestors of what is taking place. Again, this is an indication that this practice has a religious and spiritual foundation. Both the bull and ram were symbols of god. At this ceremony, the initiates were addressed by older men on how to conduct themselves while in the lodge, and they were exhorted to put away all childish things. I thank you for the opportunity to present this. [Time expired.] [Applause.]