The program we run is based on the Bodika/Bohwera rights of passage which are practiced by the Sotho/Tswana and affiliated groups in Northern South Africa and Botswana. This system is practiced by the Pedi, Sotho, Tswana, Ndebele, Venda, Lovhedu and Shangaan people.
Traditionally with the onset of puberty boys begin to attend meetings under an elder. In these meetings boys are trained in etiquette, martial arts and hunting. Once a sufficient number of boys have reached sexual maturity (first emission) they are taken as a group to do what is called the washing of boyhood ceremony (Hlapa boshimane)
The ceremony lasts a couple of days and is conducted in the wilderness. The boys go through rituals to prepare them for adolescence and learn through experiential processes many of the societal expectations and responsibilities which their new status will confront them with.
A ceremony of graduation marks their entry into the phase of adolescence.
This ceremony is usually conducted within the clans and small numbers of boys attend.
Once every five to seven years, the chiefs call for the Bodika and Bohwera ceremonies, this happens when one of the chief’s own sons has reached the right age (average is seventeen years).
Adolescent boys begin attending meetings at the chief’s court as their families prepare for their graduation.
On a given day, the whole group including many of the men of the community go to a specific place in the wilderness and enter what is generally known as the bush school (bodika).
The traditional period of Bodika is three months. In this time the boys are strengthened through rituals and processes which prepare them for full adulthood.
The routine of the bush school is strict, and completely secret, those who have not attended may not under any circumstances know what takes place in the wilderness.
At the end of the three month period the boys return to the community where there is a celebration of their graduation. (Ho aloha)
All boys who attended the Bodika together are known as Mophato or a regiment. The Mophato is at the disposal of the chief as warriors to go raiding and as a labour force. Mophato were kept at the ready for dealing with all large scale emergencies including raids by other groups, fires or floods.
One or two years after the Bodika ceremony, the boys return to the wilderness to attend Bohwera. The period is a month and is not as strict as Bodika. The boys learn the secrets of men (phiri tsa banna) which are a body of knowledge pertaining to sexual health and prowess, rituals and esoteric understanding of community and nature.
On their return from the wilderness, a very large graduation ceremony is held. The graduates are now no longer boys but men (Banna)
The newly graduated men live in their own quarters surrounding the village, each Mophato regiment has its own meeting place (Kgotla) and they are still responsible for the security of the community.
Five or seven years later, these men attend the initiation of the next group. In this context they are known as shepherds (Balisa) and are responsible for the physical training of the boys.
Once a regiment has attended the next initiation they are given permission to marry and may grow a beard and sit on chairs in the chief’s court (Before that they had to squat)
When a man’s eldest son attends Bohwera the man enters the age grade of junior elder (Moholwane). There is sometimes a ceremony to mark this stage.
Once a man’s eldest grandson attends Bohwera the man enters the age grade of full elder (Moholo).
Modern initiation rituals have changed for a number of reasons. Firstly initiation was banned by the missionaries in many areas. Secondly, because of the migrant labour system and inter tribal warfare; the colonial governments put an end to the regiment system. At present, initiation is run in conjunction with school holidays and is often used as a political rallying place. The result of these changes is that in many places initiation disappeared for some time and re-emerged as a means of rallying youth for political reasons. These initiation schools are often run by untrained persons resulting in horrendous circumcisions and death, and little or no traditional knowledge being passed on.
Re-contextualizing men’s rites of passage for urban western men.
The program that we hope to introduce is based on the traditional ceremonies and aims to offer men of all ages a profound set of rites of passage which will bring them to full adulthood on all levels. The results of these will be recognised by indigenous men who have been through similar ceremonies.
After much deliberation and discussion with traditional initiation doctors we have decided to introduce these ceremonies with specific modifications which will make them more accessible to urban western men.
Traditional rites of passage coincide with the periods in which each person goes through profound change, this begins with birth and continues long after death. The time of the rites is dictated by nature and not people.
African ceremonies happen on an experiential rather than intellectual level. Little is taught verbally, but through process, individuals and groups are brought to profound realizations and shifts regarding their context.
It is for this reason that these rituals are surrounded by strict secrecy. There can be no intellectual understanding of the process or its results without a fully embodied experience. Those who do not qualify or have not reached the stage of having this experience can only view it from an intellectual stand point from which it makes little sense and may even cause difficulties.
What is arrived at through going through these processes cannot be conveyed in words alone, the wisdom and actions of the initiated reflect the profound nature of their experience. Relating the mechanisms of achieving the experience is senseless and would then contaminate the experience of those to be initiated with nonsensical expectations and preconceptions.
Men’s rites of passage are the exclusive and secret property of initiated men, the benefits of the process are shared by the whole community. This is the same for women’s rites of passage.
Our hope is to establish ongoing rights of passage programs which are available to any boy or man who wishes to attend. We have put much deliberation into making the process accessible to people who live a modern urban lifestyle. This has meant that some modification of the process has occurred. Each modification has been discussed with traditional initiation doctors in order to retain the impact and effectiveness of the ceremonies.
The first group and subsequent adult groups will go through a condensed version of the first three ceremonies. This will include initial gatherings and training in various arts, then a two week process in the wilderness. The process will be challenging and will bring men to a place of peerage with their indigenous counterparts who have been through the traditional ceremony.
Once an initial adult group has graduated, we will begin to introduce the program to school boys. The program for boys will follow the traditional age grade system; boys will start with the first ceremony at the onset of sexual maturity. The boys will spend time in meetings and will attend skills training programs and initiate or participate in community projects.
A number of years later, the boys will go through the Bodika process and some years after that the final Bohwera graduation. We hope to have this coincide with secondary school leaving.
Much of the community involvement of the adult groups will be in their participation in the training of youth. We hope that the program will span generations and that fathers who have attended will attend the ceremonies of their sons and grand sons.
We have an ongoing dialogue with Venda elders in the Limpopo province. Our aim is to link initiation schools and reintroduce the profoundly valuable community and environmental knowledge that was formally taught in these schools.
Traditionally with the onset of puberty boys begin to attend meetings under an elder. In these meetings boys are trained in etiquette, martial arts and hunting. Once a sufficient number of boys have reached sexual maturity (first emission) they are taken as a group to do what is called the washing of boyhood ceremony (Hlapa boshimane)
The ceremony lasts a couple of days and is conducted in the wilderness. The boys go through rituals to prepare them for adolescence and learn through experiential processes many of the societal expectations and responsibilities which their new status will confront them with.
A ceremony of graduation marks their entry into the phase of adolescence.
This ceremony is usually conducted within the clans and small numbers of boys attend.
Once every five to seven years, the chiefs call for the Bodika and Bohwera ceremonies, this happens when one of the chief’s own sons has reached the right age (average is seventeen years).
Adolescent boys begin attending meetings at the chief’s court as their families prepare for their graduation.
On a given day, the whole group including many of the men of the community go to a specific place in the wilderness and enter what is generally known as the bush school (bodika).
The traditional period of Bodika is three months. In this time the boys are strengthened through rituals and processes which prepare them for full adulthood.
The routine of the bush school is strict, and completely secret, those who have not attended may not under any circumstances know what takes place in the wilderness.
At the end of the three month period the boys return to the community where there is a celebration of their graduation. (Ho aloha)
All boys who attended the Bodika together are known as Mophato or a regiment. The Mophato is at the disposal of the chief as warriors to go raiding and as a labour force. Mophato were kept at the ready for dealing with all large scale emergencies including raids by other groups, fires or floods.
One or two years after the Bodika ceremony, the boys return to the wilderness to attend Bohwera. The period is a month and is not as strict as Bodika. The boys learn the secrets of men (phiri tsa banna) which are a body of knowledge pertaining to sexual health and prowess, rituals and esoteric understanding of community and nature.
On their return from the wilderness, a very large graduation ceremony is held. The graduates are now no longer boys but men (Banna)
The newly graduated men live in their own quarters surrounding the village, each Mophato regiment has its own meeting place (Kgotla) and they are still responsible for the security of the community.
Five or seven years later, these men attend the initiation of the next group. In this context they are known as shepherds (Balisa) and are responsible for the physical training of the boys.
Once a regiment has attended the next initiation they are given permission to marry and may grow a beard and sit on chairs in the chief’s court (Before that they had to squat)
When a man’s eldest son attends Bohwera the man enters the age grade of junior elder (Moholwane). There is sometimes a ceremony to mark this stage.
Once a man’s eldest grandson attends Bohwera the man enters the age grade of full elder (Moholo).
Modern initiation rituals have changed for a number of reasons. Firstly initiation was banned by the missionaries in many areas. Secondly, because of the migrant labour system and inter tribal warfare; the colonial governments put an end to the regiment system. At present, initiation is run in conjunction with school holidays and is often used as a political rallying place. The result of these changes is that in many places initiation disappeared for some time and re-emerged as a means of rallying youth for political reasons. These initiation schools are often run by untrained persons resulting in horrendous circumcisions and death, and little or no traditional knowledge being passed on.
Re-contextualizing men’s rites of passage for urban western men.
The program that we hope to introduce is based on the traditional ceremonies and aims to offer men of all ages a profound set of rites of passage which will bring them to full adulthood on all levels. The results of these will be recognised by indigenous men who have been through similar ceremonies.
After much deliberation and discussion with traditional initiation doctors we have decided to introduce these ceremonies with specific modifications which will make them more accessible to urban western men.
Traditional rites of passage coincide with the periods in which each person goes through profound change, this begins with birth and continues long after death. The time of the rites is dictated by nature and not people.
African ceremonies happen on an experiential rather than intellectual level. Little is taught verbally, but through process, individuals and groups are brought to profound realizations and shifts regarding their context.
It is for this reason that these rituals are surrounded by strict secrecy. There can be no intellectual understanding of the process or its results without a fully embodied experience. Those who do not qualify or have not reached the stage of having this experience can only view it from an intellectual stand point from which it makes little sense and may even cause difficulties.
What is arrived at through going through these processes cannot be conveyed in words alone, the wisdom and actions of the initiated reflect the profound nature of their experience. Relating the mechanisms of achieving the experience is senseless and would then contaminate the experience of those to be initiated with nonsensical expectations and preconceptions.
Men’s rites of passage are the exclusive and secret property of initiated men, the benefits of the process are shared by the whole community. This is the same for women’s rites of passage.
Our hope is to establish ongoing rights of passage programs which are available to any boy or man who wishes to attend. We have put much deliberation into making the process accessible to people who live a modern urban lifestyle. This has meant that some modification of the process has occurred. Each modification has been discussed with traditional initiation doctors in order to retain the impact and effectiveness of the ceremonies.
The first group and subsequent adult groups will go through a condensed version of the first three ceremonies. This will include initial gatherings and training in various arts, then a two week process in the wilderness. The process will be challenging and will bring men to a place of peerage with their indigenous counterparts who have been through the traditional ceremony.
Once an initial adult group has graduated, we will begin to introduce the program to school boys. The program for boys will follow the traditional age grade system; boys will start with the first ceremony at the onset of sexual maturity. The boys will spend time in meetings and will attend skills training programs and initiate or participate in community projects.
A number of years later, the boys will go through the Bodika process and some years after that the final Bohwera graduation. We hope to have this coincide with secondary school leaving.
Much of the community involvement of the adult groups will be in their participation in the training of youth. We hope that the program will span generations and that fathers who have attended will attend the ceremonies of their sons and grand sons.
We have an ongoing dialogue with Venda elders in the Limpopo province. Our aim is to link initiation schools and reintroduce the profoundly valuable community and environmental knowledge that was formally taught in these schools.