The program that we run 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 introduced these ceremonies with specific modifications which will make them more accessible to urban Western men.
Niall Campbell has been conducting men’s work and men’s rites of passage since 2010.
These rites were learned through appreticeship to Motseothata Gaotsholwe and Sediegi Nala.
The rites are available not only to boys and young men but also to older men who have an interest.
These rites were learned through appreticeship to Motseothata Gaotsholwe and Sediegi Nala.
The rites are available not only to boys and young men but also to older men who have an interest.

The program we run is based on the rights of passage which are practiced by the Basarwa and Bakgalagadi and affiliated groups in Botswana.
In traditionally socieity, 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 the wilderness where they remain until they have successfully hunted and killed a large antelope. Once the game is killed the boys go through the ritual called the Hunter's Fire.
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.
Four or five years after the first ceremony, the boys return to the wilderness to attend Bogwera. The period is a month and is more rigorous than the previous rite. The boys learn the secrets of men (Diphiri tsa banna) which are a body of knowledge pertaining to sexual health and prowess, rituals, and esoteric understanding of community and nature.
There are a number of rites that the boys go through during this period. these rites prepare them for full adult manhood.
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 traditionally live in their own quarters surrounding the village, each group has its own meeting place (Kgotla) and they are 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' (Badisa) and are responsible for the physical training of the boys. Once a group 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 Bogwera the man enters the age grade of junior elder (Mogolwane). There is a ceremony to mark this stage.
Once a man’s eldest grandson attends Bogwera the man enters the age grade of full elder (Mogolo).
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 run 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 introduced 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 who have attended traditional womens' rites of passage.
Niall Campbell has been conducting men’s work and men’s rites of passage since 2010. These rites were learned through appreticeship to Motseothata Gaotsholwe and Sediegi Nala.
The rites are available not only to boys and young men but also to older men who have an interest
Birth is the first major rite of passage that we go through. In many of the world cultures birth is celebrated as the first rite of passage after which there may be a period of seclusion of the mother and baby. Coming out of seclusion is often the first public ceremony that a child goes through.
Children grow and at certain point start to leave their childhood and going to adolescence. This point marks the beginning of a second import transitional period, the period of adolescence which usually lasts between the age of 12 and the age of 18.
Once the child has grown into a young adult, there may be marriage and then children.
As the children go through the stages of their lives, parents also move through the stagees of being a householder, a parent, a provider and a guide.
Once our children have grown up we enter young elderhood and on maturation of our grandchildren, we become full elders.
In many traditional societies these stages are marked by rites that prepare and welcome us into the next stage of life.
Boys three month blessing.
In this rite, boys are taken through a blessing ceremony and celebration. There is a smoke and water ritual and a naming of godparents. The ceremony includes a celebratory feast.
The Hunter’s Fire (Mollo wa Batsumi)
The hunters Fire is the the first rite that boys go through in the wilderness. In former times, this rite was done when a boy successfully hunted a substantial animal that would provide food for the whole group.
We usually do the right when the first signs of puberty appear which varies from 13 to 16 years old.
The rite takes place in the wilderness over a couple of days. A few of the Boy’s male relatives attend.
The rites of warriors. (Bogwera)
These rites take place when boys turn 18.
The rites takes place in the wilderness on a hilltop and are conducted over ten days. In this rite the boys go through a wilderness immersion, rites that transition them from boys to men, and learning of traditional
masculine laws.
The rite of seating.
This rite is usually done around age twenty five. It is best done before marriage. In this rite, young men return to the wilderness to be connected to the soil and go through the rites that prepare them for family life.
The rite of the hands.
This rite is done for men who have sons going through the men’s rite (warrior’s) rite.
In traditionally socieity, 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 the wilderness where they remain until they have successfully hunted and killed a large antelope. Once the game is killed the boys go through the ritual called the Hunter's Fire.
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.
Four or five years after the first ceremony, the boys return to the wilderness to attend Bogwera. The period is a month and is more rigorous than the previous rite. The boys learn the secrets of men (Diphiri tsa banna) which are a body of knowledge pertaining to sexual health and prowess, rituals, and esoteric understanding of community and nature.
There are a number of rites that the boys go through during this period. these rites prepare them for full adult manhood.
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 traditionally live in their own quarters surrounding the village, each group has its own meeting place (Kgotla) and they are 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' (Badisa) and are responsible for the physical training of the boys. Once a group 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 Bogwera the man enters the age grade of junior elder (Mogolwane). There is a ceremony to mark this stage.
Once a man’s eldest grandson attends Bogwera the man enters the age grade of full elder (Mogolo).
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 run 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 introduced 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 who have attended traditional womens' rites of passage.
Niall Campbell has been conducting men’s work and men’s rites of passage since 2010. These rites were learned through appreticeship to Motseothata Gaotsholwe and Sediegi Nala.
The rites are available not only to boys and young men but also to older men who have an interest
Birth is the first major rite of passage that we go through. In many of the world cultures birth is celebrated as the first rite of passage after which there may be a period of seclusion of the mother and baby. Coming out of seclusion is often the first public ceremony that a child goes through.
Children grow and at certain point start to leave their childhood and going to adolescence. This point marks the beginning of a second import transitional period, the period of adolescence which usually lasts between the age of 12 and the age of 18.
Once the child has grown into a young adult, there may be marriage and then children.
As the children go through the stages of their lives, parents also move through the stagees of being a householder, a parent, a provider and a guide.
Once our children have grown up we enter young elderhood and on maturation of our grandchildren, we become full elders.
In many traditional societies these stages are marked by rites that prepare and welcome us into the next stage of life.
Boys three month blessing.
In this rite, boys are taken through a blessing ceremony and celebration. There is a smoke and water ritual and a naming of godparents. The ceremony includes a celebratory feast.
The Hunter’s Fire (Mollo wa Batsumi)
The hunters Fire is the the first rite that boys go through in the wilderness. In former times, this rite was done when a boy successfully hunted a substantial animal that would provide food for the whole group.
We usually do the right when the first signs of puberty appear which varies from 13 to 16 years old.
The rite takes place in the wilderness over a couple of days. A few of the Boy’s male relatives attend.
The rites of warriors. (Bogwera)
These rites take place when boys turn 18.
The rites takes place in the wilderness on a hilltop and are conducted over ten days. In this rite the boys go through a wilderness immersion, rites that transition them from boys to men, and learning of traditional
masculine laws.
The rite of seating.
This rite is usually done around age twenty five. It is best done before marriage. In this rite, young men return to the wilderness to be connected to the soil and go through the rites that prepare them for family life.
The rite of the hands.
This rite is done for men who have sons going through the men’s rite (warrior’s) rite.