Posted on 12/31/2025 8:11:02 AM PST by DFG
At least 41 young men have died as a result of circumcision procedures as part of traditional initiation activities in South Africa in November and December, authorities said Tuesday.
Traditional initiation is a rite of passage into manhood for young men that is practiced annually by various ethnic groups in Africa, including parts of South Africa.
Among them are the Xhosa, Ndebele, Sotho and Venda communities.
Traditionally, young men are isolated at initiation schools where they are taught cultural values and responsibilities as they become adults.
The circumcision part of the initiation results every year in the deaths of some initiates, forcing the government to intervene through legislation.
The laws force initiation schools to be registered with authorities, but this has not stopped the proliferation of illegal initiation schools where many of the deaths are reported.
Parents are expected to pay for their children to be accepted into the initiation school for the prescribed period, which for some is a financial motivation to start an unregistered initiation school.
Initiation periods typically run during winter (June-July) and summer (November-December) school holidays.
South Africa's Traditional Affairs Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa told local broadcasters Tuesday that 41 initiates died during this year's summer initiation.
He blamed negligence on the part of both the initiation schools, including registered ones, and parents for not adhering to safety standards and medical advice.
Hlabisa said some of the unproven advice often given to the young men is to avoid drinking water in order to heal faster.
'There is negligence in terms of meeting health standards in some of the initiation schools.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
They invented that.
Not everyone makes the cut.
Dying from a penis infection seems like a bad way to go. Getting eaten by a leopard or trampled by a hippopotamus sounds preferable.
If someone invited me to a circumcision “initiation ceremony,” I’d run as fast as I could in the opposite direction.
Remember, all cultures are equal.
Why don’t we hear this about Jewish and gentile circumcisions here in the US? It was done to me shortly after I
was born.
Obviously they need more “Employees Must Wash Hands” signs.
You would have enjoyed the circumcision scene in “Robin Hood, Men in Tights,” where Mel Brooks played Rabbi Tuckman.
Oldest joke in the world:
They only work for tips
Call the rabbi... they got the skills.
“At least 41 young men have died as a result of circumcision procedures as part of traditional initiation activities in South Africa in November and December, authorities said Tuesday.” Just a little off the top.
Machete, the all purpose tool!
Eight days old is stipulated in the scriptures for a reason...
“The human body has 2 blood clotting elements. One of them is called Vitamin K. Vitamin K is not formed in the body up until the 5th to the 7th day. The 2nd clotting factor which is essential is called Prothrombin. It surprisingly enough develops to 30% of normal by the 3rd day of life and after that…peaks at 110% on the 8th day, just before leveling off at 100% of normal.
“If vitamin K is not present when a baby boy is circumcised, the baby will bleed to death. The reason why Yahweh established, Day Eight for circumcision is that vitamin K peaks in a newborn at 8 days of age. The 8th day is the optimum day for circumcision because of the highest presence of the clotting factor vitamin K. Today when baby boys are circumcised within a couple of days of birth, they are administered vitamin K to help with blood clotting.”
Forgot to credit the foregoing- Evidence for the Bible website.
Ow.
Frankly, I didn’t know there even *was* an initiation, I figured, once it was over, you didn’t have to go back to the club. And you learn the, uh, secret handshake on your own.
I read, somewhere, that the Jewish habit of circumcision on the 8th day after birth is actually the optimal time to do it. Later than that, the boy experiences more discomfort. Earlier, I forget the reasoning.
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