What is circumcision?

The custom of circumcision is said to have originated from Judaism and has a history of more than 2,000 years. Among Jews, circumcision is actually a sign of fulfilling the Covenant with God, confirming Jewish identity and entering the scope of marriage permission. Nowadays, circumcision is not limited to Jews or men, but is common among boys and girls of many nationalities in the world. In Africa, more than 30 countries in more than 50 countries practice circumcision in different ranges. Among them, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan and other countries, about 80% of men and women have had this kind of surgery.

The last thing to start with is a woman.

Female circumcision has always been a bit mysterious, because it is performed privately and alone. Except for a few people who go to the hospital, most of them are run by folk witch doctors, midwives or relatives and friends as always. An old Ugandan woman who is good at this told us that the traditional cutting tools are iron knives or small blades, sewing is done with ordinary needle and thread, and thorns are even used in some places. Using such backward and primitive instruments to cut sensitive parts of the body, and often without anesthesia, the physical pain is indescribable. During the operation, not only the pain is unbearable, but also massive bleeding often occurs. The most commonly used hemostatic agent is nothing more than gum or plant ash. The medical conditions are poor, and the instruments are never disinfected, so postoperative infections often occur. According to statistics from Wajir, Kenya, about 30% patients have symptoms such as tetanus, anuria and vaginal ulceration after operation. The vulvar suture operation is not only easy to cause these diseases, but also often leads to dystocia of babies, leading to the death of both mother and baby. The harm of circumcision to women's physical and mental health has aroused great concern in African countries and the international community. Since 1979, African women's organizations, with the help of the World Health Organization, have held special meetings in Cuttum, Lusaka and other places, and passed resolutions to gradually abolish this bad habit in Africa, starting from East and North Africa, where female circumcision is most prevalent. After heated debates, parliaments in Kenya, Somalia and other countries also passed laws that were immediately abolished.

A man who is cut is performing his duty.

Contrary to female circumcision, male circumcision is not only not required to be abolished, but also being carried out in some areas. In many parts of Uganda and Kenya, male circumcision is usually performed in even years, while individual tribes, such as Bukonjo in western Uganda, only perform it once every 15 years. The time of circumcision is generally chosen in the slack season in July and August or at the end of each year. Whose child is going to be circumcised, please invite relatives, friends and neighbors to hold a banquet first and announce it in public. People attending the banquet bring beer, beef, steamed bread or other gifts to congratulate them in advance. After that, the circumcised child should take a bath every day, clean himself and meet the new stage of life. Believers must go to church and pray for God's blessing. Non-believers go to the cemetery to pray for the help of their ancestors and gods. As the day of circumcision approaches, parents jointly beg or chiefs designate experienced elders to lead the children in preparation activities. In Kikuyu community in central Kenya, we saw more than a dozen teenagers with bird hair on their heads, chalk on their faces, skins on their shoulders, branches tied to their waists and sticks in their hands, shouting and running on the road in the fields. Tired of running, they stopped to take a nap on a grass. Just after a short rest, a fierce drum and horn sounded, and they jumped up, swinging their hips and dancing. The elders who led the team told us that the main purpose of these activities is to make children become qualified soldiers: running to catch up with fleeing enemies or wild animals; Dance wildly to celebrate the victory of the movement. At present, it is mainly to strengthen the body and temper the will so that they can bravely meet the test of circumcision. In the rural areas where Bugisu people live in concentrated communities in Uganda, the circumcision ceremony we saw was grand and enthusiastic. On the selected circumcision day, the villagers, regardless of sex, age and age, gathered in the open grass at the head of the village early in the morning. They played drums and flutes, singing and shouting wildly. Soon, the boys who were about to receive gifts came panting from a distance. The topless girls swarmed and dragged them to dance wildly. The others present watched at first, but then they seemed unable to resist the temptation of drums and dance steps and twisted their bodies intentionally or unintentionally.

In this way, people danced until the boy who was about to receive the gift was exhausted and even fascinated. At this time, relatives ran forward to help them pull a white line drawn in advance and cover it with white cloth or banana leaves. At this moment, the drums and flutes suddenly stopped, and the people singing and dancing were in awe, and the whole audience was silent. I saw two shirtless men coming out of the crowd and strode to one end of the white line. One rubbed hands and pulled off the children's shorts one by one. The other immediately took out a shiny knife from his pocket and cut off the foreskin of the naked child. Without anesthesia in advance, the pain can be imagined. However, the children gritted their teeth and endured the pain to show their bravery. Every time the surgeon cuts off a foreskin, he holds it high and shows it to hundreds of onlookers. They responded with a "beep-beep-beep" roar and praised the superb skills of the surgeons and the bravery of the children. At the same time, celebrate another adult man in this tribe. The celebration of circumcision gradually developed into singing. When I was collecting folk songs, I collected some songs specially sung during circumcision. The contents of these songs are mainly for fun, and most of them are obscene, so you can't sing them at ordinary times. But there are also some circumcision songs to cheer up boys. For example, the Luo people in Kenya have such a circumcision song:

The lake is surging,

The wind is blowing waves.

Children, don't be afraid.

Everyone will get this knife.

Hold on, don't tremble,

Hold your breath and don't cry.

You're going to grow up,

We should face this knife bravely.

Male circumcision is mostly performed between 1 1 years old and 18 years old. In ancient China, there was a saying that a man was crowned at the age of twenty, and his husband was crowned at the age of ten. African boys, regardless of age, can be "husbands" as long as they pass this knife and become adults. Without this knife, no matter how old you live, you will be regarded as a "child" rather than an adult. Therefore, every boy must be circumcised. Even if you study and work in other places, you have to go back to your hometown to get this knife after circumcision. "Cutting people with one knife" is not a joke, but a vivid summary of this custom.