Cape Town - Satellite TV in the bush, lavish ceremonies with sushi, bottles of Hennessy and motorcycle motorcades - no expense is spared as families splurge on celebrating circumcision initiates returning from mountain this summer.
The unorthodox antics have sparked a heated debate on social media platforms where families posted pictures of the age-old Xhosa tradition Umgidi which has received a modern spin.
The simplistic ceremony, which marks the return of young men from initiation school, has become the subject of discussion and amusement on social media platforms.
Ukwaluka - an initiation rite - is the transition to manhood. Some say it is a journey of no return some die, especially at illegal schools . For others, it is a journey of purification, rejuvenation and the beginning of a new life as it separates the boys from the men.
A mother from the Eastern Cape was widely criticised on social media for throwing a bottle of Hennessey in the air during her son’s homecoming celebration.
Asanda Dail said she didn’t care much for other peoples opinion. All she wanted was to celebrate the homecoming of her son.
“As a mother, taking your son to the mountain is a painful and stressful time as you don’t know if he will return or not. The joy you experience is beyond anything. I know people will always have something to say regardless if you make a small or big Umgidi,” said Dail.
Dail planned and saved for her son’s homecoming celebration for a year.
"I didn’t just spend money recklessly, and I must say I didn’t expect all this hype. I was just making sure that I celebrated my son’s Umgidi in the best possible way,“ said Dail.
Dail spared no cost as she hired a popular radio personality, Mafa Bavuma, a decoration company that prepared seating for about 300 people, a DJ, and bikers to escort the initiatesto the event.
But Dail would not comment on the exact bill.
In another ceremony, pictures of initiates enjoying sushi while still on the mountain were also circulated on social media. In another widely shared image, a satellite dish was seen on an initiate’s hut.
Umgidi was once a simple celebration marked with the slaughter of , either a cow or a sheep, umqombothi, a traditional beer.
Over the years, alcohol such as brandy was introduced, followed by beer, and but now guests enjoy expensive whiskeys and champagnes.
Dr Nokuzola Mndende, a traditional expert, believed flashy events were a step too far, and slowly destroying the true meaning of the ceremony’s intentions.
She said the whole idea of Umgidi was to teach initiates the value of being a true man and how to conduct themselves among their families and the community at large.
“The whole tradition of Ukwaluka has levels, and each level has its teachings, starting from when the boy goes to the mountain, to when the boy is in the mountain, and to when he comes back.
“We can’t be fetching boys with helicopters from the mountain, by doing so, we are breaking the very same values that this tradition is founded upon, because only men have to accompany the boy from the mountain, and along the way, there are teachings that he must observe,” said Mndende.
She said the excessive alcohol use at Umgidi was another problem that exposed young men to alcoholism and made them vulnerable to society.
Mndende dismissed the notion that this tradition was evolving - instead, she said it was degrading it, making it irrelevant.
Zwandile Gingcana from the George Initiation Forum said it was up to the family of the initiate to choose how they celebrated the return of their son, but the most important part was what happened in the mountain, and as long as that part was not tampered with, anything else was out of their control.
“Many people prepare for Umgidi and the whole process years in advance by saving money and making sure they get the most out of this ceremony. It’s a celebration, and the culture itself is evolving, and people are adapting to many ways of celebrating influenced by the Western world, and that is unfortunately something we can’t run away from,” said Gingcana.
Meanwhile, IOL recently reported that the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities (CRL) estimated that as many 700 initiates have died in the Eastern Cape in the last decade, with 34 deaths reported since the beginning of the current summer season, which began on November 4. Only two in deaths were reported in the Western Cape.