Parting with the prepuce is central to becoming a man

Silvestre João has good and not-so-good memories of his circumcision. "Let's go eat honey in the bush," his father told the nine-year-old. There was honey aplenty, and more: kumbi, the ritual initiation of the Makhuwa people of Mozambique's northern coast.

The boy spent six months in the bush with a group of other kids and adults, all male. He parted with his foreskin and learned about his culture.

The bad memories were "the horrible pain during the first day; I had an infection that took two months to heal"; the good ones were "playing naked in the bush, picking coconuts, swimming in the lagoon, learning songs and legends from the elders".
His padrinho, a male relative who acts as a sponsor and does not go home or have sex until the boy has healed, stayed with him throughout, shooing the flies from the wound. When João returned home, family and neighbours celebrated, and bought him books and pens for school. Now he belonged: as a Makhuwa - the largest ethnic group in northern Mozambique - a Muslim and a man.

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