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George Maponga in Masvingo

The Shangaan community in south-eastern Lowveld has resumed the annual voluntary male circumcision and initiation with nearly 300 boys and men graduating at Chilonga Primary School in Chikombedzi over the weekend, following a near three-year hiatus caused by Covid-19.

The pandemic forced ethnic Shangaans, who inhabit swathes of land in the Limpopo and Save river valleys in the Lowveld to shelve male circumcision with the last group of initiates graduating in 2019.

For years, the Shangaans waited for Covid-19 to ebb and enable them to resume male circumcision and initiation which is central to their culture as the practice is touted for steering initiates into manhood.

At Chilonga Primary School last weekend, festivities marked with song and dance were galore as the Shangaan community welcomed the first group of graduates who went under the knife for the first time since 2019.

Hoko dance….Shangaan men dance during the graduation ceremony of boys and men who successfully underwent circumcision and initiation at Chilonga Primary School in Chiredzi on Friday.

The graduates were drawn from the pre-dominantly Shangaan Chilonga area and surrounding communities to the south of Runde River.

Minister of State for Masvingo Provincial Affairs and Devolution Ezra Chadzamira hailed the Shangaans for sticking to their centuries-old cultural practice which is credited for fighting latter day ailments like HIV.

Minister Chadzamira noted that besides giving the Shangaans identity as a people, male circumcision helped reduce chances of contracting HIV by about 60 percent.

“We are happy as Government that you (Shangaans) are continuing to uphold your culture through practices such as male circumcision which is key in the fight against HIV. Government will continue to render the required support,” he said.

Chiredzi East House of Assembly representative Cde Denford Masiya under whose constituency the majority of Shangaans live, said without being circumcised, a man would be incomplete according to their culture.

“Tolerance levels are improving as times move but in the past, a man would be ostracised by the whole community if he is not circumcised. This was aimed at pushing the person to get circumcised. All those who have been circumcised are like new borns according to our culture,” said Cde Masiya, who is also Shangaan.