One of the senior Vhavenda traditional leaders, Thovhele Vho-Nthumeni Masia of Ha-Masia in Vuwani, has warned the boys who returned from initiation schools not to take their initiation as a licence to abuse drugs and alcohol.
Masia addressed the parents and boys during a welcoming function for the boys who attended a month-long initiation school in the area. The ceremony, attended by traditional leaders from around the village, well-known traditionalist Dr Mashudu Dima, circumcision surgeon Maine Vho-Mashudu Tshikororo, parents and community members, took place at the Masia traditional offices on Saturday, 16 July.
Masia urged the boys to be proud of their culture, traditions and customs. "Initiation and education go together, and when we have an educated man who went to an initiation school, we have a complete human being. However, being circumcised does not give one a licence to do drugs and indulge in alcohol. Initiation trains one to be a man with manners. This is to make one a person with respect for the elderly, be exemplary and not engage in the ills of society," he said.
Traditionalist Dr Mashudu Dima echoed the same views and called on parents to take their children to traditional schools if they were to beat the scourge of domestic and gender-based violence. He said that traditional initiation schools served as classes to teach the young ones about moral values.
Veteran traditional-circumcision surgeon Maine Vho-Mashudu Tshikororo thanked all the parents for entrusting their children to him. "We are here just to say thank you. All your children are well and sound. We did all to transform them into men, and we have no doubt you will notice the change in the boys," he said.