A group of 14 virgins received certificates on Monday as part of a Heritage Day celebration that was held at the Christ Worship Centre, Shayandima.
A community member, Ms Khodani Mudzanani, said they had decided to preserve their living heritage by honouring young girls who had been tested for virginity with certificates of appreciation. "We are remembering our living heritage through wearing Tshivenda traditional attire such as minwenda, singing traditional songs and dances. Our young girls, who paraded in front of us, are real virgins who never had sexual intercourse," said Mudzanani.
She said that the girls had volunteered to be tested for virginity and were aged between 13 and 23 years of age. "They are proud of their clean bodies and the Shayandima and surrounding communities are delighted."
According to Apostle Ramudzuli Lehangwa, the Vhavenda people must teach their children to preserve culture and tradition "and we must let them to know that they are what they are because of their culture. We encourage other parents to send their children for this heritage and cultural event," he added.
According to Lehangwa, virginity testing also helps the young girls to abstain from sexual practices that result in teenage pregnancies. He added that part of virginity testing also motivated the young girls to concentrate on educational matters.
One of the young girls who were tested for virginity, Sharon Mavhungu (23), said to be tested for virginity would help her to take pride in herself because sex before marriage was a sin and one needed to be proud of being a clean girl.