Never Too Late To Be The Man
Oh my, was the Daily Voice in good form last week. We have a winner in both the headline category and the story category in the contest that I created unilaterally a few weeks ago.
The best story from last week requires a bit of delicate explanation regarding the practice of circumcision of men in some areas of South Africa. It's something that young men usually choose to do when they are about 16 or 17, and they aren't considered men until they've gone under the knife. There's no small amount of ritual involved, lots of time spent in a remote area in the bush with other young men going through the same thing, but usually no amount of anesthesia.
Oh, and the other thing you need to know is that “dagga” is the local word for pot.
So without further ado, here's the Voice story from last Thursday, which carried the headline “Never Too Late to Be the Man.”
It's good to be a man… even if you have to wait 58 years to become one, and spend most of those behind bars.
The dude says: “Manhood will change me. I am tired of being a boy. I have been left behind by young boys who have been circumcised.
“They have become men and now have homes and wives.”
So says 58-year-old Velile Ngxingo, a disability group pensioner.
The first thing Ngxingo wanted to do when he was released from jail on parole two weeks ago was to get circumcised and “become a man.”
Ngxingo says he has beeen in prison for a long time serving sentences for different crimes including housebreaking, theft and robbery.
He says: “I'm in and out of jail. I have been sentenced sometimes to six years, five years, two years, nine years and also 15 years.”
His most recent brush with the law resulted in his conviction and sentencing two years ago for possession of dagga in 2004.
On his release recently, Ngxingo prepared to go for initiation.
Even though he needed to be circumcised in hospital because of his age, his temporary home is an ibhoma in the bush.
…
Known as abekwetha to the Xhosa, boys who undergo the passage to manhood must spend up to three months in the bush and then have their foreskins sliced off, sometimes without safe medical procedure.
Ngxingo decided to go through with the procedure to encourage other people in a similar situation to follow the same path...
And here, for your further insight into all things South African, is my favorite headline from last week:
“Slet,” of course, means slut. And if you can't see it, the box in red says “Neighbours say a widow is stealing their husbands and call her a 'staat matras.'” In the story, it explains that this is an Afrikaans expression for a woman who sleeps with police officers, who are state employees. It means “state mattress.”
Lovely.
The best story from last week requires a bit of delicate explanation regarding the practice of circumcision of men in some areas of South Africa. It's something that young men usually choose to do when they are about 16 or 17, and they aren't considered men until they've gone under the knife. There's no small amount of ritual involved, lots of time spent in a remote area in the bush with other young men going through the same thing, but usually no amount of anesthesia.
Oh, and the other thing you need to know is that “dagga” is the local word for pot.
So without further ado, here's the Voice story from last Thursday, which carried the headline “Never Too Late to Be the Man.”
It's good to be a man… even if you have to wait 58 years to become one, and spend most of those behind bars.
The dude says: “Manhood will change me. I am tired of being a boy. I have been left behind by young boys who have been circumcised.
“They have become men and now have homes and wives.”
So says 58-year-old Velile Ngxingo, a disability group pensioner.
The first thing Ngxingo wanted to do when he was released from jail on parole two weeks ago was to get circumcised and “become a man.”
Ngxingo says he has beeen in prison for a long time serving sentences for different crimes including housebreaking, theft and robbery.
He says: “I'm in and out of jail. I have been sentenced sometimes to six years, five years, two years, nine years and also 15 years.”
His most recent brush with the law resulted in his conviction and sentencing two years ago for possession of dagga in 2004.
On his release recently, Ngxingo prepared to go for initiation.
Even though he needed to be circumcised in hospital because of his age, his temporary home is an ibhoma in the bush.
…
Known as abekwetha to the Xhosa, boys who undergo the passage to manhood must spend up to three months in the bush and then have their foreskins sliced off, sometimes without safe medical procedure.
Ngxingo decided to go through with the procedure to encourage other people in a similar situation to follow the same path...
And here, for your further insight into all things South African, is my favorite headline from last week:
“Slet,” of course, means slut. And if you can't see it, the box in red says “Neighbours say a widow is stealing their husbands and call her a 'staat matras.'” In the story, it explains that this is an Afrikaans expression for a woman who sleeps with police officers, who are state employees. It means “state mattress.”
Lovely.
posted by Erik at 8:06 pm
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