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The circumcision ritual at Songo: The recovery period While the boys receive medical treatment and are fed chicken soup while sheltered in the northern part of the site, the village begins the general celebration of the circumcision day. All circumcised males from Songo and beyond are entitled to enter the southern part of the site from about 6 a.m. onwards, when the circumcision is completed. Women and children remain banned from approaching but watch from the roofs of nearby houses. Upon their arrival, the men drink a millet porridge prepared by the women in the houses of the lineage, the debu bagne (the local name for what is termed the gina in the escarpment). The parents of the initiates have to supply three calabashes each. After this meal the popular part of the ceremony begins: the Guindo begin to sing a particular song that opens the circumcision celebrations, while the remaining villagers join in the refrain. In the next stage in the celebrations, the men proceed to a view point overlooking the village just above the shelter of the Grand Signe. There, at a site called wandyerma tumbi ('the rock on which the wandyerma are played'), the circumcision rattles are played and songs are sung in a celebration audible and visible to the whole village. At a particular signal, all able-bodied men race to a spot close to the rock of Songo Kolo, where they grab long wooden poles out of a pile of poles that are then carried back in celebration to Kondi Pegue. The first to arrive with the poles are acknowledged as winners in front of the painted rock wall.
Again, they all return to wandyerma tumbi to play the wandyerma and sing. Then they eat meat brought by the women and spend the day at the site. In the evening the celebrations at Kondi Pegue conclude with a song thanking all people who have helped in the proceedings. The entire first night after the circumcision is spent in dancing and singing. During the night, a shelter (hangar) for the newly circumcised boys is constructed in a compound at the edge of the village, where the boys will sleep every night until they have fully recovered. At about 4 a.m. on the day after the circumcision the boys are guided back to Kondi Pegue. In all, the circumcised stay at the site for about 15 days. They generally spend the day learning, singing traditional songs and playing musical instruments at Kondi Pegue, and they descend to their hangar in the village after dark. During the recovery period the boys are primarily supervised by members of the next older age set. Adult members of the Guindo family are present to assist and check that the newly circumcised are correctly instructed. During the first week of the recovery period the newly circumcised are taught a range of special circumcision songs. Some of these songs are location-specific: they are only sung at particular places in the village visited by the boys during their recovery period. Songs are practiced in groups aiming at excelling each other. Generally, competitions seem to be a typical feature of the circumcision period. Each day, from the third day after the circumcision, the boys are handed small stones to throw towards the high ceiling of the rock shelter of Kondi Pegue. This is seen as a test of the progress of recovery and of individual strength. The circumcision period itself is concluded by a race run by the boys. The duration of the individual stages of the circumcision period, and of the circumcision period in general, seems to depend on the speed of the boys' recovery. The instruction of the boys by the next older age set is completed by the handing over of the wandyermas to the newly circumcised, who are now responsible for their upkeep during the three years until the next circumcision. Then they will teach the younger boys what they have learned during their stay at Kondi Pegue. The cohesion of the age group (toru) is formed through common experiences, such as the circumcision itself and the instruction received. Also, punishment is collective: if a boy makes a serious mistake during the instruction period, the whole age set has to enter a low, dark and hot rock shelter, called the 'prison'. One by one the boys are called out and instructed on correct behaviour. This collective punishment is said by the villagers to make the boys aware that their actions also have effects on others. It also stimulates solidarity. At the end of the recovery period the parents of the boys supply an indigo-dyed garment for each child. Wearing these garments, the boys are assembled under a large tree on the northern edge of the village. Their heads are then shaved by the old men, and they are told to race up to Kondi Pegue and touch one of three circles in the central part of the painted rock face. The three boys who reach the paintings first and touch the correct dots are promised various benefits, such as a good harvest or a beautiful wife. The next morning the boys race from the circumcision shelter to the houses of their respective lineages, where they climb the roofs and cry out. They have now left Kondi Pegue where they spent approximately 15 days. However, they continue to sleep in their collective hangar at the edge of the village for another ten nights. They then return completely to their respective families. The Guindo distribute the gifts the boys have received for the occasion of their circumcision, and at the very end of the circumcision period the Guindo receive a standard payment for each circumcised boy. | |
