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IMBALU: 1,160 more candidates will face the knife this year
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The Bugisu Cultural Institution (Inzu Ya Masaba) has announced it will circumcise a total of 1,960 candidates this year, compared to 800 in previous years. This means that 1,160 more candidates will face the knife this year, representing an increase of over 100%.
According to Jude Mike Mudoma, the Inzu Ya Masaba’s Umukuka (cultural head), the increase in numbers is due to some candidates shunning circumcision in 2022, citing COVID-19. He said the government had issued strict guidelines, some of which could have been breached if all candidates had been circumcised that year. He also noted that the cultural institution has managed to stop people from circumcising their children before the official launch, an act that forced them to wait for the official inauguration slated for August 3.
“We issued a directive that all candidates should wait for the official launch, and it has paid off. In the past, candidates would dodge or postpone studies to face the knife; we didn’t want the same to happen this year,” Mudoma said on Tuesday.
He emphasized that while culture is important, education is equally a great tool for success, highlighting the need for parents to observe the established order. He said the institution has established structures on a clan and sub-county basis to monitor candidates even after circumcision.
Regarding the launch, the Umukuka said preparations are almost complete, noting that Bamasaba and the general public have been supportive in ensuring the event takes place. “We already started receiving visitors at Mutoto Cultural Grounds early this month. As an institution, we thank God that we have managed to maintain peace even with large numbers already at the site,” Mudoma said.
According to Umukuka Mudoma, they have approved a total of 200 local surgeons who will be in charge of circumcising the candidates this year. Out of the total number, five will circumcise candidates during the official launch, and the rest will start thereafter in all the 26 clans of Bugisu.
“We ensured that all surgeons undergo HIV tests to ensure they do not infect our candidates,” he said.
Mudoma said that besides HIV testing, surgeons were required to have more than 10 knives, an act he said would protect candidates.
According to Moses Kutoyi, the minister of culture and heritage at Inzu Ya Masaba, surgeons were taken through a three-week training to ensure health safety during the ritual performance.
Traditional male circumcision (imbalu) in Bugisu, also known as Bamasaba, is the rite of passage from childhood to adulthood. Teenagers between the ages of 12 and 19 undergo it every even year. The opening ceremony always takes place in August at Mutoto Cultural Grounds in Mbale city. Thousands of people from Namisindwa, Bulambuli, Sironko, Mbale, Manafwa, and Bududa districts, as well as some from western Kenya (the Babukusu), always take part in the event. In the pre-colonial era, it used to happen during the harvest season but could be postponed in the event of crises such as drought, famine, epidemics, and war.
