Cultural Circumcision Practices in Vhembe, South Africa

The study was conducted in Vhembe, one of the Limpopo Province’s rural districts, in South Africa. The Vhembe district consists of four local municipalities: Musina, Collins Chabane, Thulamela and Makhado. The Vhavenda people who stay in the Vhembe district are culturally rooted and still engaged in initiation schools. Even if boys undergo medical circumcision, the person will be regarded as a boy until he attended muḽa [traditional circumcision] to become a fully-fledged man. Vhembe is the country’s northernmost district and is bordered by Zimbabwe on the northern part and Mozambique on the eastern side (Huffman & Hanisch 2007 (link)).