Female initiation – A rite of passage to womanhood rarely spoken about

Male initiation is a nationwide known rite of passage to manhood. IBhokwe: The Goat – a short film adapted from Thando Mngqolozana’s book A Man Who is Not a Man as well as INXEBA: The Wound are bodies of work that are centered around Ulwaluko: Xhosa male initiation.

Yet how often have you heard about Lebollo la basadi (Sotho, Pedi and Tswana), Intonjane (Xhosa) and Tshikanda (Venda) also known colloquially as female initiation.

Discussing the proceedings of women’s cultural initiation, Krunch with Khutso covered the different aspects of it, including the level of secrecy about it.

This rite of passage would usually happen when a girl reaches puberty and most cultures have their different set norms and beliefs towards this.

Listen to the conversation here: