The Cost and Reward of Manhood: the Practice of Imbalu Ritual among the Bagisu Dominica Dipio Makerere

University, Kampala Introduction This paper focuses on the male ritual circumcision, imbalu, among the Bagisu in Uganda, who prefer to be called the Bamasaba, after Masaba their founding father. Imbalu the male circumcision ritual that takes place every Even Year is the most important initiation and identity ritual among the Bamasaba. Traditionally, it was mandatory for young men from the age of maturity eighteen years and above to undergo the ritual as an initiation into adult life. One of the indicators of maturity was the communitys public recognition of their male youth as persons who are strong enough to defend their communities from attacks from neighboring communities. Another indicator of maturity was marriage and the ability to start ones own family. The ritual was then meant to prepare the young man for these two principle community roles for which he had to be physically and psychologically prepared. In the wisdom of the forefathers of the Bamasaba, what tests a young mans readiness for these crucial responsibilities was/is imbalu. The most important values that the neophyte must demonstrate in the ritual year are courage and perseverance. These community values must be demonstrated and celebrated in full view of its aggregate members: men, women, children, young and old. The ancestral spirits that are invoked are also believed to be present during this ritual process. It is therefore the responsibility of every member to ensure that this process is not botched, for the family and extended familys honour depend on it. This paper is an analysis of this cultural practice using data that is documented in my film, Crafting the Bamasaba.i Film, in this regard, has been used both as a method of documentation and as an artistic in its own right. This film documentation is part of a larger project whose objective is to document valuable cultures for both analytical and archival purposes. My interest in the imbalu ritual practice is occasion by the biannual ritual that appears not to wane in spite of evident cultural changes with regard to traditional practices in contemporary context. My purpose is to understand and interrogate the apparently seamless ritual: what holds it together and how it sustains itself amidst cultural flux. My analysis is based on the interviews documented in the film and on my observation of the ritual practice itself and the discourses around it. In the film I interviewed a cross-section of mainly members of the Bamasaba community, and documented the crucial stages of the ritual process with the purpose of understanding the significance of this compulsory male practice in the community. The physical circumcision of the neophyte that has assumed a central stage for both outsiders and insiders is only part of a long process that often escapes attention. Both the film and the paper draw attention to the entire process. As a non-member of the Bamasaba community I have tried to understand the ritual from the perspectives of the community members, and made analysis of it as a researcher. Although the questions I pose in the film are meant to generate certain responses, I have maintained a respectful distance by using the voices of the various informants to string the narratives in the film into a comprehensive story without using voice-over. In a few places, inter-titles are used for transitions and explanations. What is immediately evident is the non-linear nature of the voices that help to deconstruct the apparently cohesive and unquestionable nature of the ritual. Of recent male circumcision has generated interest in scientific circles and has been hailed as instrumental in reducing the transmission of HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted

disease by up to 60% (Bertran Auvert, et.al. 2005). For circumcising communities like the Bamasaba, this affirms their traditional wisdom that locates the practice on health and cleanliness grounds, and makes circumcision a convergence point for tradition and science. The masculinity identity component that has become quite prominent during the ritual performance is a later, if inevitable, inclusion of the Bamasaba as the practice spread. In the traditional practice,ii to symbolize solidarity and create sense of kinship, the inyembe (the ritual knife) circumcised several initiates (bamakoki) who were bound by the single knife. The knife then becomes a symbol of brotherhood, as significant as blood brotherhood. It is a symbol people swear by. Analysis of the responses of the interviewees show that although cleanliness was the prime factor of the ritual, the practice has come to assume a much larger position in the world view of the Bamasaba. Indeed their philosophy of life what it means to be a man (a human being) is defined by imbalu. In the context of the new threat of HIV infection, the significance of the single knife as a solidarity factor is contested. On the other hand, the claim that male circumcision reduces sexually transmitted infections, including HIV is perceived by the Bamasaba as sciences endorsement of their ancestral practice. This factor places the community on crossroads with regard to the traditional practice of the ritual: would the initiates rather face the raw knife in the traditional courtyard in public view of the community or would the initiates rather go to the hospital and have the operation done in a sanitized environment?

Key Moments in Imbalu Ritual Performance

Imbalu has, thus, become the quintessence of the Bamasaba identity as it is directly connected to adulthood, responsibility, marriage and continuity. In the Bamasaba calendar, the Odd Year is also called the Girl Year, and it has a significant relationship to the Even Year. The Even Year (the ritual year) is officially opened in January with the isonja dance that begins the ritual process which climaxes in December when the last groups of initiates are circumcised. The Odd Year (girl year) precedes the closing dance, ineemba, which takes place in December or January of the Odd Year. This is the dance that flags off the youth who have successfully graduated into Bamasaba masculine identity as men.iii During this dance girls may identify future husbands from the newly initiated. Interestingly this ritual that celebrates the maleiv and puts masculinity on the social pedestal, originated from Nabarwa, a Pokot woman from neighbouring Kenya, whose initial meeting with Masaba ended up in love and marriage. This foreign woman is credited for introducing her husband to a practice that has come to encompass the Bamasaba philosophy of life. No male of a certain age who belongs to the community by birth can escape it in life or in death.v What is however intriguing is that although the Bamasaba are surrounded by communities that circumcise women, like the Pokot and the Sabiny, they do not circumcise their women in spite of Nabarwa herself being excised. This is ground for fascinating gender discourse and activating Nabarwa as a significant symbol in the community.vi A number of symbolic actions build-up to the climatic point of the physical circumcision. I will briefly outline Wotsuna Khamalwas comprehensive categorization of imbalu ritual into seven phases that represent the philosophy and theology of the Bamasaba community (2004:74104), which is also documented in the film. The first stage is isonja dance, which in essence is the initial group dance that brings all the intending candidates together. This phase is drill-like, comprised of dancing and singing with the weight of the thigh-bells, that may be up to three or four pairs fastened onto the thighs of each candidate. The purpose here is to gauge the stamina and strength of the candidates to endure challenging situations. One who does not feel strong

enough to continue with the dance that progressively gets hectic my pull out at this stage to wait for the next ritual season. Sense of solidarity and comradeship begins to build during this dance. These are people who are going to belong to the same age-set that binds them into brotherhood. The second phase is khuwentza, translated as searching for imbalu. This is when the candidate who has passed through the first phase traverses the land, to visit far away relatives to announce his readiness to perform the ritual, and to receive their blessings and support. These daily journeys that cover long distances and involve the candidate and his supporters running long tracks, propelled by the rhythm of drums and songs, is quite exhausting. It takes the candidates stamina to a higher level. The relatives may give him gifts, ranging from chickens to cows. This gift offering follows certain logic: they are either repayments for those gifts given by the candidates father for a son in this homestead; or they are gifts expected to be reciprocated when the time comes for the givers son to be circumcised. The logic here is enhancing the communitarian spirit, and helping each other in times of need. This is meant to encourage every member of the community to be generous, especially in the ritual year. The third phase is khukhupaka, translated as thrashing millet. Two weeks before the circumcision day, the candidate begins the long process of beer brewing by thrashing the millet for the brewing himself. He may invite his peers to assist him in this process. His involvement in this process which is ordinarily a womans work shows his volition and personal initiative to participate in the ritual. The millet that is used for this purpose must be the mature one of the previous year, an indication of his maturing process into a man. The fourth phase is khukoya beer brewing is two days before the circumcision day. The beer matures on the third day: the day that the candidate is circumcised is also the day the beer is ready to be drank by the elders. This is evidently the climatic point of the ritual, and several actions are embedded in this phase; the symbols and actions reinforce the intensity of this moment that is characterized by transformation. This phase includes the rite of smearing the candidate with yeast khuuakha limela which is performed by an elder of good conduct who is looked upon by the community as a model. He performs this rite amidst instructions and admonitions to the candidate to be virtuous and of good conduct. He evokes the memories of heroic and virtuous men in the community and in his lineage for him to emulate. The solemnity of the moment and of the performers dispositions evokes an act of creation. The exemplary elder models and fashions the initiate as he carefully smears the body with paste of yeast mixed with water. The initiate in turn is pliant in the hands of the molding elder. The two consecutive days of smearing the candidate and giving him instructions before he begins the run through the land, to the homesteads of relatives, culminates into the day of circumcision. Some of the key places the initiate must visit on this ultimate day are the ancestral burial place as part of his reconnection with his ancestors as well as mapping the ancestral territory. He is introduced to symbols of ancestral spirit as a way of trusting him with clan secrets. At this point, which is also the very day of circumcision, the ritual elder slaughters a ritual bull to thank the ancestors for bringing the initiate to the threshold of becoming a man. Body parts of the initiate are smeared with chyme and yeast to show the progress in his process of becoming. This is also the tensest of days as the candidate leaves for his final physical journey in the morning, returning at an unspecified time right into the ring to be circumcised. The rest of the community waits for him in tension, expectation, excitement, and even fear of how the final moment will turn out to be. On this final day of the candidates run, the initiate visits his maternal clan where a cow is slaughtered in celebration in his honour. The maternal uncles utter blessings and divine his future. On his retreat journey, the candidate is taken to the sacred swamp mwitosi for the final

performance. Some rituals involving sacrifices, incantations and invocations would have been performed here ahead of his arrival. This is the place of the spirit of imbalu symbolized by the frothy, sacred clay that is finally smeared on the candidate who has gone through the processes. At his point, all he expresses is thanks to the elders and the ancestors for leading him to imbalu, and the song he sings reflects this. At this point, there is no turning back: in fact, he is getting impatient to get circumcised. The spirit takes over as a handful of the people leads him to the homestead where the surgeon and his assistants are ready waiting for him. The party approaches from the east, and from a higher ground, symbolizing the Masaba-Nabarwa ancestral mountainous place of origin, for this is also his beginning as a man. The path of the initiate is cleared by the strong group of men that leads him into the ring in speed to be delivered to the surgeon who performs the three layers cut operation in less than a minute. Only a few observe the details of what happens in the inner ring. The surgeons whistle informs the mammoth gathering of the successful completion; whereupon the gathering goes wild with jubilation. Dancing and singing various thematic songs accompany the whole process of imbalu ritual. The fifth significant stage is mwikombe convalescence period. This is the crucial phase of healing: it is long, painful and lonely. There is no display of spectacle here because it takes place in the privacy of the likombe the convalescence hut. There are strict codes of behavior to be followed at this stage: it is a delicate phase indeed, characterized by inexpressible pain. The neophyte remains in seclusion for three days in the hut. On the third day, relatives, friends and well-wishers come with various gifts to visit him. The surgeon also comes back on the third day to perform the khuusaabisa purification ritual. The candidate has in previous days been symbolically in touch with ancestral spirits, and still has signs of smearing with yeast, chyme and mud on him; and he is considered unclean to touch food with his hands. The surgeon ritualistically purifies him by washing his hands with beer and water, as he goes on to admonish him on what he should, and should not do as an adult Mumasaba. He symbolically presents to him the ethics of Bamasaba identity in their binaries of good and evil, each time cautioning him to choose the good. The sixth stage is khukhwiyalula hatching ceremony where the newly circumcised leaves his convalescence hut and is incorporated into the family after weeks of seclusion. This rite involves burning the banana leaves and mats that the initiate has used as bedding during convalesce period. This is done the night before his incorporation into normal life, to show that he has hatched into a man. The seventh and final phase is ineemba commissioning dance. This dance marks the official end of the ritual year. It takes place either in December or in January, during the dry season associated with vacation. The drums as phallic symbols occupy a significant place in this dance that brings together all the newly hatched men. This is a moment of display when all those who have gone through the imbalu process are shown to the community through this dance where it is important to be seen and acknowledged. At the end of each dance song, there is an excited din from the young men who point their sticks to the northeast where the ancestors and Nabarwa, the introducer of imbalu came from. This is also the occasion for the youth to identify prospective wives from the crowd of young women who have come for the three days dance. It is an opportune time to recreate the love story between the ancestors Masaba and Nabarwa. The entire phase of the ritual is punctuated with dancing, thematic singing, symbolic actions, storytelling to evoke the memory of the ancestors and to teach, advice and give admonitions to the initiates. In the words of Joseph Oladejo (2008: 207), the ritual gives the candidates a glimpse or taste of the myths, legends, and stories of the community that unites

them. It also creates the mood to momentarily experience possibilities beyond their ordinary limitations. This shared knowledge builds emotional bond among the participants who have the same sense of responsibility and obligation towards the community. In my analysis, I pay attention to the origin narratives that trace the ritual from a woman, Nabarwa, who is believed to have introduced it in the community for a purely health reason. An interesting dimension of this mother of the community is that although she comes from a female circumcising community of the Pokot, the Bamasaba women do not practice excision. This is an interesting fissure for me to activate the untold or silent narrative of Nabarwa as the mother of the community. My reading and analysis of the ritual practice from my observations and interviews underline how this central female character has been sidelined and instead a powerful masculinity narrative is fore-grounded. From its original focus on health, the ritual has turned into a masculine identity construct that leaves women in the peripheral. I also analyze the cultural capital of the ritual and the characteristics of masculinity promoted in shaping the identity of the Bamasaba that makes it inevitable for emergent masculinities to develop in this context of change. Some of the younger and educated generation of Bamasaba tends to be averse to the more traditional version of masculinity that the elders endorse. For this category, what it means to be a man is the alternative courage to stand against the status quo. This makes identity construction, in the words of Ronning and Johannessen, a dialogic one, characterized by bordercrossings (2007:vii). This masculinity which is constructed on womans initiative (Ken WaliboraWaliaulu, 2010:13-24) exaggerated manifestations of it are threatened from within (see Helen Nabasuta Mugambi, 2010:78-94).
i

Crafting the Bamasaba (2009), a feature length documentary film, is produced and directed by the author, Dominica Dipio, under a collaborative research between Makerere University and Bergen University (2007-2011), funded by The Norwegian programme for Development Research and Education (NUFU).
ii

The concept of tradition as static, rigid and pure is only an illusion. Even the so-called traditional way of practicing the ritual is no longer how it was conceived by the fore-fathers. Culture is, after all, lived experience. There are many aspects of the modern in the traditional practice of the ritual.
iii

Apparently in this opening of the Girl Year dance, ineemba, the female appears to take the first step in choosing a future husband. But this is all part of the light moment or play aspect of the ritual. Her choice may not amount to anything in her favour. In my view, this is hegemonic patriarchys clever way of making the woman a willing participant in subjecting herself to the man whose successful graduation into manhood is the focus of the dance.
iv

In the Even Year, the boy becomes a man, and in the Odd Year, he is available to be sought after by females who may become victims of his need to prove his manhood. The male is in the center all the way.
v

The Bamasaba circumcise even the corpse of a mature man, above 18 years old, who has died without going through the rituals because they believe burying such a man in their soil brings misfortune to the community. It is the role of the vigilante in the community to hunt such men down because they will ultimately be brought home for burial when they die. Consequently, these are rare occurrences accompanied by prohibitive penalties; for circumcising a dead body marks the end of the career of a surgeon.
vi

Currently, in the narratives around imbalu, Nabarwa does not feature beyond being mentioned as the introducer of the ritual to the Bamasaba. The rest of the narratives are around Masaba, his sons and the values they represent.