“Unhago” tradition disappearing in Niassa, Mozambique

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“Unhago” tradition disappearing in Niassa, Mozambique

2:28 CAT | 05 Feb 2016

Deutsche Welle

Fewer and fewer children in the Mozambican province of Niassa are participating in the “Unhago”, the most important celebration of the Yao people. Parents fear for the health of their children, and academics say adapting the tradition to modern times is the solution.

For the Yao people in the northern province of Niassa, the Unhago – the initiation rite marking the passage of youngsters into adulthood – is of utmost importance. Boys live in the bush for a month and girls in a house while the teachings of adulthood are transmitted to them. The rites include circumcision for boys.

But fewer children are taking part. Elder Tina Manuel says parents worry that their sons will get infected when being circumcised and prefer them to be circumcised in hospital by medical professionals.

“People have seen that does it not help to put the child in Unhago because children have a hard time there. Children even end up dying,” says Manuel.

To maintain numbers, and with fewer children participating, children are undergoing the ritual at increasingly younger ages, another factor which does not appeal to parents, says elder Mustafa Aidé. “In the past, we used to let the child grow up to eight years old at least, but now they’re coming at age six.”

The ritual also represents quite a financial burden for families, and fewer and fewer families can afford it, Aidé says.

“People know that if they put their children through the traditional initiation rites, there are advantages and disadvantages,” says Januário Mário, who holds a degree in Childhood Educational Psychology. “Of course it is a way of inheriting our traditional and cultural knowledge. But there are health risks associated with circumcision, for example.”

But Mário still believes the tradition can be maintained. “If traditional leaders who practice this tradition and health professionals team up, I believe that we will be able to maintain the culture,” says the academic.

Source: Deutsche Welle