The coronavirus pandemic has forced initiation schools for boys and girls in Limpopo to suspend the old age tradition. It is the second consecutive year in which the practice of passage to adulthood has not taken place.
The provincial chairperson of the House of Traditional Leaders, Chief Malesela Dikgale, has commended the traditional surgeons and leaders for heeding the call to suspend the practice.
He says continuing with it would have risked the lives of initiates and other people.
“We are happy that our people complied and there were rumours that in the Mokopane some people were making a list of people who are going to be at the initiation schools. But we sent them messages and they stopped. We were happy that they listened to us. So at the moment, there is just nothing we can do. You could have seen all the provinces did not have initiation schools. It’s is only the Eastern Cape that had initiation schools but they lost lives there which is disappointing.”
