Abstract
The aim of my Major Design Project is to explore the ritual spaces where Xhosa
male circumcision takes place. I investigate the spatial practices that influence
botched circumcisions, injuries, and psychological trauma in initiates.
The main objective of my MDP is to investigate if there is significance in the
ritual even with young boys dying and how can spatial programs assist with the
development and preservation of the ritual. I use my homestead and initiation
school as a site of inquiry. The sites are located in the Eastern Cape on the outskirts
of Mdantsane in a rural village called eKuphumleni, meaning the place of
rest. They are 200m far from each other and are separated by a river.
In recent years the ritual has been surrounded by controversy due to botched
circumcisions and initiates dying in the process. Mothers of initiates that died
during the ritual question if it is still necessary to practice the tradition. According
to a mother, Andisiwe Msindwana, whose son died at initiation school,
she wanted him to go to a hospital, but her brother insisted that he goes to the
initiation school (Baza dir Ndiyindoda: I am a man).
Accounts of serious complications or adverse events after adolescent and adult
circumcision in traditional settings in Africa are legion (Peltzer et al 2008).
Every circumcision season there are articles in national and local newspapers
depicting in words and pictures cases of advanced infection, severe loss of
blood, mutilation, and even deaths due to events attributable to male circumcision
(Peltzer et al 2008).
I use Freedom Park as a precedent study to understand how African traditions,
customs, and rituals can be represented spatially.
Through this comparison, I observe the concept of memorialization in an
indigenous context, free of international standards. Ulwaluko is an old age
custom yet there is a paucity of literature available to understand its origin and
the cultural values associated with it. Therefore, it is important to memorialize
the ritual in order for the next generations to understand its relevance and how
it should be practiced for the safety of the initiates.
I use the information discovered in the research analysis of Freedom Park to
question if the same principles can be used in the memorialization of uLwaluko.
Central Research Questions
My research is guided by the following questions:
How do we memorialize and commemorate African indigenous rituals in a
way that resonates with the custodians of the rituals?
What constitutes a landscape of memory in the African context?
How do we preserve and protect sacred spaces such as initiation schools from
urban sprawling?
How can we prevent botched circumcisions, injury, and death of initiates
through spatial interventions?
How can we develop hygienic practices in the initiation process through spatial
interventions?
I seek to address the cynical disposition around the ritual of uKwaluka. To
demystify it by bringing to the fore the important elements that develop the
personal growth of an individual who has undergone the ritual and the life
lessons that comes with it.
Related Literature
The cultural relevance of uLwaluka varies from family to family however the
fundamental principles remain the same. The ritual is a rite of passage into
manhood where boys are taught traditions and how to behave. The fundamental
principle is for the initiates to gain personal growth and development in the
process. Within the Xhosa society, a family can only be led by a man, and the
transition into manhood symbolizes that a man is ready to lead.
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The spatial organization of initiation schools is important in the translation of
the rituals to the initiates. Water plays a role in the cleansing and ritual process
therefore the school has to be close to a river. Some of the rituals are performed
in the kraal and therefore it is important to have these spatial dynamics in the
initiation school.
Contested monuments in a changing heritage landscape: //hapo Museum,
Freedom Park, Pretoria by Michele Jacobs (2016) provides an in-depth analysis
of the elements that make up Freedom Park. I will use the basis of this journal
article to investigate if Freedom Park is just another architectural clone and a
ready-made concept or are its design principles based within the African context.
I will also use Graham Young’s guest lecture video to guide my analysis of the
rituals that take place within Freedom Park.
Theoretical Framework and Research Method
The Abakhwetha blanket is a significant symbol of the ritual of uKwaluka. It is
a white felted blanket with red bands running across each end. I will use this
blanket as a canvas for my representations as a form of acknowledging its significance
and introducing it to my audience.
I will also use the blanket as a point of inquiry into spatial practices within
the ritual. The blanket is a special symbol in that it traverses between different
spaces in the ritual and takes on different forms with every milestone. I will
also investigate the preservation of sacred spaces such as initiation schools and
protections from urban sprawling.
In order to formulate a more rigorous investigation of the relevance of uLwaluko
in contemporary times, I will conduct interviews with key members of the
community with regard to the topic.
I will also use a qualitative research strategy in order to develop my research
topic with more rigor.
The drawing representations will be a series of critical visual studies using
dialogical drawings and visual narrative drawings. A critical visual study is one
in which imagery is employed both as a method to investigate and as a form to
communicate a research study (Catherine Dee 2004).
I will also undertake the research method of the act of walking to gather more
information about my sites of inquiry. By physically walking the sites of inquiry
I will get to experience the site’s landscape topography and all its sensory
elements. This research method will allow me to feel the wind on my skin, hear
the sounds associated with the space and feel the textures of the materiality
makeup of the structures.
According to Christopher Tilley (2021), The landscape alters according to the
time of the day, the day of the week, or the months and seasons of the year
whether the rain falls, the sun shines or the wind howls, whether it is misty or
clear. By walking the sites of inquiry I will be able to gather new information
that I would not have been able to capture through a static research method
such as reading from a journal.
Through my research study, I hope to explore design iterations that commemorate
the ritual of uKwaluka in a spatial manner and approach that will represent the rituals and ceremonies that take place within the ancient custom.