PUBERTY RITES AS CULTURAL RESPONSES TO THE PREVENTION OF HIV IN ZIMBABWE: THE CASE OF VAREMBA CIRCUMCISION AND INITIATION RITES IN THE MWENEZI DISTRICT By Onias Matumbu Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In the School of Religion, Philosophy and Classics at the UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU-NATAL Supervisor: Dr Sibusiso Masondo January 2019 DECLARATION Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate Programme in Religion and Social Transformation. University of KwaZulu Natal, Howard College, South Africa. I, Onias Matumbu declare that The research reported in this thesis, except where otherwise indicated, is my original research. This thesis has not been submitted for any degree or examination at any other university. This thesis does not contain other persons’ data, pictures, graphs or other information, unless specifically acknowledged as being sourced from other persons. This thesis does not contain other persons' writing, unless specifically acknowledged as being sourced from other researchers. Where other written sources have been quoted, then: a) Their words have been re-written but the general information attributed to them has been referenced b) Where their exact words have been used, then their writing has been placed in italics and inside quotation marks, and referenced. c) This thesis does not contain text, graphics or tables copied and pasted from the Internet, unless specifically acknowledged, and the source being detailed in the thesis and in the References sections. Signed …Matu u …………….…….… Date 30/01/2019 Onias Matumbu (Student Registration Number 214583371) Supervisor: Dr Sibusiso Masondo Signature..... .......................................... As the supervisor, I hereby approve this thesis for submission. DEDICATION I dedicate this work to my late parents, MISHECK and SARAH MATUMBU, for more reasons than I can name, and who sadly did not live to witness my achievement. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to extend my sincere thanks to the following people whose invaluable support and assistance have made it possible for me to complete this work: My supervisor, Dr Sibusiso Masondo, whose guidance, constant encouragement and astute insight has enabled me to conclude this thesis. My utmost appreciation and thanks goes to my wife Maud Masuka and my children, Tiyanane, Tariro and Tinomudaishe for their love and support during my studies. I would like to thank my colleagues, Godfrey Museka, David Dzatsunga, Vengesai Chimininge, Clements Makamure, Musa Driver, Eve Mudzingwa, Shamiso Tatira, Kudzaishe Makuvaza and Charles Matereke for their unstinting moral support. I am indebted to Mr Tomu Adam, my chief informant for this research. My grateful thanks for his invaluable support and assistance in gathering the data for this research. ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ABC Abstinence Be faithful and use Condoms CVIR Clinical Varemba Initiation Ritual strategy AIDS Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome HIV Human Immunodeficiency Virus ICT Information and Computer Technology SAVE Safer practices, Available medication, Voluntary testing and counselling and Empowerment through education). UNAIDS United Nations AIDS VMMC Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision WHO World Health Organisation TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………..............1 CHAPTER 1 OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY..........................................................................2 1.0 Introduction...............................................................................................................................2 1.1 Background tothe study.............................................................................................................2 1.2 Overview of the circumcision and initiation rite……………………………………………...5 1.2.1 Origin of the Varemba circumcision and initiation rite……………….....…….......6 1.2.2 Meanings attached to the initiation ritual………………………...…………......….8 1.2.3 Features of the initiation ritual……………………………..…………………..…..9 1.3 Location of the study………………………………………………………………………...12 1.4.1 Problem statement and research question……………………....………………..…..…....12 1.4.2 The Key research question…….…………………………………………………………..13 1.4.2.1 Research Sub-Questions ……………………………...…………………………...…….13 1.5 Objectives of the study……………………………………………………………………....14 1.6 Validity and reliability……………………………………………………………..……….14 1.7 Justification of the study..........................................................................................................15 1.8 Clarification of terms…………………………………………………...................................17 1.8.1 Ritual .....................................................................................................................17 1.8.2 Rites of passage.......................................................................................................21 1.8.3 Male circumcision ……………………………………………………………..…22 1.8.4 Initiation ritual.........................................................................................................23 1.8.5 Behavioural change in the context of HIV prevention...........................................24 1.8.6 Definitions of Anthropological Key Terms.............................................................25 1.8.6.1 Ethnicity...............................................................................................................25 1.8.6.2 Kinship Structures and Power Structure Hierarchies.............................................25 1.9 Thesis outline……..……………………………………………..……………..…………....26 1.10 Summary...............................................................................................................................26 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW...................................................................................27 2.0 Introduction.............................................................................................................................27 2.1 Arnold Van Gennep’s Rites of Passage (1909).......................................................................28 2.2 Victor Turner on rites of passage among the Ndembu of Zambia..........................................32 2.3 Mircea Eliade on the sacred and the profane, myths, and ritual.............................................34 2.4 Durkheim, The Elementary Forms of Religious Life, 1912....................................................41 2.5 Anusa Daimon (2013), Circumcision among Yao migrant communities...............................45 2.6 Richard S. Maposa (2011) ‘Going under the Traditional Knife’............................................50 2.7 Scholarly contributions to the stages of the initiation rites.....................................................56 2.7.1 Initiation into adulthood .........................................................................................56 2.7.2 Purpose of initiation ritual.......................................................................................57 2.7.3 Preparations for the initiation ritual.........................................................................59 2.7.4 Activities at the initiation camp…………………………………………………...60 2.7.5 Views about the process of reintegration................................................................66 2.8 Cultural ideology of ritual, illness and disease in a Karanga society......................................66 2.8.1 Circumcision and initiation rites in history...............................................................66 2.8.2 Functionalist explanation of ritual.............................................................................67 2.8.3 Downplaying Indigenous Religions...........................................................................68 2.8.4 Shortcomings of scientific strategies.........................................................................68 2.8.5 The value of health to the Africans...........................................................................69 2.8.6 Morality in African indigenous religions..................................................................72 2.9 Summary.................................................................................................................................76 CHAPTER 3 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK.....................................................................77 3.0 Introduction.............................................................................................................................77 3.1 Social Learning Theory...........................................................................................................77 3.1.1 The concept of social diffusion and innovation in social learning theory...............81 3.1.2 Social cultural diffusion..........................................................................................82 3.1.3 Status and power incentives....................................................................................82 3.1.4 Relevance to the current study................................................................................82 3.2 Summary.................................................................................................................................83 CHAPTER 4 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND DESIGN OF THE STUDY...............84 4.0 Introduction .............................................................................................................................84 4.1 Research design........................................................................................................................85