Xhosa male initiates dancing in an initiation camp in Knysna, South Africa

Xhosa male initiates dancing and singing beside a fire the night before returning home after one month in seclusion in a special initiation camp in Knysna, South Africa, in December 2006. The boys are going through the traditional Xhosa male initiation rite, after which they will be accepted as men by the Xhosa society. They have been circumcised, and their faces are painted white to ward off attacks by witches.

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Filename: 5435.jpg
Copyright: Copyright © 2006 Anders Ryman. All rights reserved.
Image Size: 6200x4134 / 29.1MB; Africa Afterglow Bonding Boys Circumcision Coming of Age Dancing Four People Garden Route Heat Horizontal Khayalethu South Knysna Life Cycle Ritual Male Initiaton Manhood Outdoors Red Rite de Passage Rite of Passage Singing South Africa Teenagers Western Cape Province Xhosa Young Men
Contained in galleries: Xhosa male initiation, South Africa

Xhosa male initiates dancing and singing beside a fire the night before returning home after one month in seclusion in a special initiation camp in Knysna, South Africa, in December 2006. The boys are going through the traditional Xhosa male initiation rite, after which they will be accepted as men by the Xhosa society. They have been circumcised, and their faces are painted white to ward off attacks by witches.