Bashiru Charles Bakin - The Boy Becomes a Man

The momentous moment is here
It’s welcomed with joy and merriment
But also with trepidation and anxiety for the boys to be initiated
Reacting to the call of the drums, the villagers gather
They will become men by mid-day

The Griot climbs onto the roof so he is seen and heard by everyone
Mediator between man and his destiny, between the villagers and their past
Craftsman of the spoken word
One who remembers and reminds
Keeper of a cultural heritage that would otherwise be lost in the passage of time

As far back as Abraham
It epitomizes proof of the covenant between God and man
Abraham was 99 when he was circumcised and Ishmael 13
Among many cultures in Africa
It is the initiation into manhood

Each boy digs a cavity in the ground
Soon mother earth will be offered blood
En masse they appear, minds ready for the event
Enduring great pain is becoming a man
Rhythmic movements of the body express love and hate, joy and sorrow, abundance and famine

Godfathers escort them to the shade of the tall trees
Skillfully, the knife slides off the foreskin
The extant indication of womanhood in the boy
Before when a man saw my spongy rod, he ridiculed and called me a girl
Burying the severed foreskin, all links to femininity is decimated

Today, they die as boys and are reborn as men
Today, they leave the last remnant of their youth
Today, they die symbolically and return to a different and richer life
Today, they assume the responsibilities that society will bestow upon them
Today, the boys become men

Ritual ends
Gunshots convey the news to the surrounding countryside
And serve to ward off evil spirits
Cavities will be filled now
Ground will be fertilized by the blood of the circumcised

Bashiru Charles Bakin

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