Masters Theses

Date of Award

12-2001

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Major

Child and Family Studies

Major Professor

Julia A. Malia

Committee Members

Priscilla White Blanton, Deborah W. Tegano

Abstract

Since the beginning of modern history, the male rite of passage from youth into adulthood has been a dominant theme in the social construction of many traditional cultures. Although in many contemporary cultures rites of passage are no longer widely practiced to guide men through adolescence or adult life today, these rites of passage hold meanings and serve purposes that can inform us in dealing with challenges of adolescence, especially pertaining to the adolescent's transition to adulthood. The Kikuyu of Kenya in East Africa have practiced a unique circumcision ritual for initiating boys into adulthood since time immemorial. However, influences from Western religions, education, and media have created changes in the traditional ritual. Those Kikuyu who have moved to the U.S. have experienced even greater influence towards change. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to allow the participants to describe in their own words their experiences and the meaning of the Kikuyu initiation-into-manhood ritual. Three major questions were addressed in this research study: (a) What is the meaning of the circumcision ritual practice to contemporary Kikuyu males living in America today? (b) How does the circumcision ritual play a transitional role, and in what ways does it influence subsequent self-redefinition among these males? (c) What is the core philosophy behind the practice at the present time? Eighteen Kikuyu males who had been circumcised at puberty were interviewed. The findings of this study indicate that, although the practice has lost the public grandeur of traditional song and dance and community-wide participation, those participants who were found to be representative of a distinct cohort in post-British colonial Kenya have experienced change from the traditional ritual to an adjusted form in response to the modernizing forces of education and Christian religiosity. The participants in the study perceived initiation as still playing an important and functional role in their lives at the time of the study. The findings clustered around eight thematic categories: (a) preparation for the circumcision ritual, (b) circumcision procedure, (c) the period of seclusion, (d) conferral of privileges and new responsibilities, (e) meaning of the circumcision ritual, (f) transfer of the ritual to the future generations, (g) conflict between the traditional and the Christian meaning of what it means to be a man and sexual, and (h) generational and cultural differences between the U.S. and Kenya. It is clear from the findings of the current study that the Kikuyu circumcision rite of passage has served an identity redefinition role in the lives of the practitioners and that, despite changes in the manner of celebration and procedure, the ritual serves an important transitional and self-redefinational role for consolidating manhood among the Kikuyu of Kenya.

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