The Bamasaba ancestors have once again risen, the spiritual Trumpets have been blown to alert their progenies about the tribe’s eminent ritual, the Imbalu. Ostensibly loyal to their ancestors, the descendants have retorted back with sweet tunes of the Kadodi drum hovering over the horizons of the great Mountain Elgon slopes.
This is a biennial loyalty and cultural commitment that the descendants of the brave tribe of Africa; the Bamasaba not only demonstrate to their ancestors but also conceit of over other tribes.
The tribe’s erotic women will throughout the year wobble their diverse sized and flexuous gluteus maximus to the sweet traditional kadodi tunes while the men vibrate their broad shoulders as they retort to the ritual command of their ancestors.
2020 being an even year may not mean a lot to you but to the Bamasaba, it is a male year. In fact, to these Mt. Elgon inhabitants every Even year is a year of Valor, a year where sundry of the tribe’s young male transform to Adults through a throbbing public circumcision in a ritual called Imbalu.
A bamasaba male show bravery after facing the knife. photo by moshdephotojournalist
The Imbalu times are always my best moment here at the foot of Mt. Elgon even though I am not a tribesman.
During this biennial ritual, several bamasaba males between the age of 18 to 20 are traditionally knifed into manhood by a spiritually ordained tribesman referred to as “Muchebi”.
It is believed that the Muchebi is controlled by ancestral spirits while executing this ritual. Firmly holding the traditionally fashioned circumcision knife called Inyembe, he trembles with the urge to dispense blood from the musinde’s fore skin.
I know this may sound excruciating to you who don’t belong to this culture but to the progenies of Mundu, one must stomach the agony as it is the only pathway to manhood.
According to the Bamasaba, you are not defined a man by your oldness, as long as you have not overtly faced the Inyembe, you remain a lad with no privilege to either participate in any cultural formalities or marry.
Even though fronting the Inyembe is to attain manhood status, it is also an attest of bravery. Should the Musinde tremble or show the slightest of fear during this excruciating process, he would not have only brought disgrace to his family but also become a subject of mockery amongst his peers, woman and the entire community.
Several days before fronting the knife of transformation (Inyembe), the musinde is coated with a thick whitish mixture of sorghum flour and traditional herbs (mamera) and subjected to several cultural rituals meant to fortify his heart through this hard-hitting spell.
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