mukanda
- noun
- South African
:
mukanda
- In many communities, the mukanda signifies a boy's transition from childhood to adulthood through initiation rites.
- mukanda initiation
- mukanda of boys
- mukanda ritual
Examples
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While women hold initiations for individual girls as they reach puberty, preadolescent boys go through mukanda, the men's initiation, in groups.
Academic text (1998) -
Ancestral masks, akishi, instruct novices within mukanda camps and theatrically represent aspects of Chokwe cosmology in their village performances.
Academic text (1999) -
The mukanda initiation of boys requires the guidance of a spirit representing an ideal woman.
Academic text (2003) -
Among the great variety of masks manufactured in the mukanda lodge, there are some, like this example, which represent archetypal figures.
Academic text (1995) -
Mukanda and ukule mark a symbolic death for the novices as children.
Academic text (1999) -
In Kabompo District, mukanda is dependent on the participation of both men and women and is an expression of tensions between the genders.
Academic text (1998) -
Another sign is the once widespread mukanda puberty rituals, the most important context for mask use among some Luluwa subgroups.
Academic text (1999) -
The mukanda is a significant ceremony where boys learn important cultural values before becoming men.
-
During the mukanda, boys participate in various rituals that prepare them for adulthood.
Surface Forms
Etymology
Mukanda comes from Central African Bantu languages and names a boys' 'initiation' ceremony that marks the move to adulthood. So a mukanda ceremony is a public event that shows boys becoming men.
