Guest Author - J. Claire K. Niala

Traditions and Cultures change and always have done. Often seemingly strange traditions may once have had a useful purpose. In many Nilotic tribes (such as the Luo and Kalenjin) lower teeth were removed as an initiation into adulthood. Although painful, this tradition made a lot of sense - Nilotic tribes are so called because they travelled down from Egypt over centuries along the Nile for political and economic reasons.

Tetanus (or lockjaw) was rife. There was a cure for it (which was sadly been lost). However, if you are suffering from lockjaw - your mouth cannot open. If as an adult this happens and you have a gap in your bottom teeth, your lower lip can be pulled down and the medicine inserted via the gap - opening your jaw and saving you from certain death.

I site this example because often initiation into adulthood in a hugely important rite of passage. Along with the physical aspects - such as marking the face, circumcision and so on, children going through these rites of passage are taught about adult issues such as sexual health, what is expected of them by their community and so on. Disruption of this rite of passage has brought about many social problems.

Many Nilotic tribes no longer pull out lower teeth as parts of the rites of passage - however what happens to the information that would have been imparted at that time?

Changes to tradition have to come from the society itself and many examples are happening across Africa. Countries like Togo and Senegal pioneered the way with outlawing Female Circumcision. It had to come from a point of cultural understanding. Often the biggest opponents to the change in tradition were other women. Women who performed the circumcision (which range from a nick or cut to the clitoris to complete removal of the clitoris and labia majora) and had held high status in their communities were finding themselves without jobs or status. Other roles had to be developed for them as educators.

Often the young are leading the way in gaining their own rights. An interesting case in Kenya came about in the 90’s when a group of Maasai girls took their parents to court. They were seeking injunctions to stop their parents from having them circumcised. Their parents were initially angry and confused. Like every parent the world over they had wanted the best for their children and had therefore sent them to school to get educated. What they didn’t expect was the knowledge that this education would give the girls.

At school girls of all tribes mix. Young people learn that the traditions and cultures they took as a given are not the rule for everyone - simply that there are other ways of doing things. The sympathetic magistrate that heard the case called for dialogue which eventually led to a community project to find other ways for the girls to be allowed to become women. The tradition changed without losing the vital cultural meaning.