Taneka Male Initation
Taneka Male Initation
Afrika Afrique Africa
For the Taneka of northern Benin, male initiation constitutes an eight-month period of rituals culminating in circumcision. Men are circumcised between their late teenage years and early thirties, depending on when they and their families can afford the expense. The costs include feeding the guests and paying musicians who play the gong-gong, talking drums and flutes. The initiates themselves must pay a fee to the village priest and to the circumcisors.
During the ceremony, the initiative undergoes a ritual death, whereby the youth symbolically passes away and is reborn a mature man who is initially regarded as a stranger by the community. Required by tradition to be the embodiment of masculine courage, he must also appear to be indifferent to the ordeal he is about to face. The Somba of Benin, one of the nine subgroups of the Taneka, also share an initiation period lasting eight months, unlike other Taneka groups however they undergo fierce ritual whippings to test their manhood prior to their circumcision.
Taneka initiations test the initiates’ courage in the face of physical trauma, provide training for new roles in society, and bonds individuals to their peer groups. These rites powerfully mark transitions from one stage of life to another, and give individuals a strong sense of social definition and personal pride.
For the Taneka of northern Benin, male initiation constitutes an eight-month period of rituals culminating in circumcision. Men are circumcised between their late teenage years and early thirties, depending on when they and their families can afford the expense. The costs include feeding the guests and paying musicians who play the gong-gong, talking drums and flutes. The initiates themselves must pay a fee to the village priest and to the circumcisors.
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For the Taneka of northern Benin, male initiation constitutes an eight-month period of rituals culminating in circumcision. Men are circumcised between their late teenage years and early thirties, depending on when they and their families can afford the expense. The costs include feeding the guests and paying musicians who play the gong-gong, talking drums and flutes. The initiates themselves must pay a fee to the village priest and to the circumcisors.
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