ANTHROP 1AA3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Hieros Gamos, Pubic Hair
6 Dec 2016
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Document Summary
Guardians of the flutes video male initiation among men in papa nguni. Different small villages scattered along the hills, they are all hostile and suspicious of each other. The men must be able to kill their enemies while looking them in their eyes. They believe that their strength relies on their sexuality. A key concept it to learn the difference between men and women and their roles in society. A (cid:449)o(cid:373)e(cid:374)"s (cid:373)e(cid:374)strual (cid:271)lood is da(cid:374)gerous to (cid:373)e(cid:374). They believe that it can destroy a (cid:373)a(cid:374)"s stre(cid:374)gth therefore they (cid:373)ust stay i(cid:374) separate spa(cid:272)es. It is thought that girls can grow into women just by learning from their elders but boys must learn to be men through initiation process. Starting at the age of 7-9 the boys can be taken from their mothers and begin the rituals that can last for months. Only when he becomes a father can the boys go back to living with women.
