Advertisement
Published: October 4th 2009
Edit Blog Post
THE CONTENTS OF THIS BLOG ARE MINE PERSONALLY AND DO NOT REFLECT ANY POSITION OF THE U.S. GOVERNMENT OR PEACE CORPS.
Some Batswana groups seem to be paying attention to the latest research regarding HIV/AIDS and working hard to spread the word. Recent studies have shown that male circumcision can reduce not only the spread of HIV, but also other STDs. It is interesting to note that male circumcision had long been a part of coming of age rituals among the tribes of Botswana. It was abandoned for the most part during the years that the country was a British Protectorate. Today some tribes are revitalizing the old ceremonies marking adulthood and incorporating modern surgical methods of circumcision into those ceremonies. Just over a month ago over two thousand men from their teens to their seventies participated in such a ritual.
There is another ritual that the Batswana enjoy, but to my knowledge it is not one of their own making, but one many seem to have readily adopted, the time honored ritual of the beauty pageant. Last week a group decided to hold a pageant to raise awareness of the health advantages of male circumcision. The contestants
were couples, with the males coming from the local soccer teams. The participants were to provide valuable information to the audience while at the same time having an opportunity to strut their stuff and compete for prizes for their respective teams.
Steve was asked if we would be judges and we agreed. Steve and others from the clinic worked very hard to organize a set of criteria for the judging. The pageant was to be divided into four events. First the couples were to come on stage in their team uniforms and introduce themselves. Second, they would appear in beach wear, third in casual attire, and fourth in formal clothing. During each event, the contestants would have an opportunity to show their knowledge of the importance of male circumcision, to act as role models for other couples by openly discussing HIV/AIDS and the importance of partners making decisions together, and to enjoy the festivities of a pageant.
At this point I must mention another cultural ritual that is often performed in the parts of Botswana that I’ve visited. It is a rite of passage, the right of time to pass without the constraints of a clock. We were
told that the pageant was scheduled for eight in the evening, but to come at half eight because nothing like this ever starts on time. Our ride arrived to pick us up at about 8:40 p.m. and we were at the old community hall before nine. Steve began setting out the judges’ packets, but was told that it wasn’t yet time, and that we were to remain unseen until the pageant began in order to make our formal entrance to mark the beginning of the event. So we sat in the car of one of the clinic nurses and had a nice conversation with one of the other judges, a gentleman that we’d just met that evening. We showed him the forms we’d created for scoring and discussed the best way to conduct the event. The topic had been thoroughly covered long before we were finally invited to return to the hall.
Shortly after eleven the contestants were making their entrances. Most of them entered wearing charming smiles and crisp team uniforms. Some moved a bit timidly while others could almost be said to swagger. They completed the grand entry and were soon off stage. The problem was that
not all of them were wearing the numbers that they’d been given, they didn’t make their entrances as couples and none of them introduced themselves. Therefore we had no way of knowing who was who or how we could award points. As judges we were trying to sort this out while the contestants were already changing for the next event. We decided if nothing else, we could just scrap the points for that event, make sure that the contestants were prepared for the next event and judge only on the last three events.
With a very large speaker less than two feet from where we were seated, it seemed that we waited much more than the two extremely loud songs time allotment for the contestants to change and reappear. Just as the three older judges were beginning to grumble, and yes I was one of them, the power went out and we waited by the flicker of cell phone lights. We waited and waited.
Then faintly from the back of the room melodic voices could be heard amidst the general noise of the waiting crowd and the clanking of beer bottles. I could hear harmony and body percussion. More voices joined in, more layers of harmony rose sweetly above the chatter.
Then the procession came forward, mostly young men, yet intermingled were the sweet high voices of the girls. They filled the stage with their bodies, their dancing and their incredibly sweet harmonies. Many held up their illuminated cell phones, spotlighting one another as they moved rhythmically over the stage, beer bottles held high in some swaying hands. In the same way that the voices rose and bodies appeared on stage the group disassembled and once again we waited in the dark.
At this point, I think I should mention that the power source for the event was located in a house some distance away. Extension cords snaked through empty lots, across the road and into the old building. Conflicting accounts were given as to the cause of the power loss. Some said that the damage to the extension cord was a deliberate and malicious act while others claimed that it was an accident caused by the cord becoming entangled in the wheels of a car. I do not know the truth of the problem, but I do know that the extent of the damage must have been severe because by one in the morning power still had not been restored. It was then that the three old judges swayed one of the younger ones and fully overruled the one young man who was willing to wait all night if necessary for the resumption of the pageant. We made our apologies to the woman who’d worked so tirelessly to organize the pageant, went home and tucked our tired bodies into bed.
The pageant was rescheduled and according to rumor once again started extremely late, but we were not invited to judge. I assume it was due to our inability to remain alert enough for late night pageantry. I’m happy to have avoided additional lost sleep, but a bit sorry that I couldn’t see the festivities through to the selection of Mr. and Mrs. Male Circumcision Awareness for Kopong, Botswana where voices sing sweetly, dogs bark incessantly and roosters crow early.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.114s; Tpl: 0.023s; cc: 10; qc: 56; dbt: 0.054s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Mike Briggs
non-member comment
Lots of Fun!
Shannon & Steve, It sounds to me like you guys are still having a bunch of fun. I appreciate hearing from you guys. Thanks, Mike Briggs