Bukusu Essay

Background to the Study
The Bukusu community of western part of Kenya practice male circumcision which involves cutting and removal of prepuce from a boy’s penis. Circumcision ritual is at the core of Bukusu communal way of life and it is deeply rooted in their cultural fabric that embodies initiation’s meaning, significance and function. Traditionally, circumcision ritual served several reasons amongst them education and admitting boys into adulthood with responsibilities related to labour, military and mandate to start his family. The significance of this ritual is heightened when the entire community is involved. The Bukusu conduct their initiation the way they do because of their beliefs and hence the ceremony determines their world view

There is normally laughter and feasting with plenty of food and drink for the visitors, the initiate and his relatives. One of the most outstanding elements is use of free and frank communication during khuminya. Bakhtin (1994) calls it a market place which represents metaphoric freedom. For instance, speech genres typically employed during Bukusu circumcision discourse whether in songs, conversations and dances are marked with profanities, curses, abuses and improprieties especially on talks concerning acts of courage and sex. An outsider may find this coarse and lewd because of the manner in which they are sexually articulated. The focus of the songs, chants, dances and conversations is basically on the body and bodily practices. The body in this case is not just an anatomical fact but a cultural sign or site that people seek to construct, deconstruct and reconstruct to fit their values (1996). Foucault (…..) says that the body is the one always punished however various penal practices that constitute or institute the respective

On one hand, the questions that might arise from this observation are; first, What does the body mean to Bukusu people? Secondly, are there other meanings both literal and implicit that are discernible beyond the tendency to focus on the whole idea of bawdiness as such? Lastly, what literal and symbolic meanings in Bukusu are discernible beyond nudity in literal and implicit aspects during Bukusu circumcision ritual? On the other hand, another concern is that if the bodies are observed closely, in what ways could they be said to speak to each other? For instance, are there meanings that are being signified by these bodies? Our view is that if these bodies are read together as texts, especially between the body of the initiate, those singing and the ones being sung, they convey certain meanings that in literal and symbolic way impact on the lives of Bukusu people at