The controversial summer Ulwaluko rite, carried out by the Xhosa people in South Africa, has concluded for 2025, leaving 39 boys dead. The traditional ceremony, in which initiates are circumcised, ...

Authorities say many deaths could be avoided. Unregistered initiation schools continue to operate. A renewed push aims to prioritise safety without undermining culture. For more news, click HERE.

A longstanding manhood ritual reveals some sobering, unintended truths in the South African drama “The Wound” from director John Trengove. Issues of sexuality, generational divide, class and ...

As the winter initiation season approaches, a traditional surgeon is raising alarm on the growing dangers threatening young ...

Unless you’re a healthcare worker, you’ve probably never seen anything like the pictures on Ulwaluko.co.za. “Please be warned that this website contains graphic medical images of penile disfigurement ...

The ulwaluko is a circumcision ritual practised by South Africa's ethnic Xhosa tribe between May and July each year. The Xhosa, whose name is pronounced with a click of the palate, have a tradition ...

In a heartwarming gesture, St Andrew’s College in Makhanda recently shared a viral Facebook post welcoming back four of their grade 11 pupils who successfully underwent the Xhosa rite of passage ...

I recently spent two weeks in the Eastern Cape, my father’s home, to mark the end of my mother’s mourning period. In my culture, this period signifies deep respect for the dead and the family at large ...

Unfortunately, the process can be problematic. More than 1,000 initiates have died in the province between 1995 and 2017. Complications from botched circumcision procedures — including penile ...