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Lebollo La Basadi
la basadi also known as female initiation among the Basotho is a rite of passage ritual which marks the transition of girls into womanhood. This activity is still practiced in the Free State, Mpumalanga, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu Natal provinces of South Africa. In Sesotho, lebollo means initiation. The Basotho rite of passage ritual, unlike other practices in Africa, does not involve procedures which remove parts of the female genital organ. However, the inner folds of the labia are enlarged & elongated by stretching for a more pleasurable sexual experience. In areas where initiation is still valued, uninitiated girls are ridiculed by society. South African children are compelled by its constitution to attend school. It is for this reason that the initiation schools for girls were made open twice a year, in June and December, so that those who are able to attend in June may do so and for the many who cannot due to school or other reasons may attend in December helping to keep the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rite Of Passage
A rite of passage is a ceremony or ritual of the passage which occurs when an individual leaves one group to enter another. It involves a significant change of status in society. In cultural anthropology the term is the Anglicisation of ''rite de passage'', a French term innovated by the ethnographer Arnold van Gennep in his work ''Les rites de passage'', ''The Rites of Passage''. The term is now fully adopted into anthropology as well as into the literature and popular cultures of many modern languages. Original conception In English, Van Gennep's first sentence of his first chapter begins: "Each larger society contains within it several distinctly separate groupings. ... In addition, all these groups break down into still smaller societies in subgroups." The population of a society belongs to multiple groups, some more important to the individual than others. Van Gennep uses the metaphor, "as a kind of house divided into rooms and corridors." A passage occurs when an indi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Matriarchy
Matriarchy is a social system in which women hold the primary power positions in roles of authority. In a broader sense it can also extend to moral authority, social privilege and control of property. While those definitions apply in general English, definitions specific to anthropology and feminism differ in some respects. Matriarchies may also be confused with matrilineal, matrilocal, and matrifocal societies. While there are those who may consider any non-patriarchal system to be matriarchal, most academics exclude those systems from matriarchies as strictly defined. Definitions, connotations, and etymology According to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED''), matriarchy is a "form of social organization in which the mother or oldest female is the head of the family, and descent and relationship are reckoned through the female line; government or rule by a woman or women."''Oxford English Dictionary'' (online), entry ''matriarchy'', as accessed November 3, 2013. A pop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sotho Culture
Sotho may refer to: *Sotho people (or ''Basotho''), an African ethnic group principally resident in South Africa, Lesotho and southern Botswana * Sotho language (''Sesotho'' or ''Southern Sotho''), a Bantu language spoken in southern Africa, an official language of both South Africa and Lesotho *Northern Sotho language (''Sesotho sa Leboa''), a group of related Bantu dialects classed together as an official language of South Africa * Sotho–Tswana languages, the S.30 language group, a linguistic classification which groups together the related languages Sotho, Northern Sotho, Tswana, and Lozi *Sotho-Tswana peoples, a group of southern African ethnic groups with a common history, speakers of languages in the Sotho group * Lesotho, a country in southern Africa entirely surrounded by South Africa *Bosotho, a region in Limpopo province, also known as Sekhukhuneland Sekhukhuneland or Sekukuniland ( af, Sekoekoeniland) is a natural region in north-east South Africa, located in the histo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Traditional African Medicine
Traditional African medicine is a range of traditional medicine disciplines involving Indigenous peoples of Africa, indigenous herbalism and Traditional African religions, African spirituality, typically including divination, diviners, midwives, and herbalism, herbalists. Practitioners of traditional African medicine claim to be able to cure a variety of diverse conditions including cancer, psychiatric disorders, high blood pressure, cholera, most venereal diseases, epilepsy, asthma, eczema, fever, anxiety, depression, benign prostatic hyperplasia, urinary tract infections, gout, and healing of wounds and burns and even Ebola. Diagnosis is reached through spiritual means and a treatment is prescribed, usually consisting of a herbal remedy that is considered to have not only healing abilities but also symbolic and spiritual significance. Traditional African medicine, with its belief that illness is not derived from chance occurrences, but through spiritual or social imbalance, dif ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prevalence Of Female Genital Mutilation By Country
Female genital mutilation (FGM), also known as female genital cutting (FGC), is practiced in 30 countries in western, eastern, and north-eastern Africa, in parts of the Middle EastFGM – Where is it practiced? European Campaign on FGM & Amnesty International (2012) and Asia,World Health Organization, Female genital mutilation: an overview. 1998, Geneva: World Health OrganizationClarence-Smith, William G. (2012) "Female Circumcision in Southeast Asia since the Coming of Islam", in Chitra Raghavan and James P. Levine (eds.), ''Self-Determination and Women’s Rights in Muslim Societies'', Brandeis University Press. pp. 124–146. and within some immigrant communities in Europe, North America ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sacred Caves Of The Basotho
For thousands of years, a pilgrimage has been made by the Basotho people to a network of sacred caves to communicate with the spiritual world. The caves also contain dinosaur footprints and ancient rock paintings. The caves are located between the eastern parts of the Free State (province), Free State and Lesotho. These sacred caves are often described as 'the key to religion' in Southern Africa. Caves Caves have been known throughout human existence, religion, and culture as isolated spaces perfect for meditation and reflection. The Basotho people traditionally regard caves as a dwelling place for ancestors. The caves are visited by thousands of people to perform spiritual rituals. The Fertility Caves lie outside Clarens in the Free State at the foot of the Maluti Mountains in Lesotho. The Matouleng Cave Heritage site is 18 km away from Clarens, Free State, Clarens. The caves lie below the second largest stone overhang in the Southern Hemisphere. Peripheral to the Matouleng ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Circumcision In Africa
Circumcision in Africa, and the rites of initiation in Africa, as well as "the frequent resemblance between details of ceremonial procedure in areas thousands of kilometres apart, indicate that the circumcision ritual has an old tradition behind it and in its present form is the result of a long process of development." History North Africa Algeria At Oued Djerat, in Algeria, engraved rock art with masked bowmen, which feature male circumcision and may be a scene involving ritual, have been dated to earlier than 6000 BP amid the Bubaline Period; more specifically, while possibly dating much earlier than 10,000 BP, rock art walls from the Bubaline Period have been dated between 9200 BP and 5500 BP. The cultural practice of circumcision may have spread from the Central Sahara, toward the south in Sub-Saharan Africa and toward the east in the region of the Nile. Egypt Based on engraved evidence found on walls and evidence from mummies, circumcision has been dated to at least ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Basotho Blanket
The Basotho blanket is a distinctive form of woollen blanket commonly worn by Sotho people in the Lesotho and South Africa. History Originally gifted to the then ruler King Moshoeshoe I by a British man known only as "Mr Howell" in the late 19th century, these blankets quickly gained popularity in the Lesotho region. The way that Basotho men wear these traditional blankets is based on the traditional Kaross, an animal skin cloak although their transformation to "factory-woven textile" is attributed to King Moshoeshoe I. By 1860 securing sufficient skins for Karosses was increasingly difficult and by 1872 a large majority of sheepskin covers had been replaced by poor quality cotton or wool. The King secured the production of "special blankets" in 1876 after meeting with Scottish textile manufacturer Donald Fraser. These new blankets were not only sturdier but they could also be fashioned in a way that more resembled the Kaross and they therefore quickly replaced the poor quali ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lebollo La Banna
''Lebollo la banna'' is a Sesotho term for male initiation. ''Lebollo'' is a cultural and traditional practice that transitions boys in the Basotho society to manhood. It is a rite of passage where ''dzwiya'' () pass puberty and enter adulthood to become ''monna'' () by circumcision. This practice is commonly found among Basotho men in the Free State Province of South Africa as well as in Lesotho. The prevalence of traditional male circumcision among the Sotho people, who mostly reside in the Free State, is at 57.3%. Despite much criticism directed towards ''lebollo'', there is an increase in the number of boys attending traditional initiation schools in post-apartheid South Africa. This is argued to be due to the resurgence of young men's respect for traditional authority as well as the government support of research reporting reduced risk of HIV infection when circumcised. Many government-based organizations provide clinical circumcision, but many Basotho still opt for circum ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Genital Mutilation
The terms genital modification and genital mutilation can refer to permanent or temporary changes to human sex organs. Some forms of genital alteration are performed on adults with their informed consent at their own behest, usually for aesthetic reasons or to enhance stimulation. However, other forms are performed on people who do not give informed consent, including infants or children. Any of these procedures may be considered modifications or mutilations in different cultural contexts and by different groups of people. Reasons Religious The vast majority of genital cutting in the world is done for religious motives (though not all members of genital cutting religions adhere to the practice). Genital cutting is performed for reasons such as: # Rite of passage: circumcision in Islam () is typically performed during childhood before puberty. In Judaism, the religious male circumcision ceremony () is usually performed on infants. # Expression of religious identity: both in Ju ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health". Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, it has six regional offices and 150 field offices worldwide. The WHO was established on 7 April 1948. The first meeting of the World Health Assembly (WHA), the agency's governing body, took place on 24 July of that year. The WHO incorporated the assets, personnel, and duties of the League of Nations' Health Organization and the , including the International Classification of Diseases (ICD). Its work began in earnest in 1951 after a significant infusion of financial and technical resources. The WHO's mandate seeks and includes: working worldwide to promote health, keeping the world safe, and serve the vulnerable. It advocates that a billion more people should have: universal health care coverag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lubricate
Lubrication is the process or technique of using a lubricant to reduce friction and wear and tear in a contact between two surfaces. The study of lubrication is a discipline in the field of tribology. Lubrication mechanisms such as fluid-lubricated systems are designed so that the applied load is partially or completely carried by hydrodynamic or hydrostatic pressure, which reduces solid body interactions (and consequently friction and wear). Depending on the degree of surface separation, different lubrication regimes can be distinguished. Adequate lubrication allows smooth, continuous operation of machine elements, reduces the rate of wear, and prevents excessive stresses or seizures at bearings. When lubrication breaks down, components can rub destructively against each other, causing heat, local welding, destructive damage and failure. Lubrication mechanisms Fluid-lubricated systems As the load increases on the contacting surfaces, distinct situations can be observed wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
