–– Paul Schlehlein

The audio version of this article is available here: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

Male circumcision schools are as common throughout sub-Saharan Africa as they are dangerous. Recently in Zambia, for example, forty-eight boys were rescued from a circumcision school after parents complained that their children had been abducted. In Malawi among the Yawo people, this rite of passage is called jando, marking a new era of sexual freedom.

Among the Tsongas in South Africa, it is called madlala. I have watched nearly two decades worth of coming home ceremonies, including the days I lived at the chief’s kraal when the boys were met with cheers from the community and dances from hordes of topless women. The father of a strong young Christian in our church tricked his son by capturing him in a vehicle and forcing him to attend the school. 

While differences in this practice vary widely between tribes and countries, I’d like to give a broad biblical perspective on male circumcision schools.