She whispered: “Try not to think about what has happened to you. He remembered a nurse trying to comfort him. He had something to show them – something that required careful storage. Pungulwa’s uncle and brother were to visit him for the first time the next day. He had been in hospital for two “pain-filled” weeks. He asked a nurse for a plastic Ziploc bag, the transparent type used to transport laboratory specimens.
It was day 25 and Xhobiso Pungulwa* (18) slowly pushed himself up in his bed. The campsite where the initiates stayed is burnt after the initiation is completed. The youngsters have successfully completed their initiation and are now regarded as men.
