Ulwaluko: A critical site for black theological reflection

Abstract

Ulwaluko is an essential rite of passage for men in the Xhosa community in South Africa. This particular initiation rite of passage is a critical part of the transition from boyhood to manhood. In a post-apartheid South Africa, this African practice has received criticism for promoting gender and sexual exclusion with some calling for a halt to the practice. Using Simon Maimela’s theological anthropology and Jackson’s concept of modern slavery as human plasticity, I attempt to expose how post-apartheid constitutionalism has epistemically distorted the theological anthropology of this rite of passage. This is done acknowledging Ulwaluko theologically within the context of African holism. This, I argue, has had significant ethical implications for society. Recognising it as a site of black theological reflection using Maimela’s theological anthropology, I argue that this particular practice can positively influence discourses on morality in South Africa.

Contribution: This article makes a theological contribution by situating African and black theology of liberation discourse within the epistemic framework of Ulwaluko as an initiation rite of passage. Recognising the prevalence of initiation rites of passage in South Africa, this discourse attempts to contribute towards thinking about the creation of humanity from these spaces of formation. This I do in the very challenging contexts within which Ulwaluko is practised.