Cutting class

The title of this post is more than a bit crass, but I could not resist. How would you like it is you were a teacher, and some of your male students were missing class ... because of circumcision? That's what is happening for teachers in the Monduli area, as some of their male students from the Maasai tribe undergo a traditional rite.

Key quote from the article:

Circumcision in the Maasai world goes beyond the usual male-cut; the nearly three-month long passage involves series of informal education including military training, hunting and endurance as well as survival skills.The whole thing is later topped by the actual male cut or circumcision, performed by elders using sharp knives in early hours of the morning, after which the youths will stay in the camp for over a week as the wounds heal, then come out as "Morans."

What is alarming is the cutting is almost always done with unclean knives.

(The article in the link above has an interview with Mr. Mollel, a former colleague of mine.)