Herald journalist celebrates coming of age
Popularly known as 'Intonjane' by the Amampondo clan, the ceremony brought together my family, friends and locals from the Khanyayo village near Bizana.
It was a colourful and exciting day for me and my sisters, Lorna and Ziyanda when we recently celebrated our coming of age ceremony.
Popularly known as ‘Intonjane’ by the Amampondo clan, the ceremony brought together my family, friends and locals from the Khanyayo village near Bizana.
‘Intonjane’ is a traditional ceremony in which young Amampondo women are initiated into womanhood.
These young women go through the ceremony to learn about the important aspects of womanhood, in preparation for the female roles they will adopt in being a good wife and mother.
Most modern families tend to shy away from the ceremony, however, in my family it’s a must. Believe me when I say it’s physically and emotionally draining due to the different phases that take place before the big day.
To fulfil the ‘Intonjane’, three phases have to be completed, ‘umngeno’ (joining), ‘umtshatiso wentonjane’ (slaughter of a cow) and the final stage, ‘umgidi’ also known as ‘umgubho’ (welcoming home ceremony).
Before the ceremony began, letters were sent to the local chief and relatives inviting them to the ceremony.
A week prior, my family and I had to start with preparations, which included preparing traditional beer to report to the ancestors the family’s intentions of hosting the ceremony.
Domestic duties included fetching water from the river, preparing traditional beer for the main ceremony, fetching wood from the forest, preparing homemade bread known as umbhako and the construction of an isibaya (kraal) where animal sacrifices would be made.
For a week, women from the village gathered daily at 5am and 6pm to sing ceremonial Intonjane songs. (I could barely make out what they were saying, but it was something like “Yakhal’ intsingizi Oh-ho Oh-ya Oh-ho, Oh yakhal’intsingizi) along with many other beautiful Intonjane songs.
The songs are sung to summon the ancestors and generally call the entire village to come to the ceremony on the big day.
To prepare for the final day, we had to wear jewellery made of imizi (grass) around our heads and neck symbolising the coming of age. Teachings regarding womanhood are then intensified and the Intonjane ceremony phases begin.
The day before ‘umgubho’, chickens and goats are slaughtered while the cows and sheep are slaughtered in the early hours of ‘umgubho’.
As part of the ceremony, we had to sit in a hut for two days and were not allowed to step out or perform domestic duties.
On the final day of the proceedings, prior to us graduating, we bathed at a flowing river wearing only ibheshu (an apron made of material) and went back to the kraal to change in front of women and walk out with Amabhungu (men from the village) who walked us to family and friends who presented us with gifts and money.
The closing stage of the ceremony is the sharing of traditional meals and beers with family and friends.
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