By Steven Masiga
As we conclude the circumcision ceremony of 2024, until 2026, it is important to share some interesting information on how one becomes Umushebi or traditional circumciser among the Bamasaba people.
The Bamasaba people have practiced imbalu for a period of 300 years. Its origin is shrouded in various mysteries, among which include a punishment for criminal offenses, and others say it was a recommendation by the in-laws of the daughter as a panacea for ailments on the kids she has sired. I will expound on these medical and sexuality theories of imbalu later in this story.
The spirit to circumcise begins by attacking its victim in their teens, whom it has zeroed down on. The person will be attacked by the spirit and emaciate or gradually lose weight because of the protracted sickness without healing. Efforts may be undertaken to have such a person treated using all known medications, especially after the bushebi spirit has grabbed him.
The would-be circumciser (Umuushebi, as locally known among the Bamasaba people) may make desperate efforts to have such a person treated using modern means, like going to hospitals. After examination, the medics may say they see no sickness in the person. In the interim, the person is losing weight and shape at an alarming rate and will die if localized or traditional means are not improvised with reasonable speed.
The community may be disturbed by the sickness of the child who is bound to become a traditional surgeon and may consult the “wise men” or women for guidance, and it is at this point that solutions may be sought out. The oracle or elder may guide that the child, who has been disturbed by the sickness for long, may be possessed by the spirit of his earlier ancestors, and that such an ancestor used to be a circumciser (traditional circumciser).
The elders will roughly construct two huts: one hut for the spirit of a diviner or witch doctor, and the other for the spirit of the circumciser. Some cocks will be slaughtered to appease the spirits, and the person will become a circumciser or witch doctor, depending on the guidance of the spirits. If the spirits guide that one becomes a traditional circumciser, then other extra ceremonies will be conducted to ensure that he becomes well immersed in that line of circumcising others.
Usually, the spirit will come to a person at a tender age, preferably about 10+. After this process has been concluded and confirmed that it is the spirit (kumusambwa of bushebi) or circumcision spirits, then the child will begin the process of circumcising others after a brief induction.
Many of the people who have been involved in botched circumcisions are not guided by the spirits of their descendants, and such persons should not embark on the task of circumcising people if they have no spiritual guidance. Outcomes may be undesirable, as it happened in Mayuge. The Bamasaba cultural leader, through the traditional circumcisers, has a way of ensuring that it is only the right person to do the task and not everybody. Without spiritual guidance, nobody should dare engage in circumcision.
The imbalu among the Bamasaba people has a series of origins, with a diversity of theories on its origin. The first theory is that imbalu or circumcision was a cultural punishment for supposedly “criminal” behavior. (I use the word criminal behavior reservedly because, at that time 300 years back, these tribes had no penal code or any written code to categorize adultery as a criminal conduct.)
It was therefore stated that a man, perhaps in his mid-20s, around Mutoto area of Masabaland, was in the habit of sleeping with other people’s women. As a way of punishing him, they decided to circumcise him as a way of permanently deterring him from preying on other people’s women. But alas, after healing, according to local legend, the man became too sweet for women, and instead, thousands of women were seen flocking to his home for sex. As a consequence, all men in the Mutoto area decided to circumcise so as to enjoy sex, and hence the origin of massive circumcision in Masabaland. This should be somewhere about 250 to 300 years ago.
The second theory is that circumcision among the Bamasaba was a condition precedent imposed by an alien girl (Umumya), who had wanted to get married to one of the children of Masaba. But apparently, the husband in question was Umusinde (uncircumcised), as other men in that community where the girl to be married came from. He submitted to the conditions laid down by the would-be wife and her family and thus got circumcised.
The third condition is that the brothers or in-laws of Nabarwa, supposedly the first wife of Bamasaba, when they visited their sister, realized that the children were sickly with all sorts of skin diseases. They prescribed circumcision as a panacea to overcome the conditions of the skin diseases.
The last theory is that circumcision could have been copied from other tribes during the process of migrations, and an obedience theory is also suggested as another route responsible for the intrusion of imbalu in Masabaland, where God said, “Oh you people, hear my message,” and many listened to God or were Habumbi and got circumcised. Anybody therefore listening to God had to get circumcised.
During circumcision, the surgeons use special traditional stones to sharpen the knives to a blade point. The local sharpening stones are structured to make the knife very incisive, and such stones are also kept away from the public eye for cultural reasons.
During circumcision, a special makeshift tent is constructed to accommodate about 3 to 4 people: the candidate for imbalu, a surgeon or Umushebi, and another, perhaps an uncle or so. The candidate, after circumcision, is given or shown traditional herbs locally known as Enguwa, which are sprinkled on the cut penis to accelerate quick healing. Again, such trees need to be protected through UNESCO and organizations.
We need to preserve these special stones, herbs, and ensure that imbalu is carried out in specially erected tents as it was before, to avoid people who are drunk from interfering with the special ceremony. A reasonable distance must be maintained during the time of circumcising a candidate. Too much crowding may impede the process and end up with wrong results. Surgeons need a lot of space to do their work during this final activity. The Umukuka III urges clan heads to ensure this is adhered to.
The Bamasaba go into the forests deep to look for such herbs, and efforts should be made to preserve such trees because they are very native.
The writer is the spokesperson of the Bamasaaba Cultural Institution.
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