The article focusses on ubuntu and mourning rituals practised in the Tsonga culture. cultures have been proclaimed as being different from province to with a few similarities. referred this research do not however encompass belief systems of all people South Africa. This study discusses context how they partake processes bereavement, grieving, mourning, death rituals, practice unveiling tombsto...

Using Van Gennep’s theory of Rite Passage as its framework, this article examines the impact Coronavirus (COVID-19) on Chinese culture depicted through death and mourning in Wang Fang’s (penname Fang Fang) recently published Wuhan Diary: Dispatches from a Quarantined City. As part efforts to control outbreak, government took over managing deceased, which triggered heated discussions social medi...

The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of USAID. DEDICATION The late Leah Muuya (died December 2000) has left an invaluable imprint in the struggle to free young girls from the practice of Female Genital Mutilation. As Maendeleo Ya Wanawake Organisation's (MYWO) Programme Officer for Harmful Traditional Practices, Leah spearheaded activiti...

In the second half of the nineteenth century, a number of traditional Xhosa social customs were opposed by missionaries who tried to insist that their Xhosa converts abstain from all observance or participation on pain of discipline, even expulsion from the church. This chapter will discuss the missionary attacks on intonjane (girl's initiation, puberty rite), ukwaluka (circumcision, boy's init...

Van Gennep's work on rites of passage can be viewed as part the rise anthropology in period prior to First World War, and has been very influential conceptually practice churches ever since. This article examines how his own historical work, taking baptism an example a rite passage, compares with church history at time. It then seeks assess van assumptions comparison about past used writing tod...

PURPOSE Sexual abstinence has become the primary response to adolescent pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevention. However, most abstinence programs are based on adult ideas of abstinence, and little is known about how adolescents themselves conceptualize sexual abstinence. METHODS In this qualitative study, we conducted semi-structured exploratory interviews with 42 adole...