JOY was the order of the day in Evaton, Vaal when initiates returned home safely after a month-long initiation.
The first group of initiated boys returned home on Friday, 29 December, even though their chief initiate is behind bars.
The chief initiate was arrested three days before the training began, but the boys had already been placed in a secret location to begin their journey.
However, this didn't stop the training as friends of the chief initiate from an organisation called Tau Dia Rora took care of the boys.
Some young men from the initiation school said they learnt many things, including respect.
"We're excited because the process promotes our culture," said one of the initiates.
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Many happy parents and community members gathered on Friday to welcome their boys.
Mothers cheered, and fathers whistled as they arrived. This is seen as the transition from boyhood to manhood.
A spokesman for Tau Dia Rora, which deals with initiation and crime, Muntu Kama, told Daily Sun that they welcomed the first initiates of 2023 and that no illegal schools or deaths were reported this year.
Kama said this was due to the cooperation between the surgeon and the regional health department, who ensured that all participants were in good health before they were admitted to the initiation school.
"We will continue with the culture of conducting initiation schools without fatalities."
He said initiates learn values and respect and uphold their culture or traditions.
This is the most important part of the initiation school.
“When the initiates come to the school, they are allowed to bring their medicines that they take from home.”
“We let them bring them,” he said.
