The Bamasaba, Omukuka And The Imbalu
Omukuka is the Cultural Leader (King) of the Bagisu of both Uganda and Kenya.
Among the Bagisu, circumcision bestows tribal identification and every circumcised man is entitled to inheritance. Those who dodge it are hunted down, however long it takes and are circumcised by force.
The “Imbalu” is very central to their culture because it marks the initiation of boys into manhood through circumcision. The Imbalu ritual is held between August and December of each even year when hundreds of boys aged 16 and above are circumcised during the Imbalu cultural ritual.
Long ago, the Imbalu ritual used to take place every year until the region was hit by famine forcing the elders to change it to every even year event.
The families of the candidates prepare for the event in advance by stocking big quantities of food and drinks to celebrate with relatives, friends and well-wishers.
The official launch of the Imbalu takes place in August at Mutoto in Mbale City and is presided over by the Bamasaba Cultural Institution and government officials before it spreads out to other districts until December 31. The president sometimes officially opens the circumcision season.
Women sing and dance vigorously, wearing cultural clothes as the procession marches to the place of circumcision. Girls follow from behind, dancing as they spot possible suitors who are ready to fearlessly take on the knife.
At Mutoto (Wamutoto), young candidates clad in shorts, bare chested and donning a collection of traditional decorative objects and smeared with local herbs and other mixtures from head to foot are introduced to a jubilating crowd.
Amidst drumming and dancing, a traditional surgeon circumcises each unflinching boy without anesthesia. The ululating crowds kick into a frenzy while pulsating to traditional music.
As the Imbalu spreads to villages, mammoth crowds dancing to traditional tunes and drum rhythms accompanying candidates to circumcision sites become common.
After circumcision, the boy becomes a man ready to marry and produce children.