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Male Circumcision In Igbo Land

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By Okechukwu Okugo

One of the cultural and traditional practices of the Igbo people of West Africa; residing in the southeastern part of Nigeria, that can be traced back to Stone Age, is male circumcision.
Though females were circumcised alongside males, in those olden years, today in all Igbo communities, female circumcisions and genital mutilations have been stopped.

For the male, as a matter of culture, on the 8th day after birth, they will be circumcised. At which the excess foreskin on the penis head is removed.

It seemed that one of the reasons their forefathers carried out this practice, was to avoid the inability to retract the foreskin of the penis, which occurs when the excess skin were not removed.
Thus circumcision, a slight surgical operation, is used by the people, to help return the foreskin to its original location.

In the olden days, it were performed predominantly by traditional midwifes or native doctors. And today, for hygienic purposes, physicians perform it.

When this is carried out on a newborn, it takes not more than 10 minutes to perform. But in some parts of Africa, where they perform circumcision to adult males, it might take up to an hour to perform.
The healing process takes 5 to 7 days.


Photo credit: www.who.int

Some of the health benefits, they have associated with male circumcision, are:
reduction in the risks of contracting a sexually transmitted disease by the male,
reduction in the risks of urinary tract infections,
prevention of the inflammation of the head of the penis etc.

Though, concerns about male circumcision, exist; the risks have been adjudged generally low by the people. Depending on the competence and experience of the performer, as well as the technique used in the circumcision.
Pains, infections at the spot of the circumcision, and other injuries to the penis are some of the risks and concerns.
But to show how culturally powerful this practice is, it is very shameful for a male not to be circumcised among the Igbo people.

(Opening image: Photo of a healthy kid. Photo credit: atlantablackstar.com)

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