essay
Circumcision and excision ceremonies
Nubian ceremonial life : studies in Islamic syncretism and cultural change • University Of California Press • Published In 1978 • Pages: 151-170
By: Kennedy, John G..
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This study shows how the traditional ceremonies around male circumcision have all but disappeared while those for females remain largely unchanged. The girls’ rituals continued to be important events for families, neighborhoods and kin groups, despite an increasing tendency to eliminate the ancient custom of infibulation in favor of a simple excision of the clitoris. The analysis links this gendered variation to shared meanings that equate girls’ circumcision with sexually desirable beauty and femininity, while boys’ circumcision is tied to Islamic notions of purity. Focusing on these justifications, the author disputes theories that explain circumcision rituals as rites of passage or "initiation rites." See Kennedy (1978 "Bibliography") for sources cited.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Body alterations
- Gender status
- Prayers and sacrifices
- Ethnopsychology
- Sexuality
- Gender roles and issues
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Nubians
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Africa
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Northern Africa
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- essay
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Anthropologist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- Teferi A. Adem ; 2020
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1963-1964
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1900-1964
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- northern Aswan Governate, Egypt
- NotesAdditional notes
- John G. Kennedy
- Includes bibliographical references
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 74077726
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Nubians--Egypt--Religion