Project 10 - Umgidi (Shadow Dancing)

“To be a man, you don’t need to cut your penis. You have to prove yourself in other ways.” The ceremony surrounding male circumcision plays a very important role in traditional Xhosa culture. It is considered a rite of passage; a cause for communal celebration when the ancestors are evoked, and the community pays respect to the initiate’s family. Incarcerated at Robben Island during the struggle, Sipho viewed the ritual both as an act of resistance (when circumcision was viewed as “damaging state property”) and as an ancient rite that had to be conducted in a haze of secrecy and brotherly support. Ten years after the struggle succeeded, and with his son in mind, Sipho wants to commemorate his transition into manhood with an announcement ceremony. A trip taking the elders to Robben Island is planned, and the preparations consume Sipho’s family: beer is brewed, sheep chosen and slaughtered, and herbs ceremoniously burnt. But the celebration acts as a catalyst for family tensions that are stretched to the limit when Sipho’s younger adopted brother, Vuyo, takes an overdose.