Several groups of Initiation Forum chairpersons, members, practitioners and traditional leaders from the Western Cape came together on Saturday 5 March and Sunday 6 March 2016 for their annual Initiation Forums Consultative Meeting at the Okkie Jooste Cultural Facility in Stellenbosch.
These meetings are organised by the Western Cape Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport (DCAS) and serve as a platform for representatives of the various initiation groups to discuss the previous and upcoming initiation season. They primarily focus on the safety aspects of initiation, the preservation of the cultural elements of initiation and ensuring that the initiation season is handled in a professional manner.
DCAS Minister Anroux Marais also attended the meeting and she emphasised how important initiation is as a cultural practice and how it is fully supported. “Because initiation is a cultural practice with health implications, our department aims to create a safe and enabling environment for the effective rite of passage. I hope that this consultative meeting will be fruitful and that the feedback of the past initiation season will serve as a basis for preparation for the upcoming season. I look forward to addressing the challenges we are faced with and I thank you for your cooperation and all your efforts to ensure the safety of initiates, while the traditional cultural practice is effectively observed,” she said.
Let us continue to preserve traditional cultural practices in the Western Cape BETTER TOGETHER.
Tania Colyn
Head of Communication Service
Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport
Tel: 021 483 9877
E-mail: tania.colyn@westerncape.gov.za