Male Perceptions Toward the Cultural Practice of Chinamwali/Khomba Among the Mahenye

Abstract This exploratory and descriptive article explores male perceptions toward the cultural practice of chinamwali/khomba among the Shangaan of the Mahenye community of Chipinge district in Zimbabwe. Chinamwali/khomba is the cultural practice of female initiation among the Mahenye people. The article draws on narratives of men from interviews and focus group discussions and describes khomba/chinamwali as a central aspect of (female) body politics in the Mahenye community, where the female practice of chinamwali marks the entrance into so-called ‘womanhood’ [sic]. The men’s sexually gendered narratives reveal how the women’s bodily sexual enactments become ‘cultural texts’ prescribed and inscribed by (male) societal perceptions and social (sexual) interactions. Semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions were carried out with 40 men from the community. Social role theory was the lens which was used to analyse these dynamics. Emergent findings reveal that the men of the community compel an overtly patriarchal agenda by encouraging and compelling women to be initiated