A group of young Xhosa initiates in Ciskei, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa, in December, 2006. Clad in blankets and with th

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A group of young Xhosa initiates in Ciskei, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa, in December, 2006. Clad in blankets and with their faces painted white to ward off witches, they spend more than a month together living outside their communities. After the initiation period is over, and their circumcision wounds have healed, they return home as real men.

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Size: 4134px × 6168px
Location: Eastern Cape Province, South Africa
Photo credit: © Anders Ryman / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: None

Keywords: adults, africa, age, blankets, bonding, cape, circumcision, ciskei, coming, costume, cycle, de, dress, eastern, ethnic, facial, full, initiaton, length, life, male, manhood, men, outdoors, paint, passage, people, portrait, protection, province, rite, ritual, sitting, south, teenagers, traditional, vertical, white, xhosa, young