Page 13 - BOPHELO - Life - 2026

receive umqombothi as a gesture of appreciation
When celebration becomes early for assisting with its preparation. During the brewing
exposure to alcohol process, adolescent boys are often tasked with filtering
umqombothi, separating the liquid from the solid
Within village structures, the provision and distribution residue (intsipho). Once fermentation is complete, it is
of food and alcohol during ceremonies is carefully customary for these boys to be given large quantities of
regulated. This responsibility rests with Injoli Zelali, an umqombothi, typically in five-litre containers (iibhekile),
adult circumcised man appointed by the community to as compensation for their labour.
divide meat and alcohol into agreed portions. These
portions are served according to recognised social While culturally embedded, these practices have
categories (amahlelo), which reflect age, gender, status, increasingly resulted in adolescents consuming large
and social position within the village. volumes of alcohol during celebrations. Observations
from multiple villages over time suggest that intoxication
An emerging and concerning shift has been observed among underage boys and girls during ceremonies is
in some rural communities: underage adolescent girls not uncommon and is frequently met with amusement or
(iintombi ezincinci) are increasingly recognised as one indifference by adults. Such responses signal a degree of
such category and allocated alcohol during ceremonies, social acceptance and normalisation of underage drinking
a practice referred to as umlawulo wee ntombi ezincinci. within ceremonial contexts.
It is no longer uncommon for school-going girls to send
representatives to request their portion of alcohol from
ceremony hosts or iinjoli zelali, and for these requests to Normalisation, risk and the adolescent
be granted. body

Alongside this development is the longstanding For many adolescents in rural villages, ceremonial alcohol
practice of ukukhutshwa kotywala bamakhwenkwe, provision represents their first exposure to drinking. This
in which uncircumcised underage adolescent boys initiation occurs in a highly sanctioned cultural setting,

THE COMMUNITY ISSUE 11