Rethinking initiation: Jeffrey Rakabe's memoir

WITH winter here, the season of initiation is in full swing. For many, initiation marks the sacred transition to adulthood, steeped in tradition and expectation.

- LUTHO PASIYA

Yet, the release of Jeffrey Rakabe's groundbreaking memoir, Led by Shepherds: An Initiate's Memoir, presses society to rethink the narratives surrounding these deeply ingrained customs.

In Led by Shepherds, Rakabe, who entered the Koma (initiation lodge) at just 12 years old, offers a raw and unfiltered recounting of his harrowing journey.

Surviving 14 days without water while nursing wounds, he learned not merely to suppress pain but to endure a torturous experience that he believed would shape him into a man.

"The first week in the Koma lodge dragged on, each day blending into the next in a haze of thirst and longing for home. Somehow I managed to survive fourteen days without a drop of water. I was desperate for relief, yet I never complained - clinging to a fragile sense of pride that felt like my only armour."

"Home seemed like a distant dream. I was dirty and thin. Dust coated my hair. My belly was swollen and uncomfortable, a stark contrast to my thin frame. I could feel my body deteriorating as I lost weight. Angry scabs covered my wound, the skin beneath inflamed and unhealed. Even the bitter black herb we were given, dubbed 'Coca-Cola, failed to provide relief," he recalled.