womb as oasis: the symbolic context of Pharaonic circumcision in rural Northern Sudan

Abstract

Throughout 1976 and part of 1977 I conducted ethnographic research in a small Sudanese village (Hofriyat, a pseudonym) located on the Nile some 200 km downstream of the capital city, Khartoum. Before I arrived in the area I was aware that Hofriyati females underwent genital mutilation in childhood, and I had read several descriptions of that operation (Barclay 1964;Widstrand 1964). Nothing, however, adequately prepared me for what I was to witness, as described herein. Initially I felt numbed by what appeared t o be the meaninglessness of the custom; yet, as time passed in the village, I came to regard this form of female circumcision in a very different light. In the present paper I discuss my growing appreciation of its significance, for it is only in understanding the practice, its meaningfulness for the women who undergo it, and its embeddedness in village culture, that those who are presently committed t o its eradication (see Assaad 1980; el-Saadawi 1980; Hosken 1979;Morgan and Steinem 1980; participants in the "Khartoum Conference," W.H.O. 1979) might approach the problem with the sensitivity it demands. villagers and the villageThe people of Hofriyat are Muslim. They are organized into several overtly patrilineal descent groups, only a few of which are corporate in any real sense. Furthermore, villagers are relatively endogamous: people marry within the patrilineage when possible and practical, otherwise they marry close kin of varying degrees and prefer as spouses people who live nearby. Along with most of the population of Northern Sudan, Hofriyati speak a dialect This paper represents an effort to understand why Pharaonic circumcision of females persists in the Sudanese village of Hofriyat despite numerous attempts to effect its eradication. After a brief consideration of the custom's proposed origins and functions, its rich symbolic context is examined in some detail. Here it emerges that female circumcision is intricately related to a wide variety of local customs and beliefs, all of which appear to be informed by several related idioms stressing the relative value of "enclosedness." The paper suggests that for those who have undergone it and who advocate its continuance, Pharaonic circumcision is an assertive, highly meaningful act that emphasizes feminine fertilit y by de-emphasizing female sexuality. [genital mutilation, circumcision, symbolism, women, Sudan, gender]

The ambiguity of khat in Somaliland

“…Similar to female circumcision, male circumcision can also be seen as a ritual of purification where the soft and feminine parts of the body are removed making men more like men (cf. Boddy, 1982). However, whereas male circumcision is essentially a ritual of exposure, female circumcision is a ritual of enclosure.…”

Socio‐cultural dynamics of female genital cutting: Research findings, gaps, and directions

“…Hayes (1975) published a research-based article on female genital mutilation in Sudan, linking the practices to fertility control, women's roles, and patrilineal social structure. Assaad (1980), Boddy (1982), Cloudsley (1983), and the author (Gruenbaum 1982) later analysed the value of the practices in their cultural contexts. Although these writings recognized that female circumcision was not very pleasant or healthy, the practices were understood to have symbolic vitality (Boddy, 1982) and social consequences for marriageability.…”

“…Assaad (1980), Boddy (1982), Cloudsley (1983), and the author (Gruenbaum 1982) later analysed the value of the practices in their cultural contexts. Although these writings recognized that female circumcision was not very pleasant or healthy, the practices were understood to have symbolic vitality (Boddy, 1982) and social consequences for marriageability. None of these analyses was an apologist stance.…”

“…Where infibulation is the established practice, the uninfibulated state can seem repulsive to women themselves and/or to their sex partners. The infibulated state also is reinforced by symbolic values, such as 'enclosure' of body, to be ready for future socially-approved reproduction (Boddy 1982).…”

Circumcising Migration: Gendering Return Migration among Somalilanders

“…Therefore we have to look towards other studies of male circumcision to fully appreciate the meaning of male circumcision. Based on fieldwork in Sudan, Janice Boddy (1982) interprets male circumcision in much the same way as anthropologists have interpreted female circumcision in Somalia. She underlines that male circumcision stresses the complementarity in removing the feminine and soft part of the man thereby making Sudanese boys less like women and more like men (1982: 687).…”