The Bukusu community is mainly found in the western province of Kenya. This community belongs to the larger Luhya ethnic group, who are Bantu speakers. Among the Luhya, the rite of passage from boyhood to adulthood has been passed on from one generation to another over the years. But, circumcision among the Bukusu is perhaps widely popular due to the wide coverage it gets in the local media, and the fact that this practice has had little foreign influence. The origin of the ceremony is not clear, though it is thought that the Bukusu borrowed the practice from the Sabaot, a Nilotic community found in western Kenya (Osogo, n.d).

Among the Bukusu, the circumcision ceremony is known as ‘embalu’, and it is only the boys who are circumcised. This ceremony is done once every two years in the month of August. Majority of those circumcised are in their teens, though it is not uncommon to find children who are barely ten years old or those who are way past their teens being circumcised. Due to the fact that this rite is meant to show that one is ready to become ‘a man’, it is expected that the boy is the one to initiate the debate about his circumcision (Ondeko, 2013).

Those who undergo the traditional ceremony among the Bukusu are held in high regard, compared to men who undergo the cut in a hospital or health facility. Those men who remain uncircumcised are treated with disdain, and are always touted (Osogo, n.d.).Again, boys who undergo the cut without fidgeting or crying are treated as heroes in the community. Those who show signs of cowardice on the material day are treated ruthlessly, and seen as a let down to their parents (Barasa, 2012).

References

Barasa, M. W.(2012). Circumcision and Bravery amongst the Bukusu Young Males in Kenya.

Retrieved October 13, 2013, from   http://consolationafrica.wordpress.com/2012/08/18/circumcision-and-bravery-amongst-the-bukusu-in-kenya/

Ondeko, G. (2013). The Bukusu Circumcision Ceremony-The Rite of Passage. Retrieved October

13, 2013 from http://www.elimuasilia.org/culture/181-the-bukusu-circumcision-ceremony-the-rite-of-passage.html

Osogo, J. N.(n.d.) Luhya Culture. Retrieved October 13, 2013 from

http://www.luhya.net/HTML_files/circumcision.html

Source: Ondeko (2013) A candidate prepares for rite of passage into manhood.