When Celebrations Send Chills Down Your Spine

I looked out the window and people were trooping in to commence the celebration. I didn't know what the occasion was and my six-year old self just wanted to run down the stairs to find out.

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The house was empty as everyone was outside. "Why did they leave me alone?" I thought. "Was this celebration for adults only?". Well, I had to get my answers by hook or by crook.

The further I descended the stairs, the more wonky my legs got. My dad's instruction "don't come down until I come get you" kept ringing in my head . Was I doing the right thing? What if I get caught? After so much contemplation, I came up with an excuse that I thought would work. I created the scenario in my head.

My dad: Wongi, why are you here? Didn't I give you clear instructions?

Me: I heard joyous laughter and cheers and I just wanted to join in the merriment.

This was an excuse that I didn't get to use.

With my excuse properly planned, I walked out boldly through the front door and nothing, absolutely nothing would have prepared me for the sight I beheld. I saw figures covered in black charcoal from head to toes, with leaves wrapped around their waist. These figures were clearly men because the leaves were only found around their waist and inside their mouth.

"Wait, what? Are we back in the garden of Eden? Was that Adam and his descendant with leaves around their waist?" I thought

These figures–which I later found out were masquerades– were not the highlight of the moment, the highlight was the fact that I saw my first brother suspended high up in the air and my dad was trying to catch him.

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What was this celebration about?

The celebration was like a community tradition, where the male children (and sometimes the female too) are "circumcised" or "marked" as a sign that "they are true members of the community".

This celebration didn't sit right with me because I had so many unanswered questions: "what if the child fell to his / her death?" "Weren't there better ways to mark a child's presence in the community?" "What if…."

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Source

My dad had barely caught my first brother when my second brother was flung into the air by the masquerade like garbage. It was like gravity didn't work in the world that the masquerades came from. What got me astounded was the fact that the masquerade walked away majestically after flinging my brother. Everyone found this amusing except our family members of course. My brother was praying for his life. You could see the terror in my dad's eyes and my mom was visibly trying to stifle her tears as women weren't supposed to partake in catching.

The masquerade walked up to my mom and after a minute of conversing, he beckoned on me. My hate for this masquerade was spreading like wildfire but since he was standing with my mom, I figured that nothing could go wrong.

Once I reached, he took out the leave from his mouth and asked me "would you like to be thrown up too?" With a cunning smile. I looked at my mom, looked at my shivering brothers then looked back at him and said an outright "no".

After thundering a "no", I ran back into the house in a means to avoid the consequence of saying no to a masquerade. It was then that I realised why my dad told me to stay indoors. After the "flinging into the air", it was time for refreshment. Everyone was eating, drinking and congratulating my parents. For what? For almost losing their kids?

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After that day, I had never witnessed such a celebration. I heard that this celebration was a one-time thing and it was only done to kids who were below 15 years.

Of course. No teenager in their right senses would accept to be thrown into the air.

This particular 'community celebration" was and still is against my personal beliefs. I do not see it as "right" because of the risk involved. I still have unanswered questions relating to this celebration but like they say, some questions are best left unanswered.

Thank you for your time

With love, wongi ✨