The circumcision rite begins when the boy is spited enough to face the knife he then informs his father. The father then prepares the required materials that are required for the ceremony these includes a male bull or a he goat traditional beer known as Kamalwa and a small house called Likombe for the boy.
The boy then gets the jingles (Chinyimba) ready. They are played by the boy as people sing and dance for him during the entire process called Khulanga (calling). He plays them calling on relatives from near and far.
The last person to be called is the maternal uncle. Before he calls the uncle a small pot is put outside in the father’s house. In this pot the fermented maize flour (Kamakhalange) that is fried is put in. the boy is then ordered to go to the river to fetch water in the company of two other boys. After drawing the water from the river he puts it on his head and he is not supposed to look back whatsoever. The significance of not looking behind is bravery. The father pours the Kamakhalange into the pot then the boy pours in water he fetched form the river. This process is called Khuchukhila which means pouring.
The next day the candidate pays a courtesy call to his uncle. The uncle slaughters a bull in honour of his nephew or he can as well keep it for the boy to walk it home as a gift. The father would have prepared Lusombo (a sexual organ of a bull that is cut and made into a necklace form which replaces the one the uncle gives). The necklace is called Luliki. While putting Luliki on the boy’s neck he utters some warnings. From the uncle he cannot leave until the ceremony is over.
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