Ntonjaan: tradition and transition in the shadow of HIV

This photo was taken at a Ntonjaan ceremony, a traditional Xhosa female initiation ceremony conducted in the rural Eastern Cape, South Africa. The women are entering a rondavel (traditional hut) where they will remain, secluded, for the following week. Recognising the transition into womanhood the ceremony, and it’s male equivalent (male circumcision takes place for most young men around the age of 18), have a key role in shaping ideas around masculinity and femininity for young people as they enter adulthood. Understanding the role of such traditional practices, and the gendered identities they ascribe, is crucial in tackling the HIV epidemic amongst young people in this area. As technical and medical interventions seeking behaviour change are implemented, my research explores how these different systems of knowledge interact and are transformed, and how young people come to navigate, negotiate and contest them. - Winner of the LSE Research Festival 2014 Photograph prize.