In Madagascar, circumcisions are performed exclusively during the cold season since it allows for better healing. A necessary step for the majority of young boys, the custom is still followed today on the island. The traditions surrounding this rite remain, but in the capital, more and more parents are now turning to modern medicine.
2 min
With our correspondent in Antananarivo, Pauline Le Troquier
It is 4:30 in the morning in front of the medical office in Andavamamba, a working-class district of Antananarivo. The tears of the young boys who have just been circumcised mingle with the explosion of joy of the families. Right next door, Raymond, his three-year-old child in his arm, is still waiting his turn, serenely: ” This doctor uses an American method. I am reassured, because compared to traditional methods, it does not bleed and above all it heals very quickly! »
Dr. Paquerette, the local doctor, is just walking into the small operating room, wearing a fitted white coat. With local anesthesia and dedicated tools, everything is done here to avoid pain and complications.
However, the original tradition of bleeding the child during circumcision still holds sway among some. This morning, some parents asked me to make their child bleed. I cut his foreskin, we waited until there was a little blood, but then I did everything I could to make it stop before they left my office, because hemorrhaging can kill the child. ” explains Dr. Paquerette.
About twenty children are circumcised, one by one, under the watchful eye of families reassured by the operating conditions. Tantely came to support his nephew: “ Now we’re going to take the foreskin home. And according to Malagasy tradition, it’s the grandfather who’s going to eat it, with a piece of banana. And then, we’re going to party! »
The day has not yet dawned. The families leave the office to the sound of toys made to distract and console a little longer the young boys who have become men.
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