ABSTRACT
Introduction Anthropologists working in African societies have described the various rites marking the transition from one critical stage o f life to another. For example, Richard’s classical work on the chisnngu describes the rites Bemba girls undergo as they grow into w om anhood1. Various scholars have also described other critical stages such as birth, marriage and death; and the rites and traditions that African societies conduct in relation to these transitions2. For example, there have been reports about the Sena o f Malawi requiring a w om an whose husband died to have sex with another m an to please the dead and prevent bad omen happening to the widow and other relatives in the village3. There are also various rites that are conducted following birth o f a child to protect infants from various diseases4.
