The Problem of Defining Culture
For many people today, differences are explained using the language of "culture" as the explanation. However, if pressed, most would probably be unable to point to what variables they are referring to when using the term.
Culture is a complex and ever changing reality. For instance, Kenya has never been a place simply of wild, exotic beasts with people defined only by their exotic dress. It has a long a varied history that continues to evolve and respond to the changes in the wider world.
Yet there is the fact that many of the people living throughout Kenya seem to have differences that they themselves refer to. So how do we figure out what they really mean?
a starting point is the realization that the practices of many contemporary
"traditional" persons is determined not so much by the reality
of a fixed cultural reality as much as by a need for identity that gets
translated into conforming to a "tribe's" customs.
What happens in every society is that individuals "construct" sharp differences in material and decorative "culture" so as to define themselves with a group. This is perceived as necessary in order to maintain socail structure. For example, many persons, wheather they are ware of this consciously or not, subscibe to firm rules of kinship interactions and marriage. Over time, various cliques are created with vested interests in these social structures and they work to maintain the "purity" of the culture as any changes would directly affect their own positions of influence.
However, the one definite truth about "culture" is that for any given group, culture must change over time. As the world changes, the pratitioners of a culture must respond in one way or the other. Some respond by withdrawing and attempting to close out intrusions, closing their eyes to any changes while others adapt their practices and beliefs to acknowledge the reality of external changes while still holding on to the "spirit" or "core values" of their "culture."
Generational Change and Culture
Another component about cultural change reflects the question of generational change and the role of education. In the generation for Loise Towon, Samburu morans are allowed to bead girls formally engaging them to be their girlfriends even at age 10. From that age, a Samburu girl was considered mature and ready for marriage. All the moran has to do is approach the girl of his choice and express himself. Once the girl accepted his proposal, the moran then gave her a beaded necklace-ushanga, officially formalizing their engagement. However, should the girl later reject him, the moran is then compelled to approach her elder brothers or parents who will persuade her into submission. Girls had little voice in this matter.
When the time for a formal union arrived, according to past Samburu practices, the girl was circumcised on her wedding day. However, access to education and changing generations now has this sequence of events being questioned, mainly by women. Many men (and women!) do not see a reason for change because "This has always been our culture!" in their eyes. When individuals and authorities try to speak against such practices it is often perceived as an attempt to act against the group by person who have lost their "identity" and who thus are lost culturally.
It is therefore difficult
to answer the question of culture. A key part of the answer perhaps lies
in making sure we listen for the alternative voices comming from within
the group itself. The way that female "circumcision" is talked
about in Kenya is changing rapidly and dramatically. Formerly, the topic
was seldom publicly addressed. Recent years, however, have seen intense
media coverage of "female genital mutilation, in newspapers, on the
radio and television. Kenyans are not only consumers of international
media which often have treated FGM in a sensationalist manner, but have
also repeatedly become the subjects of such reports, and there is widespread
awareness that this "local practice" has become part of a global
debate. Since the early 1980s, an increasingly intense dialogue has emerged
between those Kenyans who perceive a need to "eradicate FGM"
and those who seek to preserve "female circumcision" as an integral
part of "culture."
Loise Towon is thus not the only person thinking about issues that affect identity. Outside the above example of the Samburu, there are many other voices such as Jane Ouma, a painter who criticizes female circumcision. She says: " It's a bad act and it should be stopped. Females need that best part of their body. Most of the time it's done artificially and sometimes it does not heal. This leads to a bad health condition and affects the happiness of a young woman. I can't accept that, whatever their culture is."
As elsewhere, the origins of female "circumcision" in Kenya are not clear. Kenyans generally will say that the practice is old, "we found it from our grandmothers" but rarely offer suggestions as to where or why it may have originated. The controversy over it today has become far more than a public health issue, but has become a locus for contested views of "Culture." While historically many Kenyan girls were "circumcised" in the context of coming of age pedagogy and celebration, it has in recent decades become more common for very young children to undergo a primarily physical procedure with little ceremony or transmission of "traditional" knowledge.
It must be carefully noted, however, that those who do not attend circumcision as well as those who "act like they didn't attend" are regarded by many contemptuously.They are view by many not only as"uncircumcised" but also as being rude, ignorant, immature, uncivilized, unclean, "someone who does not know herself." The fear of being labeled as such can act as an extremely strong motivation for a woman to "join" herself or her daughter with those who are circumcised.
Female "circumcision" in Kenya is generally seen as "women's business" and is in no small part perpetuated by women themselves, although many men are becoming increasingly involved in the debate. It is also true that perhaps equally important to the status change of the initiates is the way older women's authority is bolstered by the process of initiation. However, this is a complex and fluid debate. It is just as common, for example, to find an elder woman who opposes the practice as a young man who supports it.
There is no real answer that an outsider looking in can easily come to but we can see the trend of these alternative voices as an indication that the aspect of culture defining this particular issue is changing. In 2002, two schoolgirls took their father to court and won the right not to be circumcised. Cultural change ultimately is tied to giving people the ability to voice their opinions and the economic and political power to decide on their own futures.