SEX- AUNTIES IN AFRICA- THEIR HISTORY IS LIKE TIME IMMEMORIAL…

SEX- AUNTIES IN AFRICA- THEIR HISTORY IS LIKE TIME IMMEMORIAL…

THIS IS A FOLLOW UP TO THE EARLIER PIECE ON “SEX AUNTIES ON TV- IS KENYA READY FOR THIS?”

Teenage mothers in Cameroon learn about reproductive health

Sex aunties have been with us since time immemorial. In many African communities, girls who are ready for marriage are often given talks which focus on their obligations and how to satisfy their husbands.

Among the Baganda of Uganda, sexual initiation of young women is done by a “Ssenga”- usually an aunt of the girl (or a symbolic woman), whose role is to tutor young women on various sexual matters. The young women are taught how to enhance their lovemaking skills, erotic stimulation, marriage preparation and also about various lovemaking noises.

In southern Malawi, young initiate girls are gathered together for about a week and taught about sexual matters, with the major emphasis being on how to sexually please a man. The second stage of initiation happens when the girl attains sexual maturity and begins her menses. During this initiation, an egg is sometimes placed in her vagina so that she can get a sense of what sex might feel like.

In the Bemba community of Zambia, girls who begin their menses are usually secluded for a few days to a month. During this time, an older woman (chosen by the specific girls’ parents), instructs and tests the ability of the teenagers to perform the “Cimwangalala” dance- a dance that every Bemba woman is expected to know. Sexual hygiene, motherhood, marriage, sex and how to please a man are topics that never miss on the menu.

- Additional insights from healthy woman magazine.