No, that distant rumbling is not the sound of fraud convict Tony Yengeni grinding his teeth; it’s the clash of cultures.
The former African National Congress chief whip was thrust into the spotlight again this week after reports that he stabbed a bull with his family’s spear before it was slaughtered. A bucket of umqombothi — traditional beer — was then passed around between his immediate family.
The slaughter was performed as a cleansing ceremony at his parents’ house in Guguletu, Cape Town, following his release from prison after serving four months of a four-year sentence for lying to Parliament.
His action provoked howls of outrage from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), which promised it would investigate the incident. The SPCA warned Yengeni that if he were found guilty under the Animal Protection Act he could face a year in prison or a maximum fine of R200 000.
The Arts and Culture Ministry then leapt into the fray, saying it was not a matter for the SPCA because it went much deeper than cruelty to animals.
”It is the constitutional right of all indigenous families and groups to perform rituals that they believe reconnect them to their ancestors,” said ministerial spokesperson Sandile Memela, who dismissed criticism of the act as ”selective racism that condemns this specific African ritual”.
”This is to promote peace of mind and harmonious existence in their lives,” he added.
Memela said that in 21st-century society, Muslim and Jewish communities still have their own rituals around the slaughter of animals to ensure that meat is halal and kosher.
”Strangely, this is not considered abnormal, and thus their right to do so is rarely questioned. But, in the case of the Yengeni family, we observe selective racism that condemns this specific African ritual.”
The South African Human Rights Commission said allegations of animal cruelty cannot be dealt with by simply using criminal law, adding that one cannot take a ”simplistic approach”. ”It goes to the very heart of how people define themselves and how we construct our identity,” said chairperson Jody Kollapen.
Kingstone Siziba, a national inspector with the national council of the SPCA, said the organisation often finds itself in conflict with certain traditional practices.
The SPCA is happy to assist people with slaughtering a sheep or a goat for ”ancestral reasons”, and offers to ”pre-stun” animals. But anyone wanting to slaughter has to seek permission from metropolitan authorities and inform the neighbours. Siziba said a knife should be at least 110mm long if it is going to be used to kill a small animal such as a sheep or a goat, while a knife of at least 200mm should be used to slaughter a bull or a cow.
”The sacrifice is for your own good — if you don’t respect the animal, how can you expect good results [from the sacrifice]?” he asked.
Cher Poznanovich, the SPCA’s fund-raising and education manager, said that while the organisation recognises and respects the right to cultural practices, it has a mandate to enforce the Animal Protection Act.
Poznanovich said SPCA staffers interviewed Yengeni’s family, who said he had not actually stabbed the animal, but ”marked it in a traditional or symbolic sense”. She said the society received hundreds of complaints about the incident. There were reports that the animal had been ”bitten on the bum” by someone because ”it didn’t want to move”.
She said an animal marked for slaughter should be treated with dignity and respect. Before the slaughter, the animal should be kept in an enclosed area. It should not be made to experience ”extreme trauma and stress”, and should die a dignified death.
Asked to comment, Sonwabile Mancotywa, CEO of the National Heritage Council, said it would be helpful to keep in mind the principal of cultural diversity. ”If we understand this [principle], we cannot challenge the merits of one group’s spirituality.
”The SPCA doesn’t complain about fishermen hooking animals in their mouths. We have not heard their complaints about game hunting. We have not heard their complaints about motorists and airlines — for knocking insects which are in the way. We have not heard the SPCA taking people who are practising horse-racing to court,” Mancotywa said.
The SPCA’s singling-out of Yengeni ”smells of selective treatment”. ”People must practise their own spirituality and we ought to really give them credibility and trust that they practise their culture responsibly.”
He said farming communities love their animals and that all care is taken to slaughter them responsibly. ”They treat the animals like human beings. If even one sheep goes missing, they will go out of their way, crawl in rivers and on mountains to look for the missing sheep.”
Mancotywa said white South Africans should ”tour the countryside to understand black culture”.
ALSO READ: Three Mail & Guardian journalists give their views on the great Yengeni bull debate
Nothing new about slaughtering
Complaints about animal ”cruelty” by members of the public and the SPCA have not dissuaded those who slaughter animals as part of their culture.
Here are a few examples from the media:
”Killing a bull with bare hands to show bravery is … a lot of bull” (Sunday Times, December 17 2006)
Fred Khumalo in his column decries the slaughtering of a bull with the bare hands of young Zulu warriors in KwaZulu-Natal as ”impractical”. He describes the ceremony that tests the courage of young men as ”outdated and dangerous”, but does not oppose the slaughtering of animals.
”Neighbours up in arms over slaughter of a cow” (The Herald, June 6, 2006)
White residents were up in arms at the slaughtering of a cow in their Morningside neighbourhood in Port Elizabeth. They were not against the neighbour’s culture, but wanted their own cultures and beliefs to be considered. The family in question, who had a permit from the municipality allowing them to slaughter the cow, had the following to say: ”This was not the first time we have slaughtered an animal and it won’t be the last either.”
”Doctor defiant about sacrificing cow at home” (Saturday Argus, July 16 2005)
A Cape Town doctor announced his plan to slaughter a cow on his suburban property. The SPCA challenged the justification that the bellowing of the cow is an acceptance by ancestors of the ceremony in Xhosa culture. The SPCA wished for a more ”humane” slaughter of the animals.
”Traditional slaughter has animal rights activists up in arms”, (Mail & Guardian, July 3 2003)
The public slaughter of a goat at the National Arts Festival at the Iqula Xhosa village on the Rhodes campus caused an outcry in the community. ”This whole issue is brought by white people who want to change our tradition and culture – even if they don’t know it. This is happening all the time in the townships. Why are people complaining now?”, said Chief Misumzi Mambiya Thomas, who led the ceremony.
”Hen’s number was up, says iMumbo Jumbo director” (South African Press Association, August 18 2003)
The sacrifice of a hen by four sangomas on the final night of a play by director Brett Bailey caused anger among animal lovers.
”Slaughtering of animals given go-ahead” (Dispatch Online, April 16 1998)
Traditional slaughtering of animals was given the green light in Queenstown with a recommendation on how to govern the practice. Neighbours are to be informed prior to the slaughter and adequate food and water are to be provided before the animal is slaughtered.