Photo of the Day
Young boys preparing for their circumcision ritual in South Africa
Xhosa Teens
This Month in Photo of the Day: National Geographic Magazine Features
Xhosa teens, initiated into manhood in a centuries-old circumcision ritual called ulwaluko, stay in seclusion outside their Eastern Cape village, wrapped in ceremonial blankets and painted with white clay for purification. Hospital surgeries reduce the infection rate, but many boys opt for the old rite.
See more photos from the June 2010 story "Mandela’s Children."
