Building and Burning of Initiation Huts

In informal settlements there is often not enough space to build a proper secluded hut and burn it safely in such densely populated area. For example, the city of Cape Town provided an initiation site, located in Driftsands, in which the initiation ritual could take place under the restriction that they could not burn the seclusion huts that were made of brick. However, the Xhosa people refused to use the initiation site arguing that if the hut is not burned, the ritual is not conducted in the traditional method and the men undergoing initiation may not be considered properly initiated, creating social divisions (Moodie & Mbamboto, 2004).