Langa Site Analysis

Langa Site Analysis

The Langa Initiation Site is an 8,2 hectare formal initiation site used by approximately 240 initiates annually, with one season between May and June, and another from November to January. The site is bordered by the N2 highway, Bhunga drive, a waste management facility, a catholic institution, and a sports field.

Although the areas surrounding the City of Cape Town have become more heavily urbanized, the Langa Initiation Site has been able to sustain the traditional practice of initiation in a highly altered social, cultural, and environmental context.  Since the 1930’s the property has been used informally as an initiation site.  Between 2005 and 2008, the property was developed into a formal initiation site, the first in the Western Cape, by the City of Cape Town, with the construction of showers, a concrete palisade fence, and the formation of a management team.  The site management has dealt with the many social, environmental, and cultural concerns of the surrounding community with regards to initiation, and has provided an area that is accepted and widely used for initiation purposes. This site is highly respected in the initiation community for the fact that there have been no fatalities on site. The site management, city officials, and initiation community can be attributed for this success.

Through interviews with the Deputy of the Site Committee and Langa Site Manager and a visit to the site, the team investigated the following elements:

• Site Management
• Role of Site Committee
• Role of Site Manager
• Involvement of the Health Department

The following site layout elements of Langa Initiation Site were also investigated:

• Fencing
• Vegetation
• Water Supply
  • Showers
  • Toilets
  • Irrigation

The Langa site continues to be known as the most reputable initiation site in the Western Cape since being formalized in 2005.  The site management, fencing and gates, and rules and regulations are recommended for implementation at any initiation site, as they ensure that initiates are able to complete their initiation in a safe environment reserved for the sole purpose of the ritual.  Challenges that must be considered include dumping of trash and misuse of land that could be prevented by better managing site entry. It would be recommended that for other sites, a hedge of shrubs rather than trees is planted, as they will grow faster and provide more adequate screening. Langa provides an excellent model for the Good Hope College Initiation Site.