patient is rarely given anesthesia. Circumcision among the Yoruba occurs one week after birth while in Ethiopia girls are operated on after they are forty days old. In Somalia individuals or groups of girls are operated when they are between the ages of five and eight. In Kenya, many girls are circumcised between the ages of eleven and fifteen while in the Ivory Coast the operations are performed as a village puberty rite. In midwestern Nigeria operations occur before the birth of the first child. In the Mossi area of Burkin Faso, group circumcisions are held every three years for girls between the ages of five and eight. Girls line up with their mothers each waiting their turn. Meanwhile, the circumcisor uses a knife-like instrument reserved specifically for this purpose; after each operation she simply wipes the knife on a piece of cloth, sometimes rinsing it in water first. Before the operation takes place there is a small ceremony where the girl drinks tea and sometimes eats sweets and snacks. Afterwards, the girl is given hot porridge with butter to eat and some water to drink. The female is operated on while in a sitting position or lying on her back with her thighs being held apart. The operator uses a cutting instrument, a collection of thorns for suturing the wound, and a powder mixture of sugar, gum, and other herbs, ashes or pulverized animal manure, which is later applied to control excessive hemorrhaging. The child is in so much pain that some have actually bitten their tongues off. If the child faints, powder is blown up her nose to revive her. When the operation is completed, usually within fifteen minutes, the wound is closed and the women present are allowed to inspect the wound to ensure that the procedure was properly completed. Finally, the girl is sutured and the powder mixture is applied. The gir...
