Operation Tuli (Circumcision)

What is circumcison (tuli) to you? For me it is an important event in a boy's passage to manhood. April 7 marks the manhood of my oldest son, Raham. I brought him to The Medical City and . . .dyaraan!

In the Philippines, circumcision is a rite. A custom that our ancestors have passed on to us for several reasons. I am a Filipino who was circumcised at age 11. I was asked by the local doctor (albularyo) to dip in the water for more than one hour to soften my skin. The gadgets: a small anvil made up of wood (which my father prepared for me), a razor (labaha) which he also uses in shaving (he was also a barber), young guava leaves which I was made to chew during the "operation" and spew to "it" later, and a piece of cloth. No anesthaesia! Location: Under a guava tree, hehe!

I have to tell you that ALL Filipino males are circumcised, or else he will be teased to death. Peer pressure, indeed haha! Filipinos put a lot of importance on this practice, which, for many males are their rite of passage from childhood to adulthood.

There are myths concerning circumcision (which I also carried from my childhood to this day, hehe!):

Some parents think that having their children circumcised could make them taller or bigger.

Some parents think that by circumcision, the boy’s testicles would develop and so would the size of his penis. Fathers have this ambition of which they have not accomplished probably (haha!)

Parents have forgotten the main purpose of this ritual - that is to clean and expose the head of his birdy. That’s all. It has nothing to do with height or weight nor the future size of the birdy.

6 comments:

One Talent Man said...

Very well described with sensitivity - pun intended. Finally found someone who has an astounding way of looking at ordinary things in an extraordinary way.

Mark Lyndon said...

Having part of your genitals cut off does not make anyone a man. The sooner this out-dated tradition dies out, the better.

drops in male circumcision:
USA: from 90% to 56%
Canada: from 47% to 14%
UK: from 35% to about 3%
Australia: 90% to 12.6%
New Zealand: 95% to below 3%
South America and Europe: never above 5%

. said...

For One Talent Man:

Hi! Thanks for your message! Appreciate it so much. I intentionally wrote it in a fun way. I must admit, I am a bit embarassed and thought of not publishing at all. But I guess this is one important part of a man's life that need not be taken for granted...

For Mark Lyndon:

Hi Mark, Of course I should thank you for your message. I visited the link you indicated (Doctors Opposing Circumcision) and I am surprised to know that medical practitioners really are opposing this practice. Am also surprised by the figures you indicated.

I must say that in my country, medical practitioners are even in the front line encouraging young men to go and have themselves circumcized.... mainly because of sanitation. I must add the culture...

Anonymous said...

hi! i am also planning to have my son circumcise when we go back to the philippines this february. can you tell me the name of your son's doctor in medical city? thanks!

Anonymous said...

I too am circumcised, but I chose not to circumsize my two sons simply because I am not under the law, but under grace. I have great respect for tradition, but the Creator would rather see the circumsicion of hearts than our bodies.

What does the Creator require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?

KOTFrank said...

Thanks for sharing. I choose circumcision at age 5 and from puberty knew I had made the biggest mistake of my life and now restoring through stretching. Circumcision is about power over others attacking the main root of male identity and pleasure center. It is genital mutilation. I do support a man's decision to circumcise himself best time is after age 26 when the mind is fully mature so not prone to peer or other outside pressures. What ever happened to the Philippine dorsal cut know as the flower? (this at least preserved the sexual receptors)