Disentangling entangled amaXhosa manhood in psychosis: A cross-cultural psychiatric case study, Cape Town, South Africa

Abstract

Recognizing how the amaXhosa people of South Africa value well-functioning circumcision rituals, our paper interrogates one Xhosa man’s coming-of-age entanglement in psychosis. In 2001, Xolile was admitted to the psychiatric ward of Valkenberg Hospital, Cape Town, suffering with a brief psychotic disorder. Its onset came days after leaving seclusion; triggers included his father’s absence and failing his university exams. We describe how cross-cultural therapy, in particular, Dr Soga’s voice, as a psychiatrist and amaXhosa diviner, embedded his emerging consciousness, and aided him to disentangle from psychosis. Xolile did not return to university; instead, he embraced his Xhosa manhood to work in this city. His challenges mirror those across this cultural landscape. Our interpretive study sits at this unique interface, biomedical versus cultural domains, to advance a theoretical perspective about a linked phenomenon that affects not only amaXhosa engendering, but comparatively how we secure safe rites of passage for youth into adulthood.