Article Sidebar
Published:
May 8, 2026Keywords:
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
References
• Ahn, S. Y., Hahn, Y., & Yoon, S. (2025). Early sparks: Impacts of a STEM bootcamp on young adolescents in Tanzania. Economic Inquiry, 63(1), 1–18.
• Ammann, C., & Staudacher, S. (2021). Masculinities in Africa beyond crisis: complexity, fluidity, and intersectionality. Gender, Place & Culture, 28(6), 759–768. https://doi.org/10.1080/0966369X.2020.1846019.
• Ani, J. I., & Katende-Kyenda, L. N. (2025). Norms of masculinities and gender socialization among young boys in South Africa: Implications for gender-based violence, policies, and interventions. Sexes, 6(54), 1–16.
• Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. Prentice-Hall.
• Brain, J. L. (1980). Boys' initiation rites among the Luguru of eastern Tanzania. Anthropos, 75(3/4), 369–382.
• Connell, R. W. (2005). Masculinities (2nd ed.). Polity Press.
• Decatur, M.-A. V. (2024). Complementary and disparate: Conceptualising female and male genital cutting in northern Tanzania [PhD thesis]. SOAS University of London.
• Depraetere, J., Vandeviver, C., Keygnaert, I., & Beken, T. V. (2021). The critical interpretive synthesis: an assessment of reporting practices. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 24(6), 669–689.
• Dworkin, S. L., Fleming, P. J., & Colvin, C. J. (2015). The promises and limitations of gender-transformative health programming with men: Critical reflections from the field. Culture, Health & Sexuality, 17 (2), 128–143.
• Folorunsho, A. (2025). Masculinity and mental health in later life in sub-Saharan Africa: A review of recent literature. Sociology Compass. https://doi.org/10.1111/soc4.70148
• John, Y. M. (2025). Reversed gender roles of women in Bongo Flava songs: A critical examination. East African Journal of Arts and Social Sciences, 8 (3), 688–699.
• Khamalo, E. (2018). The role of initiation ceremonies in the construction of gender identities: Studies in Nsondo and Jando initiation songs [Bachelor's dissertation]. Chancellor College, University of Malawi.
• Kyrö, S. (2020). Education promoting girls' sexual and reproductive health and rights in rural Malawi [Bachelor's thesis]. Diaconia University of Applied Sciences.
• Legal and Human Rights Centre [LHRC]. (2024). Tanzania Human Rights Report 2023. LHRC.
• Letseka, M. (2012). In defence of Ubuntu. Studies in Philosophy and Education, 31(1), 47–60.
• Literacy Institute. (2024). Traditional initiation rites and educational attainment in Chalinze District, Tanzania. International Journal of Qualitative Research, 4(3), 208-215. https://ojs.literacyinstitute.org/index.php/ijqr
• Mbwete, R. I. (2025). Assessment of community participation in initiation ceremonies in Tanzania: A case of Chalinze District. Tanzania Journal of Community Development, 4(1), 45–62.
• Mokhwelepa, L. W., & Sumbane, G. O. (2025). Men's mental health matters: The impact of traditional masculinity norms on men's willingness to seek mental health support. American Journal of Men's Health, 19 (2). https://doi.org/10.1177/15579883251321670
• Mthatiwa, S. (2020). Singing morality: Initiation songs, imagery, and moral education in rural Malawi. Journal of Humanities, 28 (1), 73–96.
• Mulaudzi, F. M., & Lebese, R. T. (Eds.). (2022). Working with indigenous knowledge: Strategies for health professionals. AOSIS Books.
• Nicholson, E., Murphy, T., Larkin, P., Normand, C., & Guerin, S. (2016). Protocol for a thematic synthesis to identify key themes and messages from a palliative care research network. BMC Research Notes, 9 (1), 478.
• Onoja-Matthew, A., & Ojedokun, O. (2020). Masculine norms and mental health of African men: What can psychology do? Heliyon, 6 (12), e05650.
• Ouzgane, L., & Morrell, R. (Eds.). (2005). African masculinities: Men in Africa from the late nineteenth century to the present. Palgrave Macmillan.
• Ratele, K. (2016). Liberating masculinities. HSRC Press.
• Rutagumirwa, S. K., & Bailey, A. (2018). “The heart desires, but the body refuses”: Sexual scripts, older men’s perceptions of sexuality, and implications for their mental and sexual health. Sex Roles, 78(9), 653–668.
• Rwabyoma, A., Kabeba Muriisa, R., Ochieng, D., & Rubagiza, J. (2024). Men and Masculinity Studies in East Africa: A Theoretical Framework for Understanding Masculinities-Focused Interventions. 10.1007/978-3-031-49167-2_4.
• Sacco, L., Devereux, S., Keeble, C., Mshana, G., & Buller, A. M. (2025). Male social embeddedness and intimate partner violence perpetration in Tanzania: A cross-sectional study of young Tanzanian men. Social Science & Medicine, 365, Article 117605.
• Schroeder, E., Tallarico, R., & Bakaroudis, M. (2022). The impact of adolescent initiation rites in East and Southern Africa: Implications for policies and practices. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 27(1), 181–192.
• Skiba, A. (2019). Initiation ritual of boys among the Luguru people in eastern Tanzania. Polish Sociological Review, 207(3), 365–382.
• Turner, V. (1967). The forest of symbols: Aspects of Ndembu ritual. Cornell University Press.
• UN Women. (2024). Country gender profile: Tanzania mainland. United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women.
• UNICEF & SADC. (2023, November 23). UNICEF and SADC call for action against gender-based violence [Press release]. UNICEF.
• UNFPA. (2019). The impact of rites of passage and cultural practices on adolescents' and young people's sexual and reproductive health in East and Southern Africa: A review of the literature. United Nations Population Fund.
• Van Gennep, A. (1960). The rites of passage (M. Vizedom & G. Caffee, Trans.). University of Chicago Press. (Original work published 1909)
Main Article Content
Pedagogies of Manhood in Tanzania: Jando, Boys’ Boot Camps, Formal-Informal Educational Interfaces and the Missing Links in Male Socialisation
Abstract
This study investigates how Tanzanian boys are socialised into manhood through traditional initiation ceremonies (Jando) and contemporary boys' boot camps, situating these practices within a broader institutional ecosystem that includes families, schools, religious organisations, and state development frameworks. This perspective aligns with contemporary African masculinities scholarship, which conceptualises masculinities as multiple, fluid, and shaped by intersecting institutional contexts rather than as a singular or static identity. Using a qualitative interpretive synthesis of literature from Tanzania and wider East and Southern Africa, the analysis reveals a fundamental paradox: institutions intended to cultivate responsible, community-oriented men often simultaneously reproduce emotional suppression, sexual dominance scripts, and hierarchical gender arrangements that contradict the Utu (humanity/dignity) values affirmed by initiatives like the Tanzanian Men's Day Conference. The paper identifies persistent gaps in the competencies cultivated through existing male socialisation, including emotional literacy, mental health awareness and help-seeking readiness, non-violent conflict resolution, preparedness for equitable partnership, and civic engagement skills. These deficits are compounded by fragmented coordination among social institutions, leaving boys navigating disconnected developmental experiences rather than a coherent formation pathway. The paper concludes by arguing that addressing these missing links requires stronger inter-institutional collaboration, sustained facilitator training, and the deliberate integration of gender-transformative and psychosocial perspectives into indigenous moral pedagogical reforms, all of which are essential to producing men capable of embodying Utu by building families, strengthening communities, and advancing Tanzania's social transformation.
