This story
was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly
newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. VI, No. 12, April 30-May 6, 2006
Memories of a Tulì For
some, it was fun, for others it was traumatic. For a young boy getting the cut
or a young medical student doing the procedure, the experience of
tulì
or circumcision is most memorable.
This summer, on top of the
list of most 10 to 12-year-old boys, alongside camping and swimming, is getting
tulì, or circumcision. “Magpapatuli po atsaka
mag-aaral mag-arnis” (Get circumcised, and learn arnis,)
casually answered a 12-year-old when asked about his summer activities. “Para
maging tunay na lalaki, atsaka po para tumangkad”
(So as to become a man, and to get taller), the
boy added. Circumcision, the removal
of the foreskin of the penis, is accepted by most Filipinos as a must for boys
entering puberty, a rite of passage to manhood. There are, however, no proven
benefit of circumcision. Filmmaker Ron Papag had
fond memories of a “collective experience”, when he got circumcised as an
eight-year-old in the province of Quezon. Papag said he and his
cousins looked forward to getting their tulì one summer. The day before,
each prepared a thin cloth which had a hole in the middle and will serve as the
dressing for the circumcised penis. They woke up early the next
day, took a dip in the sea, gathered guava sprouts, and put on loose shorts.
Each boy then bought a bag of ice, and headed to Mang Arsenio, the village
tolero, or the one who circumcises. As they walked, the boys rubbed the ice
pack to their crotch, to numben the penis. Arriving at Mang Arsenio’s
house, the boys lined up and started chewing the young guava leaves. Mang
Arsenio first examined the boy’s foreskin. “Titingnan niya kung
hiwa o pukpok” (He decides whether to
make a cut or to use a small mallet), Papag said. Younger boys are usually
given a cut, but older boys get the mallet. Mang Arsenio then retracted the
broken skin, and asked the boy to spit out the chewed guava leaves. The mush is
rubbed on the cut, after which the tolero dresses the cut. Papag said that he and his
cousins stayed until Mang Arsenio is done with everyone, just to watch the
procedure, which is done in full view of other boys. “Lahat nanonood kaya
pipigilin mong umiyak kahit masakit,” (Everybody was watching so we did not
cry even if it was painful.) he said. When everyone was done, they all walked
home, cowboy-like, with legs apart. The following days, he and
his cousin would meet to take a bath in the sea every morning, “comparing notes”
on how each one was healing. If one’s cut gets “nangamatis” or infected,
the others would tease, at the same time give advise on how to properly dress
and treat his cut. Papag recalled the ritual
to be more fun than painful, a bonding with his male cousins, and even with his
favorite uncle, Tio Pepe, who also helped him dress his cut. Most of
all, after the circumcision, they could do things they weren’t allowed to do
before. “Pag tulì ka na, pwede
ka nang manligaw (Once you’re circumcised, you could court girls)”, Papag
said smiling. Tulì
is also a rite of passage of sorts for those
doing the procedure, said Dr. B., a female doctor who requested anonymity. She
had both funny and traumatic memories of having circumcised young boys in
several “Operation Tulì” as a medical student. “It’s a chance for medical
students to have experience in minor surgery, that’s why our sorority regularly
took part in surgical missions in communities,” said Dr. B. Dr. B’s most memorable
tulì experience was in a surgical mission when she was just a second year
medical student, and had to help circumcise a 16-year-old. The team had set the age
limit to 15 but the boy’s family insisted on getting him circumcised. Dr. B and
another student did the procedure, but they weren’t able to stitch close all the
veins.
“The boy’s penis had hematoma (internal
bleeding), and became enlarged. We panicked because we had no licensed doctor
in our team. We had to rush him to the hospital, where blood was removed from
his penis, and the veins were sutured,” Dr. B recalled.
Apologetically, Dr. B monitored the boy’s
healing, visiting him everyday for a week, to clean and dress the cut. The
family of the boy, who had a learning disability, blamed Dr. B for what happened
and refused to take the responsibility of monitoring the boy’s healing.
Traumatized, Dr. B didn’t want to be a doctor
anymore, and refused to join anymore medical mission. But her sorority sisters
persuaded her.
“I joined another medical mission, and there was
another 16-year-old. No way was I going to do the procedure. But my ‘sisses’
convinced me to do it, so that I’ll find out what I did wrong before. I went on
to do it, and it was OK,” she said. Dr. B said that it’s mostly
the mothers who are eager to get their sons circumcised, anxious not to lose the
opportunity to get free medical service. “But we don’t force the child if he is
not yet ready.” Dr. B said boys who were not yet ready would cry before they
even administer anaesthesia. Groups and experts who are
against circumcision, however, say that circumsion is harmful, and even poses
unnecessary risks to the child. “The best way to care for a
child's intact penis is to leave it alone," said Dr. Paul Fleiss. In his article “The Case
Against Circumcision,” Fleiss compared penile foreskin to one’s eyelid. The
article was published by Mothering: The Magazine of Natural Family Living in
1997. "The natural penis requires
no special care. A child's foreskin, like his eyelids, is self-cleansing.
Forcibly retracting a baby's foreskin can lead to irritation and infection,”
Fleiss said. With the removal of the
penile foreskin, a boy is deprived of “its numerous protective, sensory, and
sexual functions,” he said. Fleiss argued that only around 10 to 15 per cent of
the world’s male population are circumcised.
Experts against circumcision advise parents to
get proper information before deciding on getting their sons circumcised.
Bulatlat © 2006 Bulatlat
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Alipato Publications Permission is granted to reprint or redistribute this article, provided its author/s and Bulatlat are properly credited and notified. BY DEE AYROSO
BulatlatCollective
experience
Operation Tule
Misinformed