HIV Loosens Tribe's Resistance to Circumcision

Erick Onyango Otieno, 21, is willing to defy tradition and undergo circumcision. "I do not want to die at this early age," he says. (By Craig Timberg -- The Washington Post)

"The older ones are almost all dead," he said. "I do not want to die at this early age."

Otieno and other fishermen expressed concern about the procedure itself, the amount of pain involved and the possibility of side effects. They worried about losing profits during the days -- and in some cases weeks -- that men may miss work while healing from the procedure.

A few, including some women who worked the beach, echoed the concerns of tribal elders about abandoning culture. Yet more said a Luo man who is circumcised is no less a Luo.

A substantial minority of Luos, especially those who have lived in other parts of Kenya, already have been circumcised. That includes Omondi, whose father had him circumcised when he was a child to prevent him from being teased when he bathed with boys from other tribes.

On another nearby beach, Erick Okoth, 31, a fisherman and father of two, said he has grown weary of the shifting AIDS-prevention strategies -- condoms, abstinence, monogamy, testing -- brought to Luoland. He would rather see the Luos solve their problems themselves.

"Removing the skin is like taking my rights away," Okoth said. "If you are telling me to get circumcised at this age, it's like telling another tribe to remove the teeth."

Some also wondered whether circumcision would affect their fertility, though scientists say it does not. Luos traditionally have large families, and pressures to have several children have grown along with the death toll of AIDS.

"We are going to lose our strength," warned George Okoyo Mawere, 48, a part-time fisherman, politician and local tribal elder. "When you are circumcised, the hormones are lower. That's why within the Luos, we have a very small area, but we have a very big population."

Yet Mawere said that despite his misgivings, he would support making the procedure available if it curbs AIDS. "Obviously we shall, because it's a disaster," he said.

On the beaches closer to the town center of Mbita, where lifestyles are less traditional, few fishermen expressed opposition to circumcision. On the beach worked by Omondi, there was wide consensus about the need for expanding services.

"I'll do it, plus my three sons," said Arthur Odipo, 33, a lean but fit-looking fisherman. "If circumcision can reduce the risk, we will do it."

Fishermen have been dying in Luoland so quickly and for so long that several said they were eager for any solution, regardless of culture.

One respected fisherman died just last month, and his wife appears sick as well, other fishermen said. His picture hangs on the wall of the fishermen's association office, and they were preparing to go, as a group, to the funeral.