The male-child cleansing ceremony is a healing ritual performed in order to restore a male child's manhood.
Among the non-Bantu ethnic groups in Uganda, the Lango constitute one of the largest. In north-central Uganda, the Lango is an ethnic Nilotic group that lives in the former Lango District.
Although they have long viewed themselves as distinct from their western neighbors, the Acholi, they are often lumped together in the same category.
One of The Lango people of central-northern Uganda's practices is cleansing ceremonies to remove male children’s manhood. The ceremony begins with the mother and male child spend three days in the house eating unsweetened millet porridge during the ceremony. A baby-like child is treated throughout the ceremony during those days.
On the third day, the child is taken out of the house and seated at the entrance, accompanied by a paternal cousin. Children's hair is cut into strands and woven with softened ficus bark and shea butter, then tied around their necks, wrists, and waists.
The remaining strands are rolled into a ball, which is then thrown three times to the mother, cousin, and child. They are then spread with shea butter and served with pea paste, millet bread, and millet-yeast brew. Jubilation follows, accompanied by singing and dancing, which confirms the child's regaining his manhood.
In most cases, the male children perform the cleaning ceremony. In cases where the deceased has no surviving son, female children may perform it with the assistance of male relatives. Male children are crucial to the ritual because one of them will carry the name of the deceased father.
A female granddaughter may inherit the name of the deceased mother if there is no surviving son. Female children are still able to be hosts to their male ancestors, and become the sacred practitioners in the families of their origin despite the male children shouldering the responsibility to perform the cleaning ceremony.
The male-child cleansing ceremony encourages reconciliation and restores the social status of the child, but it is well-practiced only in small numbers due to aging bearers and the increasing fear of ex-communication.
However, the religious lives of the Lango are still influenced by traditional beliefs. Even so, the Lango practice Islam or Christianity, the traditional beliefs of a guardian spirit and metaphysical soul for each individual, ancestor cults, and belief in a supreme god, Jok, still play a significant role in the religion today.
References
(https://ich.unesco.org/en/USL/male-child-cleansing-ceremony-of-the-lango-of-central-northern-uganda-00982) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lango_people) (https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/lango) (https://books.google.co.id/books?id=poU_DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT107&lpg=PT107&dq=male-child+cleansing+tradition&source=bl&ots=XtTMRO6ccB&sig=ACfU3U1I8kbywHuhKTBAdb6woHt0MulLEQ&hl=id&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjO-N-Qscf3AhX4H7cAHa7uALIQ6AF6BAgwEAM#v=onepage&q=male-child%20cleansing%20tradition&f=false)