Memories of a Tulì

2011-08-26 07:55:02 | Source

This summer, on top of the list of most 10 to 12-year-old boys, alongside camping and swimming, is getting tul
, 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.

Collective experience
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 tul
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 tul
ka na, pwede ka nang manligaw (Once you re circumcised, you could court girls) , Papag said smiling.

Operation Tule
Tul
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 Tul
 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 tul
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.

Misinformed
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

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