More than 40 young men have died in South Africa over two months following circumcision procedures linked to traditional initiation activities, the Associated Press reported.

Traditional initiation is practiced by various ethnic groups in South Africa and is is a rite of passage into manhood. Young men are isolated at the schools, which teach cultural values and responsibilities and perform circumcision as they enter into adulthood.  

The South African government has intervened in the initiation schools through legislation after initiates died.

South Africa’s Traditional Affairs Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa said on Tuesday, December 30, that 41 initiates died during this year’s summer initiation (November to December).

He said the deaths were caused by negligence by both the initiation schools and parents for not adhering to safety standards and medical advice. He said young men are sometimes told to avoid drinking water in order to heal faster.

“There is negligence in terms of meeting health standards in some of the initiation schools,” Hlabisa said.

“If you take your child to an initiation school, you never make a follow-up, you do not monitor, you do not go there to see whether the child does drink water, you are placing your child at risk,” he added.

Schools are required to be registered with authorities, but this has not prevented rising numbers of illegal initiation schools where many of the deaths are reported.

Parents are expected to pay for their children’s acceptance into the school, feeding the financial motivation to start an unregistered initiation school.

Hlabisa said 41 people have been arrested in connection to illegal initiation schools, inlcuding some parents who supplied wrong ages for their children to be admitted.

Boys are required to be 16 years or older may be admitted to the school with parental consent.