History of circumcision

Circumcision likely has ancient roots among several ethnic groups in sub-equatorial Africa, Egypt, and Arabia, though the specific form and extent of circumcision has varied. Ritual male circumcision is known to have been practiced by South Sea Islanders, Aboriginal peoples of Australia, Sumatrans, Incas, Aztecs, Mayans and Ancient Egyptians. Today it is still practiced by Jews, Muslims, Coptic Christians, Ethiopian Orthodox, Eritrean Orthodox, Druze, and some tribes in East and Southern Africa, as well as in the United States and Philippines. There are four types of circumcision. As practiced in Judaism and in the United States, the foreskin is completely removed. However, in ancient Egypt and elsewhere in Africa, only part of the foreskin was removed. In the Pacific Islands, the frenulum was snipped but the foreskin was left unmodified. Circumcision and/or subincision, often as part of an intricate coming of age ritual, was a common practice among the Aboriginal peoples of Australia and Pacific islanders at first contact with Western travellers. It is still practiced in the traditional way by a proportion of the population. In Judaism, circumcision has traditionally been practised on males on the eighth day after birth (after the First Temple era). The Book of Genesis records circumcision as part of the Abrahamic covenant with Yahweh (God). Herodotus, writing in the 5th century BCE, lists first of all the Egyptians being the oldest people practicing circumcision, then Colchians, Ethiopians, Phoenicians, and Syrians as circumcising cultures. In the aftermath of the conquests of Alexander the Great, however, Greek dislike of circumcision (they regarded a man as truly "naked" only if his prepuce was retracted) led to a decline in its incidence among many peoples that had previously practiced it. The writer of 1 Maccabees wrote that under the Seleucids, many Jewish men attempted to hide or reverse their circumcision so they could exercise in Greek gymnasia, where nudity was the norm.

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Concepts associés (11)

Khitan (circumcision)

Khitan (ختان) or Khatna (ختنة) is the Arabic term for circumcision, and the Islamic term for the practice of religious male circumcision in Islamic culture. Male circumcision is widespread in the Muslim world, and accepted as an established practice by all Islamic schools of jurisprudence. It is considered a sign of belonging to the wider Muslim community (Ummah). Islamic male circumcision is analogous but not identical to Jewish male circumcision.

Religion and circumcision

Religious circumcision generally occurs shortly after birth, during childhood, or around puberty as part of a rite of passage. Circumcision is most prevalent in the religions of Judaism and Islam. Circumcision for religious reasons is most prominently practiced by members of the Jewish and Islamic faiths. Brit milah According to the Torah and Halakha (Jewish religious law), ritual circumcision of all male Jews and their slaves (Genesis ) is a Commandment from God that Jews are obligated to perform on the eighth day of birth, and is only postponed or abrogated in the case of threat to the life or health of the child.

History of circumcision