Looking at the black bodies, Li Du felt despair.
Isn"t that bulls.h.i.+t? How can you test the purity of a man by doing this?
However, it was clear that the Zulu men did not question the precision of these two
criteria, and considered the lessons of their ancestors to be more reliable than the
science of white men.
The lion hunter obviously disliked this so-called "sacred ceremony". He came to the
scene, kept a sneer on his face throughout it, and spoke with irony during the exchange
with the chief.
Realizing this, Li Du asked, "Why did you partic.i.p.ate if you thought it was wrong? Isn"t
this kind of activity an insult to the young people?"
"Perhaps, but I must join in, since it is a way of showing my tribal status. Besides, why
would I go against the Zulu king?" said the lion hunter.
The lion hunter also told him that the Zulu ritual had run into legal difficulties, and that
South Africa"s parliament had earlier pa.s.sed a children"s bill outlawing virginity tests for
boys and saying teenagers had the right to refuse such tests.
However, this proposal failed to gain approval. The Zulu king led a large number of
people to demonstrate against protest, claiming that the vitality of the Zulu people was
reflected in these old and new traditions. He believed that if modern laws could abolish
national traditions, it would destroy Zulu culture.
Li Du thought that this statement was bulls.h.i.+t. It reminded him of the feudal society
during the time of the Qing dynasty in China, when some ministers shouted, "The laws
of ancestors cannot be changed", and then Qing Dynasty died out.
It was interesting that in the 21st century, when the Zulu king"s claim won over a large
ethnic group in South Africa, Congress and the courts had no choice but to back down.
In this sense, native governance in South Africa was a disaster, as they knew too little
about civilized society.
Many African countries, such as Somalia, Congo, Zambia, and others, were spoiled by
white people. South Africa was something of an anomaly in this way. It was probably
the only country in Africa where white people wanted to have fun but the natives would
definitely spoil it.
This had nothing to do with Li Du. He could communicate with the lion hunter privately,
and ask any questions that might occur to him. He could not, however, openly question
these traditions, no matter how much he was fed up with them.
What came next was the following scene: under the guidance of the chief, several old
people helped the teenagers to stroke their p.e.n.i.s, and then the boys stood in a row,
holding their male part upright.
Li Du could not help but recall an incident from his childhood life when he and his
friends once compared whose urine stream spouted highest.
One could presume that, knowing what was coming, the teenagers must have practiced
a lot. Drinking a lot of water and holding urine in were other factors that would allow
them to pee higher.
Big Ivan looked straight with a frown, then quietly said, "Sometime in the future we will
come to South Africa to sell prostate treatment medicine. They hold back urine for too
long, and will have prostate problems."
Lu Guan gave him a high-five. "Good idea, buddy, we are going to be millionaires."
Some boys were really in a pitiful condition, as they got an erection from being stroked.
Naturally, it was very difficult to pee during an erection.
The boys who could only produce a few drops cried anxiously, letting out more liquid
through their tears than through their urine
Li Du didn"t want to see this, but couldn"t go. He was invited to witness the ceremony
and had to stay.
Lu Guan was mischievous and liked to misbehave. He looked with relish, and after a
while, he took off his pants himself, pointed his male part up, and the urine sprayed
directly over his head.
The teenagers cast envious glances at him.
Seeing this, Crispy Noodles smacked his lips in disdain. He understood what the crowd
is doing and squatted down. With a woos.h.i.+ng sound, his urine spurt out high.
Ah Meow displayed his interest as well. He put on a similar posture, showing how male
cat pee.
However, since he didn"t drink much water, he only peed a little and didn"t spray high.
Ah Ow tried to emulate him, but as a female, she could not make such a performance.
All she managed to do was wet her belly
Li Du covered his face, not knowing what to say, They were a group of good children,
really ambitious, who could not bear to fall behind in anything.
Regardless of whether the ceremonies were science-based or not, they went on as
usual, without protest.
At the end of the ceremony, some girls were not allowed to bare their b.r.e.a.s.t.s, which
made them very sad. Some of them were probably treated unfairly. After all, people who
had access to the Internet knew that there could be many reasons why women would
have no hymen, such as riding bicycles and doing strenuous exercise.
Not that it would make much sense for the Zulu, given that there were few bikes in the
tribe and girls didn"t have much chance of doing strenuous exercise.
Li Du met Sophie with a sigh of relief and said, "I was afraid you"d run afoul of them."
Sophie laughed. "No, it"s their tradition. I don"t consider myself to be above it. There are
many things you have to respect if you want to go along with reality, rather than try to
bend it to your own ideas."
Li Du gave a thumbs-up and said, "Well said."
Sophie paused and added, "Of course, I chose this ritual mainly because it did no harm
to the girls, and if it was deemed criminal, I would try my best to overturn it."
After witnessing two sacred traditions, the lion hunters began to prepare for hunting.
Li Du did not want to take part in such activities. He was not interested in hunting wild
animals unless he needed to obtain food.
However, in the eyes of South Africans, hunting seemed to be the most natural form of
entertainment. Many companies and rich people like to use hunting to entertain
customers from Asia, Europe, and the United States.
To partic.i.p.ate in hunting activities, people had to wear traditional Zulu clothing. Men
cover the upper body, wear leather pants, and tie animal skins to the soles of their feet
instead of shoes.
Women put on long robes and headscarves, and take care of the food, as the hunts
didn"t usually end in a day or two. The hunters would often spend four or five days, or
even a week in the wild.
When they were ready, the lion hunter and his party drove out into the wilderness in
three separate cars.
Because both he and Li Du had bodyguards, the lion hunter only brought two tribesmen
along.
He introduced them to Li Du. The two natives were called Abdu and Lilikas.
Abdo was a skinny little man who had one skill, a very powerful skill, and that was the
pursuit of wild animals.
Lilikas, a tall, burly man, was a tribal doctor, a good hunter, and a great healer of
wilderness diseases.
The land of South Africa was so vast that it seemed as though they could see all the
way to the horizon if they did not have baobab trees blocking their view.
Endless gra.s.slands stretched as far as the eye could see.