Male circumcision and marriage are significant cultural practices that mark a critical stage in a person’s life in many African societies. Many rites of passage that exist, circumcision and marriage are intertwined. Marriage and circumcision like other cultural themes have attracted wide scholarship of diverse depths. Such studies have underlined, among others, the nature, forms, types and even the place of the two initiation rites in society. What, however, has not received adequate attention are the (re)negotiations and contestations between morality and masculinities in the context of male circumcision and marriage. Based on this understanding, and drawing on the findings of a qualitative study conducted in Kisii, and Homa Bay counties in South-Western Kenya, the researchers in this paper argue that circumcision and initiation determine ones’s masculinity, which as well acts as a gateway to marriage and social wellbeing. Combined, the two cultural practices can be presented as central morality and cultural notions that inform, underpin, and serve as the dominant paradigms that direct the lives and activities of African people from birth to death. The study suggests that despite its significance over decades, the practice of circumcision has changed over time in relation to the importance people attach to it, how it is practiced, and the attention it attracts from the society. The study recommends the need for a critical interrogation of morality in relation to what fits individuals and the contemporary world as they practice the rites of passage, while at the same time maintaining what is morally acceptable in the society.

Live music performance takes a narrative form where experiences are narrated collectively by a “live band” both in song and performance. In such a performance, one band member often becomes a social representation of “good performance” for the audience. This paper seeks to contribute to this debate on “liveness” by exploring how “Awilo” Mike Otieno, one of the lead singers of Ja-Mnazi Africa Band in Eldoret-Kenya, uses verbal interjections — in between speech narrations during live music performance — to endear himself to the audience. This paper is based on data collected using unstructured interviews with “Awilo” Mike Otieno and purposively selected Band members for a period of six months. Augmentative data was obtained by participant observation and informal discussion with regular members of the audience. Based on Critical Discourse Analysis, the paper argues that verbal interjections in live music performance are not mere discourses. Instead, they are sites and means for the musician to exercise his/her power over the audience. By exercising this power, the musician is able to shape, (re)define (re)negotiate and contest (pre)existing subjectivities among the audience, and that of the audience towards him/her due to their diverse social positions in society. This subsequently aligns their physical and emotional realities. In addition, verbal interjection enables the musician to create new meanings on the narrated experiences to that which the audience can identify and relate with in their everyday lives, despite both being decontextualized. The ability to create congruity using verbal interjections proves the effectiveness of an artiste's performance and accounts for his or her popular acceptance.