AKPEMA

Girls' initiation party in Kabyé country. After the evala, the girls' initiation ceremony takes place. It is customary for them to be virgins because this ceremony prepares them for marriage. The girls, wearing only a belt of pearls, go to a sacred place where they must sit on a stone to certify their virginity. At the end of the initiation, all the women of the village gather and praise the female attributes in song. The young initiates then go to the market, wearing panties and a bra.