Gangs, Rituals & Rites Of Passage

Using gang rituals to tackle gang problems may not be as crazy as it sounds - it could be the only way to head off disaster.

When gangs control the drug trade, corner the pimp market, corrupt the police and even run the city's tough housing manager out of town it's fair to say that Cape Town has a major problem. But in the thousands of words being written about gangs in the near-hysterical daily press an important dynamic is being completely overlooked: as social institutions gangs work extremely well.

They serve a purpose way beyond the strong-arm needs of gang and syndicate bosses. If they didn't the kids on the corners wouldn't join them, let alone fight - sometimes to the death - for the territory they claim.