'If the boys are lucky, they will be plunged into an icy stream before the ritual in order to numb any pain.'
LOL, that's a good one to remember whenever kids are whining and moaning about how rough their life is here is America...
Wasn't there once an ancient Persian king who made his soldiers sleep on rocks instead of soft beds? His motto was, "Soft soil breeds soft men; hardness breeds hard men."
Or may he was an Afghan king...!