How did circumcising start?

The origins of circumcision are lost in the mists of time, before history. It is known from carvings to have been practised in Egypt about 4300 years ago, but it probably came from further south in Africa. It most probably began as a fertility rite, to make the penis look permanently like an erect one, but perhaps or also as a blood ritual. It has been suggested that men wanted the magical power of women, to bleed but not die. It also functions in southern Africa as a rite of passage to manhood, by way of a test of endurance. It may also have been invented independently in Polynesia and Australia.

These murky origins continue to cast a spell on people, and many of the claims of medical benefits are less than rational.