The novice's ritual companion stays with her at all times. Plate 2 . A girl of noble rank wearing thahu . Each stage of the commoners' vhusha continues for six, instead of eight, days and nights. The old ladies are in charge on the first and the last day, which is called tshigogovhalo , but on the other days the novices are at the mercy of the senior girls.
Opinions vary as to the meaning of u la a ma avha.
Some say that u la a ma avha means 'to throw away the dirt', and that this refers to the completion of the first stage of vhusha , in which a novice is humiliated and literally made dirty, as well as covered in 'dirty' red ochre. A more common explanation is that it means 'to refuse salt', and thereby refers to the taboo on salt which a novice must observe until the end of the second stage. At any rate, whatever meaning is assigned to the title, the second stage marks an easing of restrictions. Although the girls are responsible for cooking for the novices and must do any chores that the seniors demand, they are neither thrashed nor subjected to the other humiliations of the first stage, nor are they stripped completely naked for any dance or ritual. This is called tsin ela-mavu .