Crossword Genius

In central Africa, mature male put together this ceremony (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

ritual

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'this ceremony' is the definition.
(I've seen this in other clues)

'in central africa mature male put together' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'male' could be 'al' (shortened version of Alex or Alistair) and 'al' is found in the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for ritual that I've seen before include "Ceremony or protocol" , "Ceremony or service" , "Ceremony following a prescribed order" , "Oft-repeated series of actions" , "Regular stereotyped action" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish Times.
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