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Rite of passage

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For other uses, see Rite of passage (disambiguation).

A rite of passage is a ritual that marks a change in a person's social or sexual status. It is a universal phenomenon which can show anthropologists what social hierarchies, values and beliefs are important in specific cultures. Rites of passage are often ceremonies surrounding events such as childbirth, menarche or other milestones within puberty, coming of age, marriage, weddings, and death. Initiation ceremonies such as baptism, confirmation and bar or bat mitzvahs are considered important rites of passage.

History of term

Theories were developed in the 1960s by Mary Douglas and Victor Turner (The Ritual Process, 1969).[citation needed] Joseph Campbell's 1949 text, The Hero with a Thousand Faces and his theory of the journey of the hero were also influenced by Arnold van Gennep.

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Types and examples

Rites of passage are diverse, and are often not recognized as such in the culture in which they occur. Many society rituals may look like rites of passage but miss some of the important structural and functional components. Typically the missing piece is the societal recognition and reincorporation phase. Adventure Education programs, such as Outward Bound, have often been described as potential rites of passage. Pamela Cushing researched the rites of passage impact upon adolescent youth at the Canadian Outward Bound School and found the rite of passage impact was lessened by the missing reincorporation phase (Cushing, 1998). Bell (2003) presented more evidence of this lacking third stage and described the "Contemporary Adventure Model of a Rites of Passage" as a modern and weaker version of the rites of passage typically used by outdoor adventure programs.

Several organizations, such as Boys to Men Mentoring Network and Rite of Passage Journeys in Bothell, Washington, provide nature based initiatory experiences that do include the incorporation phase. At the end of Rite of Passage Journeys' Coming-of-Age trips, parents arrive to work with their children for the final weekend of the experience, so that changes that occurred on the trip can be supported when the youth returns to his or her home environment.

Some other examples of rites of passages in contemporary society are given in the following subsections.

Coming of age rites of passage

In various tribal societies, entry into an age grade – generally gender-separated – (unlike an age set) is marked by an initiation rite, which may be the crowning of a long and complex preparation, sometimes in retreat.

Christ underwent the Jewish circumcision, here depicted on a Catholic cathedral; a liturgical feast commemorates this on New Year's Day

Religious initiation rites

Other initiation rites

Armed forces rites

  • Accolade
  • Baptism by fire
  • Battlefield commission, equivalent to ennoblement for valor or knighting on the field in the ancien régime
  • Berserker, berserkergang - an initiatory Nordic warrior-rite; the young Scandinavian warrior of old or Viking had to symbolically transform into a bear or wolf before he could become an elite warrior (cf. Cuchulain's transformation)
  • Counting coup
  • Krypteia - a "robber-baron" or "bandit-warrior" rite of the military youths of ancient Sparta
  • Pas d'armes
  • Trial by battle, or Judicium Dei (Judgment of God)
  • U.S. Marine Crucible
  • U.S. Navy: Battle Stations
  • Naval (military and civilian) crossing the equator
  • In the U.S. Navy and Royal Navy, wetting-down is a ceremony in which a Naval officer is ceremonially thrown into the ocean upon receiving a promotion.
  • U.S. Army Victory Forge
  • In many military organizations, as in civilian groups, new conscripts are sometimes subjected by "veterans" to practical jokes, ranging from taking advantage of their naïveté to public humiliation and physical attacks; see Hazing.
  • Soldiers and sailors may also be hazed again on obtaining a promotion.
  • In Greece conscription is mandatory and has been historically linked with maturing of a man. The army was historically perceived as the "natural" way to go and as a final 'school' of socialization and maturing for young men before their comeout to the real world; also it would be the first time a young man would find himself on his own and away from home. Consequently, draft dodgers, deserters, or men unable to serve encountered prejudice, were often frowned upon and deemed useless by conservative societies

Academic groups

Some academic circles such as dorms, fraternities, teams and other clubs practice

Entrance into Medicine and Pharmacy (University) :

  • White Coat Ceremony
  • In Spanish universities of the Modern Age, like Universidad Complutense in Alcalá de Henares, upon completion of his studies, the student was submitted to a public questioning by the faculty, who could ask sympathetic questions that let him excel or tricky points. If the student passed he invited professors and mates to a party. If not, he was publicly processioned with donkey ears.

See also

References

  • Bell, B. J. (2003). "The rites of passage and outdoor education: Critical concerns for effective programming." The Journal of Experiential Education, 26, 1, pp. 41–50.
  • Cushing, P.J. (1998). "Competing the cycle of transformation: Lessons from the rites of passage model." Pathways: The Ontario Journal of Experiential Education, 9,5,7–12.
  • Turner, V (1967). 'Betwixt and between: the liminal period in rites de passage,' Forest of symbols: aspects of the Ndembu ritual, Cornell UP, Ithaca, pp.23-59.

Ethnographic examples:

Religious examples:

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