Rite of passage
Rites of passage are a particular type of ritual practice that accomplishes a change in an individual's status within a group. Some of the best known examples are puberty rites and marriage, but in fact, rites of passage can take on many forms including hospital birth,[1] military boot camp and other diverse practices.
Anthropologists discuss rites of passage in terms of a three stage process. Introduced by Arnold Van Gennep and much elaborated by Victor Turner, the three stages consist of separation or detachment of the individual from his or her established social position or cultural environment, a "threshold" period called liminality, and reaggregation or reincorporation into society. In the first stage, the initiate is ritually separated from his or her established place in society through a process that generally includes physical and symbolic isolation, and an ordeal that serves to break down the body. In many cultures, this stage also includes ritual hair cutting. The initiate is thereby propelled into a liminal realm in which they exist "betwixt and between the positions assigned and arrayed by law, custom, convention, and ceremonial."[2] Initiates in this stage are frequently associated with nature or the wilderness and with darkness; they are often considered ritually dead. They are remade and readied for their reentry into the everyday world in new (often more prestigious or powerful) roles.
Rites of passage in the ancient world
Cultural rites
One interesting comparison between various rites is whether they are unique to a culture at large, a subculture, or a particular religion. Any combination of these three settings can cause some unique compinations, and a person may go through several rites of passage throughout their lifetime.
Marriage
African cultural rites
European cultural rites
Asian cultural rites
Native American cultural rites
Religious rites
Every religion in the world has some form of a rite of passage for its participants, with some being more recognized than others. Here are some primary examples.
Christianity
Christianity varies greatly from its more traditional branches of Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy to groups such as Charismatics and Pentecostals. Nonetheless, they all have some form of rite of passage for their members.
Baptism, the sprinkling by, or immersion into, water is one such rite. Liturgical groups perform Baptism during infancy, symbolically dedicating the child to a Christian future. Some protestant denominations perform Baptism at the end of a confirmation process which indoctrinates the adherents in the basic teachings of the church. These confirmation processes usually end around the ages of 13-15 and are practiced by such groups as the Disciples of Christ and Methodists. Still other groups perform Baptism as an acceptance into membership or a recognition of conversion.
Confirmation...
Judaism
Bar-mitzvahs and Bat-mitzvahs
Hinduism
Islam
Buddhism
- ↑ Robbie E. Davis-Floyd. 1992. Birth as an American Rite of Passage. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0520084314.
- ↑ Victor Turner. 1969. The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. ISBN 0801491630