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Rites of Passage. In the Beginning…. During the early 20th century, the Belgian anthropologist, Arnold Van Gennep, observed that all cultures have prescribed ways for an individual and society to deal with these emotion charged situations through rituals. He called them rites of passage.
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In the Beginning… • During the early 20th century, the Belgian anthropologist, Arnold Van Gennep, observed that all cultures have prescribed ways for an individual and society to deal with these emotion charged situations through rituals. • He called them rites of passage.
The Tree of Life • Imagine the stages of therites of passage as a Tree.Each one of us is in aparticular stage ofdevelopment,somewhere on this Tree. • Each one of us is in a particular stage of development, somewhere on this Tree.
CONCEPTION: The seed is planted, the soil is fertile, the seed dies for the new life to be born. BIRTH: Even as its roots stay well within the darkness of the Earth, the tiny plant knows which way to grow. CHILDHOOD: Its roots grow stronger and deeper. ADOLESCENCE: The tree is vibrant, full of life and potential, its essence bursting; flower buds appear and begin to open.
ADULTHOOD: Pollen is carried by bees and the wind to fertilize and impregnate new life. The blossoms begin to develop into fruit. ELDER: The fruit has ripened. There is now an abundance of food to nourish and nurture new life. DEATH: It has lived its life. What is left returns to the Earth in honor of all she has given. This in turn replenishes the soil with nutrients. Death gives new life.
A rite of passage, which marks a time when a person reaches a new and significant change in his/her life, is something that nearly all societies recognize and often hold ceremonies for. There are many rites of passage in our lives. Some are considered more significant than others.
Most rites of passage fall into three main phases: Separation Transition Incorporation.
Separation The participant is taken away from his/her familiar environment and former role and enters a very different and sometimes foreign routine that they are forced to adjust to and become familiar with. (birth/death).
Transition This is the time that the participant learns the appropriate behaviour for the new stage they are entering. (engaged to be married). This is the time when people learn and grow and prepare to be an independent adult in the real world.
Incorporation This takes place when the participant is formally admitted into the new role. (marriage)
There are five times in one's life that are often considered to be the most significant times of change: • Birth (first rite of passage that everyone goes through). Naming a child is part of this rite. There are many unique customs that different cultures observe when naming their children.
Rites of Passage • Leaving childhood and becoming an adolescent • Leaving home • Weddings • Death/funerals
Societies typically hold elaborate ceremonies each of which is unique to one's own culture. • In Canada, typical rites of passage are baptisms, bar mitzvahs and confirmations, school graduations, weddings, retirement parties, and funerals. • Most are religious ceremonies as they mark the transition between an individual's life stages whilst reinforcing the dominant religious views and values of a culture.
Baby Smoking in Kimberly, Australia • Shallow pit filled with Konkerberry tree. • Fire – smoke symbolises purification. • Mother gives the child to grandmother who in turn passes the child through the smoke uttering a blessing.
Teeth Filing • In Bali women have their upper teeth (canines and incisors) filed before marriage. • Beastly passions are reduced. • If the young girl dies before marriage, the teeth are filed before cremation.
Removal of Teeth • While boys do not experience such clear physiological markers of transition to adulthood as menstruation, their rites of passage to this new status in some cultures are more severe than for girls.
Circumcision In indigenous societies of Africa and Australia, circumcision and/or subincision has been an integral part of such rites. For girls it can be clitoridectomy.
Among the cattle herding Barabaig culture of East Africa, the boys' heads are shaved and their foreheads are cut with three deep horizontal incisions that go down to the bone and extend from ear to ear. Sometimes, the incisions are deep enough to show up on the skulls.
And now for something completely different… • Among the Luiseño Indians, boys had to undergo severe ordeals such as laying on red ant mounds and not crying out from pain as they were repeatedly bitten over long periods of time. • The Vanatau of Brazil – the original Bungi Jumpers!
Tattooing is one of peoples' oldest art forms, coming somewhere between scratching in the dirt and cave painting. Early tattooing was used to symbolize the fertility of the earth and of womankind, preservation of life after death, the sacredness of chieftainship and other cultural factors.
The idea is: if a girl cannot take the pain of tattooing, she is un-marriageable, because she will never be able to deal with the pain of child birth. • Tattooing as a rite of adulthood. or passage into puberty is another common tattoo ritual. • If a boy cannot deal with the pain of his puberty tattoos, he is considered to be a bad risk as a warrior, and could become an outcast.
Clan Tattoos • Clan markings are another common ritual tattoo. Not only can you recognize your friends quickly, even in the frenzy of battle, but more importantly, your people are connected even beyond death.
Marriage Tattoos • Family and marriage tattoos are used in much the same manner as clan markings. Marriage tattoos have been particularly popular, to insure that you can find your lawful spouse or spouses in the afterlife, even if you have passed through the veil, many years apart.
In Memoriam • Modern people still tattoo to continue relationships with deceased loved ones, even if they do it on a subconcious level. You can see gravestones with spouses, parents, children, and friends names on them. All of these are modern examples of tattooing to connect the living to the dead.
The people of Borneo, especially the Kayans, believe that not only would their tattoos get them into the proper spirit world, but could also be used as a further qualification, for obtaining certain profitable occupations in the spirit world.
Love Charms • Love charms are still a much-used magical tattoo. A girl or boy friend's name, with hearts and roses, etc., are modern love charms, meant to make the relationship endure.
Maori Social Status • Some primitive tribes use tattooing as a rite of social status. The Maori, of New Zealand use tattooing primarily for this purpose. • To the Maori, a person's Moko designs enhanced their prestige and show transition from one social status to another. • At its highest level, Moko designs proclaimed the sacredness of chieftanship.
Health Tattoos • Another common practice in tattooing for health was the tattooing of a god on the afflicted person, to fight the illness for them. In India, the Monkey God, Hanuman, is a common choice.
Facial Tattoos • An offshoot of tattooing for health is tattooing to preserve youth. • Maori girls tattooed their lips and chin, for this reason.
As Luck Would Have It… • Primitive people often got tattooed before an ordeal or dangerous enterprise. • A man in Burma who desires good luck will tattoo a parrot on his shoulder.
In the Western World • Today, in the West, you can see dice, spades, and Lady Luck tattoos, which are worn to bring good luck.
In the 1970's, American tattooing discovered primitive, tribal tattoos. People wanted simple designs with meaning and they began copying designs, primarily from Borneo, Japan, and the islands of the South Pacific.
Sailors • Sailors were the first to return tattooing to Europe. From the 1600's to the Second World War, sailors tattooed a chicken on one foot and a pig on the other, as a charm against drowning.
